Category Archives: disability

Carers should travel free, say MPs

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.

Severely disabled man told he must take medical to prove he is not fit for work

Ryan has needed round the clock care since he was four months old

 

Ryan Norman, 20, with his mother, Ceneta Ryan Norman, 20, with his mother, Ceneta

UNABLE to walk, talk or feed himself, Ryan Norman has needed round-the-clock care since he was four months old.

Now, at the age of 20, Government bureaucrats say he must have a medical to see if he is fit for work before he can claim the benefits his mother relies on to care for him.

Ryan’s mother, Ceneta, his sole carer, claims she is in serious financial difficulties after Ryan’s child benefit and tax credits automatically stopped on his 20th birthday on September 1 – with a wait of several weeks before he is assessed for adult benefits.

Ms Norman, from Darlington, described her son as a baby trapped in an adult’s body and said she cannot understand why he must prove his disabilities for the adult benefits system when his condition is already well documented.

NHS patients ‘should not face constant moves’

Patients often face multiple moves around hospital

Hospital ward The era of NHS patients being shunted around hospitals needs to end, an expert group says.

The Future Hospital Commission – set up by the Royal College of Physicians – said a radical revamp in structures was needed to bring care to the patient.

This was particularly true for frail people with complex needs, who often faced multiple moves once admitted to hospital, the report said.

It also recommended closer working with teams in the community.

The commission said this could involve doctors and nurses running clinics in the community and even visiting people in their own homes – as is already happening in a few places.