Category Archives: Carers
Government warned on ageing society
More than three-quarters of people believe that the Government is “not ready” for the impact of an ageing population, a poll suggests.
The news comes as figures show that the number of elderly people over the age of 90 has rocketed over the last three decades.
There has been a five-fold increase in the number of centenarians over the last three decades, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
In 1981, there were just 2,420 people aged 100 and over living in England and Wales, but by 2012 the figure shot up to 12,320, the ONS said.
The figures also show that the number of pensioners aged over the age of 90 has almost tripled in three decades since 1981.
Fluoride in tap water cuts fillings – but does it raise dementia risk?
Councils hail health findings as campaigners call for more research into long-term effects
- Many of the areas with the lowest rates of fillings have added the powerful enamel-protecting chemical to their tap water
- Campaigners claim the data should persuade more areas to sign up to mass fluoridisation scheme
- Critics insist that there is evidence it could be putting youngsters at risk of dementia in later life
By Mark Howarth
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Adding fluoride to tap water leaves fewer children needing fillings, according to NHS figures out yesterday
Adding fluoride to tap water leaves fewer children needing fillings, according to NHS figures out yesterday.
The statistics revealed that England’s ten million children required 3.5million fillings last year.
And many of the areas with the lowest rates of fillings are the ones that have added the powerful enamel-protecting chemical to their tap water.
Nevertheless, critics of the mass fluoridisation scheme insist that there is evidence it could be putting youngsters at risk of dementia in later life.
Youngsters in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire – where supplies have been treated since 1968 – had fewer cavities than children in any other region.
And the three medicated areas of Newcastle, Gateshead and North Tyneside had 32 per cent fewer fillings than neighbouring South Tyneside, which has chosen not to add fluoride to its water supplies.
Last night campaigners claimed the data should persuade more areas to sign up to the scheme.
Take good care to look after the carers
Take good care to look after the carers
People who dedicate themselves to looking after their loved ones should ensure they make time for themselves too, says Morag Chisholm
It is no fun being a carer. It is not a role that allows the option “I’ve had enough of this, thank you. Can I do something different now?” There are no happy endings, the cared-for are not going to get better and release is not necessarily relief. Is there a nobility about caring or is it just bloody awful?
The focus here is on the unpaid, private army, which is increasing relentlessly. Two typical scenarios are caring for a partner and caring for a parent who is slipping into dementia. These roles can have profound effects on the caring individuals concerned and on their relationships.
It is not necessary to actually live with a person to assume the caring role. Although my mother, frail and old, lived 300 miles away with paid carers looking after her, I always had an ear half cocked for that telephone call, the summons, the crisis. And when I was with her, as holiday cover, I was always alert, cat-napping, hurrying back from shopping just in case. I learned something of what caring must be like as an all-day, every day, experience. I am not sure I could do it.
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