Respite group set up to help male carers

February 20, 2014   Carers, Uncategorized

Launch of campaign at RC Treatt to get male carers to come forward and take advantage of the support available.

Published on the 20 February 2014 11:04

Launch of campaign at RC Treatt to get male carers to come forward and take advantage of the support available.

A campaign to provide help for male family carers has been launched in Bury St Edmunds.

The group So Active noticed when it supported the Suffolk Family Carers in a respite and relaxation programme that few men came forward.

So, in partnership with Suffolk County Council and Suffolk Family Carers it last Friday launched a similar programme aimed at men.

So Active volunteer Tony Allen, whose employers R C Treatt of Bury have made a donation to support the work, said: “So many men care for someone without realising they’re a family carer and if they do, as men, we prefer not to talk about it.

“But, we’re launching a campaign that will inform men they are a family carer and offer support, respite and relaxation, in an environment they’re comfortable with.”

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How Smart Tech Will Take Care of Grandma

February 20, 2014   Alzheimer’s, Carers, Older care, Social care

Motion sensors watch an elderly man’s movement around his home

By Kiona Smith-Strickland

Lena Almquist, a Giraff robot and Malin Nilsson at the 4th Annual Elderly Festival in Örebro Sweden.

Giraffplus

February 4, 2014 12:30 PM

Motion sensors watch an elderly man’s movement around his home, looking for stumbles or extended stillness that could mean a fall or a medical emergency. Smart appliances look for changes in a woman’s routine and alert caregivers to possible distress. An automated home-safety assistant offers an Alzheimer’s patient a gentle reminder to turn off the stove before he walks away.

The great hope for senior care is that smart technology will provide an assist that helps older people live independently and stay in their homes rather than have to move to an assisted living center or nursing home. The question is, what shape will that assistance take? Out-of-the-way, non-intrusive sensors? Or actual robots, like the happy little helper in Robot & Frank? Some tech companies have already begun to design systems of both kinds.

Smart Home in a Box?

At Washington State University (WSU), computer science professor Diane Cook and psychology professor Maureen Schmitter-Edgecombe have developed what they call a smart home in a box. Wall-mounted sensors monitor a person’s movement around the home, while other sensors track the status of water faucets, stovetops, and other appliances. An automated system can speak up and remind the resident to turn off the stove or alert him or her to other home safety concerns.

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Women in their late 60s are the group most likely to be admitted to hospital for anxiety problems

February 19, 2014   Carers, mental health
Women in their 60s suffer from anxiety more than any other sex or age group
The group accounted for almost 28 per cent of the total hospital admissions
Kashmira Gander Author Biography

Women in their late 60s are the group most likely to be admitted to hospital for anxiety problems, new figures have revealed.

More than six out of 10 hospital admissions for anxiety were among women, but 28 per cent of the total admissions across both sexes were for women aged 60 and over.

A report from the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) also shows that women aged between 65 and 69 were the most affected, whereas men aged 45 to 49 were most likely to need hospital treatment for their anxiety.

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