Category Archives: Carers

'Carers walk the cancer journey with patients but need more support'

June 26, 2013   Cancer, Carers, ukcuts

Up to 1.1 million people are thought to be providing unpaid care to a friend or family member who has cancer but they are getting neither the information nor help they need

guardian.co.uk,

Researchers found carers are often not told how best to support patients or where they can turn for practical or emotional support (picture posed by models).

When Fiona O’Kelly’s widowed mum was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago, her life changed overnight. “It’s like our roles suddenly flipped,” she recalls. “Mum used to help me look after my two boys but now I look after her. She was independent up to then but her cancer and the treatment have left her frail and affected her memory.

“There are times when I think I can’t cope but I know staying in her own home and being cared for by family is the best thing for Mum.”

O’Kelly, whose sons are 10 and 16, negotiated a year off work following the diagnosis, and has since dropped her hours from four to two days a week. Her husband has also changed his working hours to minimise childcare costs.

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Protecting older people with a disability from living in poverty

June 25, 2013   Carers, Older care, poverty

New research on attendance allowance says more should be done to support those receiving the benefit

 

There are around a million people in England receiving AA but not receiving council funded care.

Attendance allowance (AA) is a weekly cash payment to older people with disabilities by the Department for Work and Pensions, worth between £59 and £73. It is a contribution to the extra costs of living with a disability and rarely, if ever, receives any discussion in policy debate. This is odd given the scale of the AA – it is paid to around 1.5 million older people in the UK at a cost of around £5bn each year.

To bolster the evidence base on AA and explore how we can make better use of it, the Strategic Society Centre and Independent Age recently published some new research and policy analysis.

Analysing data from the government-funded English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, we found that most people receiving AA are female and aged over 80. The most common difficulties with activities of daily living experienced by recipients are dressing (including putting on socks and shoes) and bathing or showering. Over half are unable to do work around the home and more than 40% have difficulty shopping for groceries.

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Robot seal 'aids dementia patients'

June 24, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia

A robotic seal has helped to improve the quality of life of dementia sufferers, a study has found.

Professor Glenda Cook of Northumbria University with the robotic harp seal

24 June 2013

Researchers have claimed that interacting with a therapeutic robot companion made people with mid to late-stage dementia less anxious and also had a positive influence on their lives.

Academics from the UK, Australia and Germany have been investigating the effect that PARO the robotic harp seal has on dementia patients.

PARO is fitted with artificial intelligence software and tactile sensors that allow it to respond to touch and sound as well as show emotions such as surprise, happiness and anger.

It can also learn its own name and learns to respond to words that its owner uses frequently.

The pilot, on 18 participants in Australia, showed that the robots had a clinically meaningful influence including increased levels of pleasure and also reduced anxiety.

Professor Glenda Cook, Professor of Nursing at Northumbria University, said: “Our study provides important preliminary support for the idea that robots may present a supplement to activities currently in use and could enhance the life of older adults as therapeutic companions and, in particular, for those with moderate or severe cognitive impairment.

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