Tag Archives: carers

Postcode lottery of care for Scots MS sufferers

April 29, 2013   Carers, Multiple Sclerosis, ukcuts

GLARING gaps in the treatment and support available for multiple sclerosis (MS) sufferers in Scotland are revealed in a report out today – described as a sobering wake-up call for the health service.

According to the study, only about one-third of sufferers who could benefit from life-transforming medicines are taking them – one of the worst rates in Europe.

Four NHS boards are failing to meet official standards for giving patients access to the range of specialists they need, according to the research by the MS Society.

The report, titled A Lottery of Treatment and Care – MS Services across Scotland and the UK, reveals one-quarter of patients say they cannot see a neurologist when they need help with their symptoms.

Christine Carlin, director of the charity in Scotland, says in the foreword: “This report should be a sobering wake-up call for all of us working to improve the lives of people with MS in the UK.

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Most multiple sclerosis patients in UK 'receiving inadequate care

April 29, 2013   Carers, Multiple Sclerosis, ukcuts

60% of sufferers not getting ‘disease-modifying treatments’, which may lower intensity and frequency of attacks

Multiple sclerosis – musicians in Birmingham attempt to smash the record for the most drummers to play the same beat at the same time to raise awareness of the disease. Photograph: David Jones/AP

Thousands of people with multiple sclerosis are not getting drugs or the care and support they need, according to a campaign launched today by a support charity.

Six out of 10 people with MS are not receiving what are called “disease-modifying treatments”, which are not cures but may reduce the frequency and intensity of attacks and slow progression of disability.

The MS Society is launching a campaign for better care and support of the estimated 100,000 people who have the neurological condition, which is usually diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

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Care homes on the brink as bailiffs move in

April 28, 2013   Carers, dementia, ukcuts

Care homes on the brink as bailiffs move in

Sunday 28 April 2013

Thousands of Britain’s most vulnerable elderly people face rising bills and the prospect of forced relocation from struggling care homes, because record numbers of providers are slipping into administration.

The total of private care home operators going bust grew by 12 per cent in the past 12 months. The annual rate of failures among private providers has more than doubled since the economic crisis began, with 250 residential care operators shutting.

Councils, a vital source of income for private-care providers, are slashing referrals and now seeking to shut their own facilities to meet savings targets. Andy Burnham, the shadow Health Secretary, called the wave of closures a “crisis”.

Providers are said to be caught in a perfect storm of diminishing income while struggling with fixed costs and debts left behind from their rapid expansion during the economic boom. Campaigners claim it will be elderly people – many dementia sufferers – who suffer.

Mr Burnham warned that the closures were part of a wider collapse in social care driven by spending cuts imposed on town halls. One authoritative study places the amount cut from Britain’s adult social services at up to £2bn.

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