Category Archives: Carers

Plan to force elderly to use internet to access Government services is a breach of ‘OAP human rights’

June 25, 2014   Carers, internet, Older care

 Do you believe one-off computer courses would be enough for you to feel comfortable accessing services online?

By Grimsby Telegraph  |  Posted: June 24, 2014

LEARNING: Do you believe one-off computer courses would be enough for you to feel comfortable accessing services online?

 A PENSIONER from Grimsby says it is “disgusting” that many Government services will soon only be available online.

Barbara Cowper, 79, says cabinet office minister Francis Maude’s opinion that older people must start using the internet to access public services is a breach of “OAP human rights”.

The Government says millions of pounds can be saved by moving services so that they are solely online and that getting to grips with the interest is a “better thing for people’s lives”.

But Mrs Cowper, who is a retired secretary and knows how to use a computer, disagrees.

She said: “It is infuriating that older people are being given no say over whether they actually want to use the internet or not.

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Japan’s integrated total care vision for an ageing population

June 24, 2014   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia, Featured Article

The Japanese government changed its strategy when home based care provision failed to meet the increasing demand

23 June, 2014 | By

With its older population rising to one in three by 2025, Japan’s healthcare has changed radically and sets the right example for the UK, Mayumi Hayashi says in the second article in this HSJ series

The “2025 vision” is the Japanese government’s ambitious aspiration for the delivery of healthcare and social care for its ageing population through the establishment of a localised, comprehensive “total” care provision. This envisages the inclusion and integration of healthcare, long term support, preventative initiatives, housing and supported living programmes, together with other welfare services such as safeguarding, outreach and dementia care.

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Technology could help people with dementia remain in their homes

June 24, 2014   Cancer, Carers, dementia, Featured Article
Voting for dementia in the Longitude Prize could help revolutionise care
As well as the trumpet-playing kind, Toyota are experimenting with assistive robots.

Dementia affects an increasing number of people: in 2012, 800,000 people in the UK had a form of dementia. The cost to the British economy, estimated at £23bn a year by the Alzheimer’s Society, is now greater than cancer, strokes and heart disease combined. Finding a solution that can both alleviate the pressures on society and allow people with dementia to live with dignity is crucial; this is why it should win the public vote to decide the focus of the Longitude prize 2014.

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