Category Archives: Carers

Paralympians express fears over disability living allowance plans

September 3, 2012   Carers, disability, ukcuts

Athletes say that coalition proposals to replace benefit could threaten their independence and undermine key Games legacy

 

Lady Tanni Grey-Thompson warned in May about DLA cuts, and other Paralympians have now spoken out.

A group of British Paralympians have expressed their fears over government plans to cut disability living allowance (DLA), warning that the benefit is vital to enable them to live independently.

Under coalition welfare reforms, hundreds of thousands of disabled people will lose the allowance when the government replaces DLA with more restrictive personal independence payments (PIP) in 2013.

The Paralympians fear that the potential loss of the benefit, worth between £20 and £131.50 a week, which helps with the extra costs of transport, equipment, care and other specialist needs that disabled people have, could undermine the key legacy issue of the Games – to open up access to sport for disabled people.

The government plans to replace the allowance, which goes to about 3.2 million people at an annual cost of £12.6bn, with personal independence payments (PIP) from 2013. It estimates that up to 500,000 people will lose entitlement to DLA over the next four years as eligibility criteria are tightened and claims reassessed.

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Woman with early-onset dementia writes diary detailing care wishes

September 3, 2012   Carers, dementia

A husband who “lost” his wife to early-onset dementia can now care for her the way she always wanted after discovering her secret diaries written before she fell ill.

Steve and Michelle Boryszczuk from Wickenby near Lincoln Photo: SWNS

3:30PM BST 03 Sep 2012

When Steve Boryszczuk made the difficult decision to place his wife of almost three decades in a home to help care for her early-onset dementia, he was heartbroken.

Mr Boryszczuk, 47, had cared for Michelle for four years at their home in Wickenby, Lincs, after she was diagnosed aged just 39 with the disease.

But last year the mother-of-two’s condition became too difficult to manage, forcing her devoted husband to make the devastating decision to put her in a care home.

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When the loving care stops

September 3, 2012   Carers, Diabetes, disability

As some disabled youngsters live their dreams at the Paralympics, others face spending their days in homes for the elderly

 

A happy outcome: Jamie Gill with his parents Anna and Howard

5:04PM BST 02 Sep 2012

In many respects, Jamie Gill is just like any other young adult. He has a “wicked sense of humour, and a particular fondness for blondes, wrestling and chocolate”, according to his mother, Anna. Jamie, 21, also has mitochondrial disease, a progressive genetic disorder that affects every system and organ in his body, in particular his muscles and brain. As a result, he is confined to a wheelchair and has problems communicating, although he can feed himself if someone cuts up the food. He also has diabetes, epilepsy and osteoporosis.

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