Police: A&E 'better' than cells for mentally unwell

September 9, 2013   Carers, mental health

Detention in cells is intended to be used only in exceptional circumstances

 

 

Ch Supt Irene Curtis says A&E would be a “better place” when mental health units are unable to take them.

Care minister Norman Lamb has described the standard of some crisis care as a “national scandal.”

The Association of Chief Police Officers says dealing with mentally ill people takes up a fifth of police time.

Police can detain people where no crime has been committed but they suspect the person is mentally unwell. The temporary police power is called a section 136.

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Advisers to visit hospital patients

September 9, 2013   Carers, hospital, Older care

Advisers to visit hospital patients

9th September 2013

Older hospital patients in Norwich will be visited by advisers to help alleviate worries which may arise during their stay.

It is hoped that by removing any stress created by their spell in hospital, the patient can concentrate on getting better.

The Hospital And Home project sees Age UK Norfolk and Age UK Norwich working with Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Advisers will visit Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital hospital three times a week, offering support at the bedside.

Dr Peter Forster, chairman of Age UK Norfolk, said: “We hope that the combination of acute hospital expertise with charitable sector knowledge of working in the community will prove a powerful force in improving the experience of older people in acute hospitals and facilitating their prompt return to their communities and homes.

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Hundreds of thousands of elderly people were abused last year

September 8, 2013   Carers, health, mental health, Older care

Elderly people are being routinely ill-treated by carers or relatives, says Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow

 

Elderly people across the country are being routinely ill-treated according to Lib Dem MP Paul Burstow.

As many as 370,000 older people have been abused in their own homes by a carer, relative or friend in the last year, according to figures, exposing what has been described as a “hidden national scandal”.

The number aged over 65 who are physically, psychologically or financially persecuted at home every year is likely to reach almost half a million by the end of the decade.

Elderly men and women across the country, from all walks of life, are routinely ill-treated, yet former health minister Paul Burstow warns that their plight is often ignored or dismissed.

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