Category Archives: Carers

Carers are often “invisible” despite the fact that their work is difficult

Carers ‘need to look after themselves too’

 

Healthcare News
14/09/2011
One expert has warned that the deteriorating health of a carer could negatively impact on the individual they are looking after.

 

Family carers who look after their relatives so they do not have to find a care home should remember to take care of themselves, according to one author.

 

Rosie Staal, author of What Shall We Do With Mother? How to Manage When Your Elderly Parent is Dependent On You, said that if a carer is in bad health, this can have a negative impact on the individual they are looking after.

Memory services expand in dementia push, but quality is variable

Memory services are deemed vital to receiving a diagnosis. In the UK, 60% of people with dementia live with no formal diagnosis and so cannot access treatment and support.

By Stephen Robinson, 14 September 2011

Almost all PCTs in England now commission memory services and numbers of patients accessing them have increased sharply, but less than a third of trusts have accredited schemes, a survey has found. 

Figures from the NHS Information Centre suggest the DoH’s national dementia strategy has led to a significant improvement in access to support services.

The vast majority of PCTs – 94% – now commission memory services, up from 82% in 2008/9, the year before the strategy began.

Can mental health be improved by a sense of community?

Can a sense of community help with mental health?

By Liz Lockhart

Many recent research studies have touched on the subject of how mental health can be affected by environmental and community issues.  Mental Healthy recently reported on one such study which suggested that the better off in society are more distrustful of their neighbours perhaps suggesting a feeling of isolation.

 

Other studies have looked at how modern technology  effects mental health and communication between families and communities.  The latest study to attempt to shed light on these issues is mentioned in Science Daily and was carried out by the University of Michigan.