Tag Archives: family

Dementia is not just a problem for old people

May 25, 2013   Alzheimer’s, Cancer, dementia

PATIENTS as young as 40 have been diagnosed with dementia in Plymouth.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Plymouth Herald

The shocking age shows why state-of-the-art services are available in the city.

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Sara Mitchell, right, the Plymouth Community Healthcare lead on dementia services, said: “Recently we had two gentleman aged about 40 and a woman who was 42. Generally speaking it’s 65 and over.

“But we’ve had some very young people recently.

“We’ve seen rates increase in the last five years and we expect that trend to continue as we all live longer.”

Dementia care in Plymouth has three strands – a memory service, a complex care team and the Edgcumbe ward at Mount Gould Hospital.

Ms Mitchell explained: “The memory service sees patients who are referred from GPs with significant memory problems diagnosis.

“Then they will be seen at fairly regular intervals and monitored and see how their dementia progresses.

“Medication can slow the process down but the deterioration varies massively from person to person.”

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Quarter of a million children provide care for others

May 16, 2013   Carers, family, ukcuts, young carers

16 May 2013 Last updated at 10:01

Young carers: Quarter of a million children provide care for others

Kelly Young carer Kelly, 17, says people like her need more help to cope with their responsibilities
Nearly a quarter of a million children in England and Wales are caring for a relative, new statistics just released show.

The Children’s Society warns that such young people could have their education and job prospects permanently damaged.

The charity says one in 12 young carers in England spends more than 15 hours a week caring for a parent or sibling, and one in 20 misses school.

New figures suggest 244,000 people under 19 are carers.

But the Children’s Society warns that number is likely to be “just the tip of the iceberg” and is calling for more government support and recognition for these young people.

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Why don’t they listen to what carers have to say?

May 15, 2013   Carers, disability, family, health, Older care

True integration involves the NHS, local councils and families

Families are the biggest providers of care, yet carers can find themselves cut out of decision-making and bounced between different bureaucracies

Norman Lamb and Heléna Herklots
Guardian Professional, Wednesday 15 May 2013 08.30 BST

The 6.5 million carers in the UK providing unpaid care to their loved ones outnumber all NHS and social care staff put together.

Caring is a fact of life. Whether a partner falls ill, or a parent needs support as they grow older, or a child is born with a disability – it will affect us all at some point.

At times like these, families pull together to support each other. But too often they find that the services there to support them don’t do the same.

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