Category Archives: stroke
Is this the loneliest generation?
Carers feel lonely
Sunday 13 January 2013
Government officials have been ordered to find out exactly how lonely Britain’s population is, amid concerns that “the most isolated generation ever” will overwhelm the NHS.
The Department of Health is attempting to measure the extent of “social isolation” in the UK, after warnings that it has sparked spiralling levels of illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia and depression.
Research has revealed that loneliness is a growing problem in the UK – particularly among the elderly – with one in three admitting that they sometimes feel lonely. Among older people, more than half live alone, 17 per cent are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week, and almost five million say the television is their main form of company.
However, the trend is expected to worsen in the coming years. The Office for National Statistics disclosed last year that the number of Britons living alone has risen to a record 7.6 million – one million more than in 1996 and amounting to almost one in three households.
But beyond the personal problems the “loneliness epidemic” presents, ministers have been put on alert over its wider impact – and financial costs. Loneliness is blamed for piling more pressure on to health and social care services, because it can increase the risk of complaints including heart disease and blood clots. Experts also believe it encourages people to exercise less and drink more – and ultimately go to hospital more often and move into residential care at an earlier stage.
For many unpaid family Carers Christmas will just be another day.
For many unpaid family Carers Christmas will just be another day.
Guest blog by Maureen
Ambulance response times for Norfolk stroke patients “completely unacceptable” – health minister
Fears lives were being put at risk
Alex Hurrell, Reporter Monday, November 26, 2012
7:00 AM
Health minister Norman Lamb said he feared lives were being put at risk after receiving figures showing the time it took the East of England Ambulance Service to take Norfolk stroke victims to hospital.
For most of this year, fewer than a quarter of Norfolk stroke patients arrived at hospital within the guideline 60 minutes and the situation was even worse in north Norfolk where he is the MP.
Earlier this year, the EDP launched its Ambulance Watch campaign in response to growing public concern about the performance of the ambulance service.
The figures for stroke patients were provided to Mr Lamb following a Freedom of Information Act request by a third party. In the best month in north Norfolk, May, the ambulance trust managed to transport 7pc of patients within the critical period. Last month the figure was just 2pc.