Tag Archives: Older care

Care home patients hit by £240 fees rise

December 26, 2012   Carers, Older care, ukcuts

“If I don’t pay, I could be forced to take my aunt out of the home.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Sentinel By laura james

FEES at a residential home have rocketed by £240 a month – because of a lack of council funding.

Dementia patients at Park Hall Care Home, in Bentilee, will have to pay out an extra £60 per week from January 1, following the decision earlier this month.

It means residents who currently pay £485 will have to meet a new weekly cost of £545.

Ideal Carehomes, who run the Ubberley Road facility, say they have been forced to increase fees because a Stoke-on-Trent City Council subsidy does not reflect ‘the true cost of providing quality care.’

Mark Greaves, managing director of Ideal Carehomes, said: “We have been relentlessly lobbying ministers, civil servants and local authorities to establish a fairer framework for fees across the country and one which does not discriminate against self-funding residents.

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Is your elderly neighbour on their own this Christmas?

December 24, 2012   Carers, Older care

Being alone has same effect on health as 15 cigarettes every day

elderly

It’ll be lonely this Christmas … for 230,000 elderly people in the UK as they spend holidays alone
By MARTIN PHILLIPS, Senior Feature Writer
IF your auntie is hogging the remote and Grandad is snoring on the sofa even before the Queen’s speech tomorrow, count yourself – and them – lucky.

At least you have got each other. But estimates suggest more than half a million elderly people will be on their own this Christmas.

Many will feel bereft and lost following the death of a long-term partner. Some will have children but may not live close enough for the family to visit with any regularity.

And the sad, solitary state of many older people is not just a state of mind. Experts have equated the effect of loneliness on health to that of obesity or smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

It can hasten dementia and increase the risk of heart disease and high blood pressure.

Half of all people aged 75 or over live alone and at least one in ten of the ten million over-65s in Britain is badly affected by solitude.

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Carers are unsung heroes

December 23, 2012   Carers, Wales

CHRISTMAS is traditionally a time of joy and happiness for families

Saturday, December 22, 2012

South Wales Evening Post

 

CHRISTMAS is traditionally a time of joy and happiness for families, but Christmas doesn’t mean it gets any easier for those who need support to live an independent and fulfilling life.

 

  1. A range of social services are currently being delivered to more than 150,000 people across Wales. These include older people, people with learning disabilities, mental health issues or people with a terminal illness.

At some point in life, it’s likely we’ll all come into contact with some form of social services. It’s therefore important that the Welsh Government does everything it can to make sure the right support reaches those who need it most. Over the past year and half, we’ve seen much progress in this field.

We’ve also seen the continued roll-out of the highly innovative integrated family support services to bring specialist care for vulnerable children and parents. Some £4.5million has already been made available to local authorities to implement better services for vulnerable looked-after children, including £1.5million for breaks for carers of disabled children.

There are around 340,000 unpaid carers in Wales, usually family members or friends. These people really are the unsung heroes and at times like Christmas, we need to remember and recognise all the unseen work that they do. I’d therefore like to thank all carers across Swansea and wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Mike Hedges AM

Assembly Member, Swansea East

http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/

 

 

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