Tag Archives: carers
800,000 ‘not given help with social care’
800,000 ‘not given help with social care’
By Nick Triggle Health correspondent, BBC News
Age UK says 800,000 people are excluded from the system – and the figure is set to top one million within four years.
It said budgets had hardly risen in recent years even before the squeeze, despite the ageing population.
The charity renewed its call for an overhaul of the system, something ministers are looking at.
Funding rise
Social care in England is means-tested, which means those with savings of over £23,250 are excluded.
But councils have also been making it more difficult for those who do meet the income threshold to get care, by tightening the eligibility criteria.
Six years ago, half of councils provided support to people with moderate needs, but that figure has now dropped to 18%.
It means only 1.2 million are getting formal care either at home or in a care home – although some of these are being forced to pay for the services themselves anyway, as they exceed the income cap.
Register may make life easier for those with MS
Register may make life easier for those with MS
By DAISY WALLAGE
Monday, May 30, 2011
8.30 AM
A solution to the country’s “shocking” record on multiple sclerosis (MS) care could be in the hands of patients themselves under a pioneering new project.
The MS Society has warned that the UK is one of the worst countries in Europe in which to have the neurological condition, with “patchy care”, a shortage in expert nurses and neurologists who are “stretched to the limit”.
It is launching a new register combining patient details and routine NHS information with expert clinical data to support future research and hopefully transform the delivery of drugs, care and services.
MP Justin Tomlinson and TV presenter Angela Rippon support this year’s Carers Week
MP calls for greater recognition for the UK’s carers
North Swindon MP Justin Tomlinson has teamed up with TV presenter Angela Rippon to support this year’s Carers Week from 13 to 19 June which recognises the contribution made by those people in Swindon and throughout the UK who provide unpaid care for someone who is ill, frail or disabled.
The theme for Carers Week 2011 is ‘The True Face of Carers’. It calls for greater recognition for the diverse range of people who have caring responsibilities. The work they carry out is vital for their families and friends, and for their communities.
