Tag Archives: Suffolk
Tommy on tour to spread the word about dementia
Tommy Whitelaw (front) with staff from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital after his talk about dealing with dementia, which was part of his Tommy on Tour programme. At the front with Tommy is Lead Nurse for older people Alison Webb. Picture: Matthew Usher.
Former U2 and Kylie global merchandising operator embarks on a special tour to spread the word about dementia
Chris Bishop Tuesday, December 16, 2014
1:58 PM
For years, he toured the globe with some of the biggest names in pop. Now he tours hospitals, spreading awareness about dementia.
Tommy Whitelaw ran the global merchandising operations for U2, the Spice Girls and Kylie until 2007, when his mum, Joan, was diagnosed with vascular dementia.
He was her carer for five years, until she died in September, 2012. Now Mr Whitelaw, from Glasgow, works on the Dementia Carers Voices project with the Health and Social Care Alliance.
Norfolk and Suffolk mental health patients in beds miles from home
Up to 50 mental health patients in Norfolk and Suffolk had to be sent to other parts of England last week because of a shortage of beds and a shortfall in funding.
In June Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt criticised the “unacceptable” distances Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) patients had to travel for beds.
The NSFT said the trust was committed to cutting the use of out-of-area beds.
It cut the number from 34 to six by September, but it has gone up to 50.
Norfolk and Suffolk mental health cuts ‘devastating’
Norfolk and Suffolk’s NHS mental health services merged in 2012 and must save about £40m over four years
Funding cuts in Norfolk and Suffolk show the government is failing to put mental and physical health on an equal footing, campaigners say.
Mainstream hospitals in the two counties have seen budgets rise by 15% since 2010, while mental health service funding has fallen by 3%.
The Campaign to Save Mental Health Services in Norfolk and Suffolk said the cuts were “devastating”.
