Tag Archives: Older care
Minister prescribes New Year’s resolution to combat loneliness
January, not Christmas, can be the loneliest time of the year, warns Norman Lamb, the care minister, as he urges people to make a New Year’s resolution to help an older person
Britons are being urged to make a special New Year’s resolution to help an elderly person as part of a Government drive to combat a national “epidemic” of loneliness.
Norman Lamb, the care minister, took the unusual step of recommending a specific resolution to the public, warning that January, rather than Ch
ristmas, is often the loneliest time of the year for many people.
It comes after Jeremy Hunt, the health secretary, spoke out about a “forgotten million” older people left without any regular social contact – something he described as Britain’s “national shame”.
The Daily Telegraph has been supporting the NHS “Winter friends” campaign, in which people sign a pledge to help isolated elderly people in practical ways.
Buy local and save nearly £900 a year
Family shuns supermarkets and SAVES £900 a year after switching to local shops and markets following birth of daughter
- Ian and Rebekah Pugh gave up supermarkets to save money
- Experiment began before the birth of their daughter Lizzie
- Over the year they have saved £900 and say their diet is better
- Now they plan to stay supermarket-free forever
By David Wilkes
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Realising that supermarkets were costing them a small fortune, they set themselves the challenge of shunning them for a year.
Sticking to ten strict rules, the couple limited their food budget to £50 a week and began buying all their groceries from local shops and markets.
Shop swap: Ian and Rebekah Pugh gave up supermarkets before the birth of their daughter Lizzie and say they have saved money and have a better diet
Elderly want home care but don’t discuss needs
Pensioners end up going into care homes or hospitals because they leave decisions on their long term care until they are facing a crisis situation, experts say
The over 50s find it easier to talk about money and funeral plans than where they want to be looked after in their old age, a study has found.
This is because there is a lack of understanding of the options available, experts say, which means decisions only take place when the situation reaches crisis point.
More than half of the UK’s over 50s have had to organise care for a relative, but a third of them never even asked what their loved one wanted.
Of more than 11,700 people questioned, 87 per cent would prefer to be cared for in their own homes if the need arose, while less than one in ten, 8 per cent, would want to go into a residential care.
