Category Archives: ukcuts

Devoted wife fears she could lose lifeline

May 22, 2012   Cancer, Carers, dementia, ukcuts

COMMITMENT … loyal wife Betty Greenwell is determined to take care of ailing husband Wilf.

By PAUL KELLY
Published on Tuesday 22 May 2012 17:30

A LOYAL wife of a dementia sufferer with cancer has told of her fears over a vital support service they could lose.

The Home Support Service provides a lifeline for Betty Greenwell, 75, of Lilburn Close, East Boldon.

Betty is a devoted carer at home for her dementia-stricken husband Wilf, 86.

The couple were both widowed when they married 13 years ago and made a pledge to care for each other ‘in sickness and in health’.

It’s a commitment loving Betty is determined to see through as her husband also battles bowel cancer.

But she is angry that the future of the support service, funded jointly by South Tyneside Council and the borough’s Primary Care Trust (PCT), is uncertain.

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Councils ‘failing to assess needs of carers of people with autism’

May 21, 2012   autism, Carers, ukcuts

Survey finds four out of five carers have not been through assessment process that councils are obliged to provide

Only one in five carers of people with autism have ever received the local authority assessment of their needs to which they are legally entitled, according to a major survey of carers’ needs.

Of more than 5,500 carers who filled in an online survey for the National Autistic Society (NAS), 80% said they had never been through the assessment process, which local authorities are obliged to provide and which helps them obtain the right assistance. Only 26% of those who responded said they received any help at all from a council or health authority.

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Anger as lone parents face benefit cuts

May 20, 2012   Carers, charities, family, ukcuts

Short notice of welfare shake-up hits 124,000 now under increased pressure to find work

 

A young mother with her daughter outside her home on a council estate in Bristol.

Charities have spoken of their fury over changes to the welfare system which from tomorrow will force unemployed single parents with children about to start school to find a job or risk losing part or all of their benefits.

These 124,000 single parents with children aged five and six were given only eight weeks notice of the fact that they would have to move from income support to jobseeker’s allowance (JSA). Previously, lone parents of older children have been given up to 12 months notice, giving them a greater chance of planning ahead and improving their skills and qualifications.

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