Tag Archives: Older care

Widowed grandmother, 93, is comforted after death of her husband of 70 years

March 14, 2016   Carers, dementia, Featured Article, Older care

When care home staff give her a cushion made from his favourite shirt

  • Joyce Beckett was distressed in the evenings after death of husband, John
  • Staff at care home noticed she liked to be with someone to hold their hand
  • Carer Chris Rayatt-Howard made her the special memory cushion
  • Mrs Beckett wept with happiness when she received the gift 

By Victoria Finan For Mailonline

Published: 12:15, 14 March 2016 | Updated: 14:48, 14 March 2016

A recently widowed grandmother wept with happiness after retirement home staff gave her a cushion made out of her late husband’s favourite shirt.

Joyce Beckett, 93, became distressed in the evenings after her husband of 70 years, John, died aged 91 on February 11.

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A dignified man facing an undignified death’

February 25, 2016   Carers, family, Featured Article, Older care, Social care

Retired Norfolk teacher calls for rethink of our welfare state

He was now spending all his days housebound, getting no exercise, with an ulcer which wasnt healing  but he was cheerful and self-reliant – not bad for a man of 96. He wasnt complaining.

A Norfolk retired teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for the privacy of the individual involved, makes a poignant case for a major rethink of our welfare state.

It’s not sensational enough to make the news. No emaciated ribs, he wasn’t found face-down, drowned in the gutter. It’s just a story telling us something about the Britain we choose to live in. It’s a story of institutionalised neglect. About how someone, just like you or me, becomes a mere statistic.

A man of 96 – never been ill in his life.

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Unpaid carers for the elderly ‘much more likely’ to suffer distress than professionals

February 16, 2016   Carers, Featured Article, health, Older care

FAMILY or friends who act as unpaid carers for elderly people are much more likely to suffer emotional, physical and financial distress than professionals, according to new research.

By Kit Sproson

The study suggests such volunteers are three times more likely to be less productive at work due to distraction and fatigue.

Researchers say this is a significant and often unrecognised cost borne by employers.

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