Tag Archives: carer

Social care is running on empty – but technology can make a difference

There is no single solution to the challenges facing the sector, but technology enabled care can save cash-strapped councils money

It would be easy, but misleading, to say that social care is in crisis. Somehow in many parts of England the system staggers on, using devolution to its advantage. A number of councils have adopted improved ways of working.

However, the sustainability of the system is increasingly being called into question. Whether it’s the Adass budget survey, research by the King’s Fund and Nuffield Trust, or my report for the Carers Trust on the Care Act, the message is broadly the same: the system is running on empty, and people are suffering the consequences.

Why has this not exploded into a major political issue? Most MPs acknowledge that social care is unfinished business, but this has not translated into sufficient political pressure. At a basic level, this is because most people make no distinction between social care, care and support and what the NHS does. It still comes as a shock to many families that social care is not free. Most people make no care plans because they have discounted the chances of ever needing it.

Today the most visible advocate for social care funding is the NHS England boss, Simon Stevens. He told the NHS Confederation conference earlier this year that social care, rather than the NHS, should be at the front of the queue for financial aid. Of course there is a healthy dose of self-interest in this. Health and social care are two sides of the same coin – underinvest in one and you undermine the other.

Find out more

 

Old people need to see their family three times a week

Why just emailing elderly relatives can double risk of depression

       Study is thought to be the first to examine the impact of different            types of social contact on the elderly

  • It also highlights just how important it is to spend time with our older generation – among whom th
  • Study is thought to be the first to examine the impact of different types of social contact on the elderly
  • There is said to be an ‘epidemic’ of loneliness
  • Speaking on the phone or being contacted online was not enough to replace seeing elderly face-to-face 
  • Those forms of contact did nothing to cut depression risk, experts say 

Families should visit their older relatives three times a week to help prevent them from becoming depressed, experts say.

When the carer has to be the cared for! Pt 2

Part 2 of my recovery from an operation

written by Carer JJ

Well i am now 6 weeks into my recovery.

i have been discharged by the hospital and can now do light housework though my normal activities are still on hold for another 6 weeks.

So how did we do?

well we limped over the finish line! Poor Susan limped more than us! She has recovered the use of her foot. Thank goodness for eldest daughter Sarah who came home from university for the holidays and helped no end. Sadly Fred used this as an excuse to go back to his usual activities of staying in his chair, sleeping and expecting to be waited on.