Elderly care petition could go to Parliament after gaining 130,000 signatures
Campaigners for an overhaul of the elderly care system hope to trigger a debate in Parliament after collecting more than 130,000 signatures on a petition to David Cameron.
By John Bingham, Social Affairs Editor
7:00AM BST 15 May 2012
The petition, supported by more than 50 organisations working with elderly and disabled people, demands urgent action to introduce a new system of social care.
It comes amid claims of “betrayal” after last week’s Queen’s Speech which included a commitment only to a draft bill to reform the system with no mention of how care should be funded.
A white paper is due in the coming weeks to set out some aspects of how social care could be reformed.
Minister backs learning disability eye health campaign
Care services minister Paul Burstow has backed a charity’s campaign to improve eye health services for people with learning disabilities.
by Dan Parton (Editor) on May 11, 2012 in News
The Liberal Democrat MP gave his support to SeeAbility’s ‘eye 2 eye’ campaign on a recent visit to the Morden Eye Centre, where he saw teenager Roshni Kothari receiving an enhanced sight test for people with learning disabilities. This was Kothari’s first sight test in the community, having previously been treated at Sutton Eye Hospital.
Recent research commissioned by SeeAbility and Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) highlighted that there are 1 million adults with a learning disability in the UK. People with learning disabilities are 10 times more likely to have serious sight problems than other people, with 6 in 10 people needing glasses. People with severe or profound learning disabilities are most likely to have sight problems.
£3.7m scheme to help Bradford carers learn
Helping encourage carers to achieve their goals outside of their caring roles
Monday 14th May 2012 in
News By Tanya O’Rourke
A project to help carers access learning, training and employment is set to benefit from a slice of more than £3.7 million lottery cash.
The Carers’ Resource in Bradford has received a boost of £295,122 which will go towards helping encourage carers to achieve their goals outside of their caring roles.
It will provide courses, work experience, employment opportunities and help with interview preparation for people who care for others to get ahead in their own careers.
