Category Archives: benefits

Elderly cancer patients denied financial advice because nurses assume they are well-off

August 17, 2012   benefits, Cancer, Carers, Older care

Elderly cancer patients are routinely denied information about the financial help they could receive because hospital staff believe pensioners do not need the support, a government report finds today.

The study suggested that about 47 per cent of over-75s received information from the NHS about how to get financial help, just over half the proportion of 16-25 year-olds who were told how to claim benefits.By

7:00AM BST 17 Aug 2012

The over-75s are among the least satisfied groups of cancer patients with the standards of care and support from doctors and nurses, according to the Department of Health study.

Fewer than half of the age group reported being given information on their eligibility to benefits for the disabled and other types of financial assistance.

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Carers set to be hit hard by tax relief cuts

August 4, 2012   benefits, Carers, ukcuts

CARERS are set to be hit by a council tax shake-up that could see them almost 20 per cent worse off.

Under the proposals, a carer for a disabled family member will lose about £210 a year in council tax relief when borough and district councils take control of the discount scheme next year.

  1. Paul Piper, 52, of Bellfield Road has criticised Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for proposed council tax benefits cuts

    Paul Piper, 52, of Bellfield Road has criticised Tunbridge Wells Borough Council for proposed council tax benefits cuts

Both Tunbridge Wells Borough Council and Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council plan to reduce the amount of council tax support by 18.5 per cent.

The only group protected from the increase is pensioners.

Paul Piper of Bellfield Road, Pembury, a full-time carer to his 10-year-old autistic daughter, believes people in his situation should be protected from the cuts.

He said: “It is unfair. People don’t appreciate what you have to spend money on when you have a disabled child. We have lots more costs we have to pay for and the £10 a month we would lose under these plans is a lot of money.

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The politics of self-interest in addressing elderly care

May 31, 2012   benefits, Carers, health, Older care

By Steve Doughty

PUBLISHED: 20:36, 30 May 2012 | UPDATED: 21:43, 30 May 2012

The cost of looking after old people is almost going to double in the next 20 years, and the number of people who will have to bear the crushing burden of paying for their own care will more than double.

This is what we are told in a report backed by eminently able academic researchers and published by the Local Government Association, the umbrella body of local councils.

It is local councils, of course, which run the bureaucratic organisations currently known as adult social services which are responsible for dishing out the meals on wheels, the bathroom safety fittings, and the caring workers who help wash and dress the vulnerable elderly.

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