Category Archives: Carers
Carers should travel free, say MPs
Press Association – 9 hours ago
The Transport Select Committee called on the Government to try to amend European Union regulations so carers fly free of charge
Carers should be able to fly for free if an airline requires them to travel with the disabled people they look after, a group of MPs have said.
The Transport Select Committee called on the Government to try to amend European Union regulations so carers fly free of charge if an airline requires them to be present because the person they look after cannot perform an emergency procedure alone.
Describing access to transport for disabled people as “unacceptably poor”, the committee said the Department for Transport (DfT) was watering down or abandoning key accessibility improvements and losing the momentum that followed last year’s Paralympic Games in London.
Reforms to train all bus drivers in disability awareness, require train operators to bring in “organised assistance” for disabled people as standard, and introduce financial incentives to ensure all taxis and private hire vehicles are fully accessible within 10 years were also among the committee’s recommendations.
Personal budgets mooted for mental health
Personal budgets mooted for mental health
Care minister Norman Lamb has said he would like to see mental health patients being given personal budgets to pay for care.
Speaking at the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, Mr Lamb said: “I would like to move to a ‘right to have’ in relation to a personal budget and to extend it to mental health; giving individuals control over their health.
“You hear stories of how people used to go in and out of hospital and care constantly falling down.
“When they take control their wellbeing improves and they can stop the revolving door and improve their whole experience.”
Public ‘unaware’ of care-home costs – and of probability they will need care themselves
Nearly half of all respondents to a survey said they did not know the average weekly cost of a place in a residential care home. Of those that did answer, the mean figure suggested was £396.58 – around £140 below the average fee of £531.The survey also found that many people underestimate the probability of needing care themselves in the future. Out of 2,271 people asked , more than half believed the probability was lower than 40 per cent. Yet research suggests that 65-year-old men have a 68 per cent chance of needing care before they die, while women have an 85 per cent chance. “Voters may struggle to ensure that the quality of services provided to vulnerable members of their community is appropriate … if they do not know what their local authority pays for care,” the report warns.
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