Disabled dad told he is fit to work TWO WEEKS before death

July 19, 2015   Carers, disability, Featured Article, ukcuts

Diabetic David O’Mar, of Cardiff, was lying in a hospital bed with pneumonia when the DWP made its decision

Matthew Horwood David O’Mar of Fairwater has collected thousands of football kits to give to children in Eastern Europe
‘Fit to work’: David O’Mar was diabetic and suffering with pneumonia when his benefits were taken away

A disabled dad died two weeks ­after being judged fit for work as he lay in hospital with pneumonia

Diabetic David O’Mar was stripped of his disability benefits in April after a work ­capability assessment for Iain Duncan Smith’s hated Department for Work and Pensions.

Read More

An iPad gave my son with disabilities a voice – and changed his life

July 18, 2015   Carers, disability, Featured Article, internet

Kevin is a changed guy.

For most of us, our voices emanate from our own vocal chords. For Kevin, our 20-year-old son with Mowat Wilson Syndrome – a developmental disability – his words are battery-charged, delivered by an app and wrapped protectively in royal blue silicone. And we love his voice.

By the age of two, we knew that Kevin had severe language issues. We held onto the hope that, by age 10 – an important milestone in speech development – he would have words with which to communicate. Perhaps it was naïve on our part; it didn’t happen. When he was 13, we accepted what limited progress he had made, stopped thinking about what he could not do and focused on the everyday things he could achieve.

Read More

Dementia patients forced to rely on unpaid carers, poll says

July 6, 2015   Alzheimer’s, Carers, dementia, Featured Article, health

 

Three-quarters of GPs say their dementia patients are forced to rely on family, friends, neighbours or other unpaid carers, because they get insufficient help from health and social care services.

Stephen Blakeburn, 50, who cares for his mother, Jenny (left), 86, who was diagnosed with dementia in 2010. GPs believe dementia patients are being failed by health and social care services. Photograph: Alzheimer’s Society/PA Photograph: Alzheimer’s Society/PA

A survey of 1,013 family doctors by the Alzheimer’s Society paints a worrying picture of a situation in which patients are often let down or left confused by the health and social care system.

Read More