Category Archives: Featured Article

A dignified man facing an undignified death’

February 25, 2016   Carers, family, Featured Article, Older care, Social care

Retired Norfolk teacher calls for rethink of our welfare state

He was now spending all his days housebound, getting no exercise, with an ulcer which wasnt healing  but he was cheerful and self-reliant – not bad for a man of 96. He wasnt complaining.

A Norfolk retired teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for the privacy of the individual involved, makes a poignant case for a major rethink of our welfare state.

It’s not sensational enough to make the news. No emaciated ribs, he wasn’t found face-down, drowned in the gutter. It’s just a story telling us something about the Britain we choose to live in. It’s a story of institutionalised neglect. About how someone, just like you or me, becomes a mere statistic.

A man of 96 – never been ill in his life.

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Health experts add voice to our campaign to save vital helpline

February 23, 2016   Carers, Featured Article, health, mental health, Norfolk

As petition reaches more than 4,000 signatures

Two more health figures today add their opposition to the closure of a vital helpline which callers’ say saves lives.
Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, and Brian Watkins, chairman of Norfolk County Council’s health and wellbeing committee, both said the Norwich and Central Norfolk mental health helpline should continue to be funded.
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Unpaid carers for the elderly ‘much more likely’ to suffer distress than professionals

February 16, 2016   Carers, Featured Article, health, Older care

FAMILY or friends who act as unpaid carers for elderly people are much more likely to suffer emotional, physical and financial distress than professionals, according to new research.

By Kit Sproson

The study suggests such volunteers are three times more likely to be less productive at work due to distraction and fatigue.

Researchers say this is a significant and often unrecognised cost borne by employers.

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