Tag Archives: carers

Severely disabled man told he must take medical to prove he is not fit for work

September 14, 2013   Carers, disability

Ryan has needed round the clock care since he was four months old

4:20am Saturday 14th September 2013 in

News  By Vicki Henderson, Darlington reporter

Ryan Norman, 20, with his mother, Ceneta Ryan Norman, 20, with his mother, Ceneta

UNABLE to walk, talk or feed himself, Ryan Norman has needed round-the-clock care since he was four months old.

Now, at the age of 20, Government bureaucrats say he must have a medical to see if he is fit for work before he can claim the benefits his mother relies on to care for him.

Ryan’s mother, Ceneta, his sole carer, claims she is in serious financial difficulties after Ryan’s child benefit and tax credits automatically stopped on his 20th birthday on September 1 – with a wait of several weeks before he is assessed for adult benefits.

Ms Norman, from Darlington, described her son as a baby trapped in an adult’s body and said she cannot understand why he must prove his disabilities for the adult benefits system when his condition is already well documented.

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‘Good neighbours’ are not the answer to our care problems

September 13, 2013   Carers, Older care, Social care, ukcuts

‘Good neighbours’ are not the answer to our care problems

Professional care is expensive. Professional care is expensive.

Thursday, September 12, 2013
12:00 PM

So Suffolk County Council’s cabinet has decided to have a review of the way home care is delivered in the county . . . and is talking about community services, improving services etc etc.

I would love to think that the county council could find the Holy Grail that will allow more and more people to be cared for in a better way in the community while spending less money.

Sadly, in the real world these aspirations are wholly unrealistic. The changing demographics of the 21st Century mean many of the “community solutions” are not viable.

There seems to be an idea that being a “good neighbour” in communities across Suffolk will ease the burden of home care. That is just not the case. There is the world of difference in Mrs Smith’s neighbour knocking on the door and seeing if she wants anything from the village shop and the kind of professional care that is increasingly being needed.

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Paid Carers to be electronically monitored in bid to save cash.

September 12, 2013   Carers, ukcuts, Uncategorized

Carers to be electronically monitored in bid to save cash

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Carers will be monitored electronically to make sure they provide the care they are supposed to.

Gloucestershire County Council bosses say the Electronic Call Monitoring (ECM)scheme is not about keeping tabs on people but it will lead to major savings and keep people “safe”.

  1. Kathy Williams

The ECM system will initially only apply to care professionals who help people with learning disabilities.

Carers will check in to the system when they arrive at a client’s house and check out when they leave while alerts will be flagged when a carer doesn’t arrive within a particular timeframe.

At the moment the county council commissions carers to provide a certain amount of care but it has no concrete way of knowing if the number of hours commissioned, and paid for, is actually being delivered.

Accurately tracking the movements of carers will change that, allowing the council to only pay them for the service they actually provide.

The scheme was piloted by a handful of providers in Gloucestershire last year, showing the council it can expect savings in the region of seven per cent.

The learning disability community based care budget is worth £21 million a year.

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