Tag Archives: NHS
Croydon Council to host carers day
Being a carer is a very busy and demanding job, which can offer little respite.
12:00pm Saturday 26th January 2013 in News
An information day where carers can find out about the help and support available to them will take place next month.
Those looking after someone with an illness or disability will have the opportunity to discuss their caring situation with more than 50 organisations that offer services to carers in Croydon.
Advice and information will be available on issues including benefits and financial advice, transport, leisure activities and holidays.
Dementia patients going undiagnosed
Half the people who have dementia have not been diagnosed
Latest figures reveal there are almost 5,500 living in central Lancashire who have dementia.
However, it is believed that around half the people who have dementia have not been diagnosed and are living with the disease without receiving the help and support they need.
The Alzheimer’s Society has revealed an increase in the number of people living with dementia with 42,000 people diagnosed with the condition – an increase of almost 4,000 since last year.
However, there are thought to be another 43,000 people living with the condition who have not been diagnosed yet.
In the central Lancashire area which includes Preston and surrounding areas, there were 2,544 diagnosed with dementia in 2012 compared to 2,313 in 2011.
Is this the loneliest generation?
Carers feel lonely
Sunday 13 January 2013
Government officials have been ordered to find out exactly how lonely Britain’s population is, amid concerns that “the most isolated generation ever” will overwhelm the NHS.
The Department of Health is attempting to measure the extent of “social isolation” in the UK, after warnings that it has sparked spiralling levels of illnesses including heart disease, high blood pressure, dementia and depression.
Research has revealed that loneliness is a growing problem in the UK – particularly among the elderly – with one in three admitting that they sometimes feel lonely. Among older people, more than half live alone, 17 per cent are in contact with family, friends and neighbours less than once a week, and almost five million say the television is their main form of company.
However, the trend is expected to worsen in the coming years. The Office for National Statistics disclosed last year that the number of Britons living alone has risen to a record 7.6 million – one million more than in 1996 and amounting to almost one in three households.
But beyond the personal problems the “loneliness epidemic” presents, ministers have been put on alert over its wider impact – and financial costs. Loneliness is blamed for piling more pressure on to health and social care services, because it can increase the risk of complaints including heart disease and blood clots. Experts also believe it encourages people to exercise less and drink more – and ultimately go to hospital more often and move into residential care at an earlier stage.
