Category Archives: Carers

Anger over decision to refuse patients MS drugs

June 9, 2014   Carers, Featured Article, Multiple Sclerosis, ukcuts

MS sufferers denied drugs which can stop patients “screaming out in pain”

File photo: A Multiple Sclerosis consultation

By , Health Editor  7:00AM BST 09 Jun 2014

Tens of thousands of Multiple Sclerosis sufferers could be denied drugs which can stop sufferers “screaming out” in pain, under new NHS recommendations, experts have warned.

Neurologists said the decision by the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (Nice) to reject two cannabis-based drugs for symptoms of MS could leave thousands of patients suffering “horrendous” pain and immobility.

New draft guidelines on the diagnosis and care of people with MS have rejected two drugs which have been licensed in recent years to help sufferers experiencing spasticity and mobility problems.

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Carers Week 2014: Why Britain’s 6.5 million carers need more support

June 9, 2014   Carers, carersweek, Featured Article
Millions of Britons are unpaid carers (Picture: Carers UK)

Napoleon famously said Britain was a nation of shopkeepers, but we are quickly becoming a country of carers.

One in eight adults are now carers, looking after a friend or family member who is facing illness, disability or frailty. That means 6.5m people are offering unpaid care to a loved one, often round-the-clock, usually to the detriment of their personal and working lives and sometimes to the detriment of their own health. Unfortunately, campaigners say carers are not getting the support they need to keep looking after the people they love.

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Tragedy of Liverpool mum who died penniless after her benefits stopped

June 8, 2014   benefits, Carers, Featured Article, mental health, ukcuts
Distraught family say Annette Francis, who suffered from severe mental illness, was let down by the authorities

A mum-of-one suffering from severe mental illness died without any money after her disability benefits dried up.

Annette Francis, 30, was found dead at her Garston home two weeks ago, leaving behind 11-year-old son  Kieron.

Her distraught family say Annette  was let down by the authorities in the  months leading up to her death.

At the time of the tragedy, Annette had spent six months without receiving a single penny in benefits, her aunt Ann Sorotos claims.

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