Category Archives: health

£37K lottery grant will help carers

April 4, 2012   Carers, health

A charity that supports adult carers in Bracknell Forest has been awarded a Big Lottery grant of nearly £38,000.

By Laura Herbert
April 04, 2012

Bracknell Forest Voluntary Action (BVFA) provide services for unpaid adult carers in the borough, and successfully secured the grant for its Carers Support Team.

The team, which is part-funded by Bracknell Forest Council, has received grants from the Big Lottery fund for the past four years.

Money from the Big Lottery fund pays for a carers information and advice worker whose role is to support unpaid carers by offering information and directing them to other agencies or groups that could help.

The role also has links with GP surgeries and hospitals to highlight the needs of carers with health services.

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NHS prescription fee rise to £7.65 comes in to effect

April 1, 2012   Carers, health
1 April 2012 Last updated at 10:03

An increase in NHS prescription charges in England of 25p to £7.65 has come into effect.

Health Minister Simon Burns outlined the changes earlier this year, and the government says exemptions mean 90% of prescription items are dispensed free.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society campaigned for a freeze and says the rises are completely unacceptable.

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Making sure your online doctor will always have time to see you

April 1, 2012   Carers, disability, health, internet

Last month, the care minister Paul Burstow claimed that within five years 3m patients could be consulting their doctor and managing their health conditions online.

Last year’s Government study of 6,000 patients with conditions such as diabetes showed that telehealth reduced deaths by 45pc

9:42PM BST 31 Mar 2012

After a Government-funded study last year found that so-called “telehealth” or “telemedicine” could dramatically cut deaths and emergency admissions, politicians are aiming to save lives – and money – by ensuring patients suffering from illnesses such as heart or lung conditions can monitor their illness at home.

Accelerated adoption of telehealth should prove beneficial for the likes of Tunstall, a Yorkshire-based business that provides telemedicine technology and services. Many other mid-sized businesses could also flourish in this area, as the NHS looks to the private sector for solutions.

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