New dementia advisory service launches in Wiltshire

Council and health bosses have launched a dementia advisory service in Wiltshire.

Funded by Wiltshire Council and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), the service will be available to people with dementia and their carers.

It will provide personalised information and guidance, and give people a named adviser to support them.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

Cash-strapped carers turn to payday lenders

Carers struggling with the financial burden of caring for Britain’s elderly and disabled are increasingly turning to payday lenders, new research has shown.

The cost of care is causing serious hardship for 6.5 million households where there is a family carer.

These people are spending their savings and taking out payday loans to keep float, according to a report published by Scottish Widows think tank the Centre for Modern Family.

Full Article on Telegraph

Wiltshire reveals 19 per cent increase in adult carers

The number of adult carers over 25 in Wiltshire has risen by 19 per cent - significantly higher than the 10 per cent national average.

The 2001 Census stated there were 39,886 carers in Wiltshire and the 2011 Census states that they are now 47,608.

Carers are estimated to save the country more than £119 billion per year, yet many feel unsupported and reach crisis point, highlighting the importance of this issue for our society. 

Full Article on This is Wiltshire

INFO: Free training for Carers - June 2013

Looking to learn some new skills that may help you in your caring role?

We have lots of great training opportunities due to start in June 2013.

Download them now

Full training opportunities for the next few months are available on our website.

Carers putting their own health at risk, census shows

New analysis of the 2011 census from the Office for National Statistics shows a link between juggling a full-time job while caring for relatives and having deteriorating health.

It found that those who provide 50 hours or more care a week while trying to hold down a full time job are three times more likely themselves to be struggling with ill health than their working counterparts who are not carers.

The ONS said there appeared to be a “uniform pattern of deteriorating health” the more unpaid care people provide.

Full Article on Telegraph

Children are picking up the caring roles the state has abandoned

More of our children are caring for us than ever. The challenges that they face are shown in sharp relief by research published on Thursday by the Children's Society. Post-school they are twice as likely to be not in education or employment. One in 12 are caring for someone more than 15 hours per week. Around one in 20 misses school because of caring. These young people often say they've been bullied or have developed their own physical and emotional health problems.

The scale of the issue is huge. The 2011 census shows 178,000 young people under 18 looking after a friend or family member. This isn't the whole picture – we know far more go unidentified. When filling in the census, many parents simply don't recognise or want to say that their child is caring for them. BBC research in 2010 put the number at more like 700,000 in reality at that time.

Full Article on Guardian 

Census: 35% surge in the number of older carers

Almost 1.3 million (1,277,693)[1] older people are devoting their retirement to caring for ill partners or their own ageing parents. Census figures show that this is a staggering increase of 35% in the last ten years.

According to figures published today (16^th May 2013) by the Office for National Statistics, this army of ageing carers has rocketed by over a third in the last ten years. The number of older carers has risen more rapidly than the total number of carers – which has increased by 11 % to 6.5. million in the UK.

Read More on CarersUK

Young carers 'see education and job prospects damaged'

Children caring for a relative could have their education and job prospects permanently damaged, a charity warns.

The Children's Society says one in 12 young carers in England spend more than 15 hours a week caring for a parent or sibling, and one in 20 miss school.

Its new report says that young carers are 50% more likely to have special educational needs or an illness.

Full Article on BBC News

CCGs to jointly commission GPs with local area teams, says primary care chief

The GP contract needs more ‘flexibility’ to allow CCGs and local area teams to jointly commission services from practices directly on the ground, says the primary care chief at NHS England.

Dr David Geddes, head of primary care commissioning at NHS England and a part-time GP in York, told Pulse that a new primary care strategy due to be published in the autumn would look at how priorities set by health and wellbeing boards can be implemented with ‘wrap around’ services that include GPs, hospitals and community services potentially commissioned under a single joint contracts.

The proposals will come amid a raft of radical changes being considered for the GP contract, with Dr Geddes saying that NHS England was looking at reducing the proportion of practice income attributed to QOF, and moving away from annual contract negotiations with the GPC.

Full Article on Pulse

Britain will use G8 to aid dementia research

David Cameron plans to use Britain’s presidency of the G8 leading industrialised nations to spearhead a new international drive to boost dementia research.


Britain and the United States have agreed to launch a joint programme to develop drugs to treat the condition.

During a visit to New York today, the Prime Minister will say that hundreds of thousands of elderly people live with conditions such as Alzheimer’s without receiving help to alleviate its symptoms.

Full Article on Independent 

New dementia adviser service to launch in Wiltshire

A new dementia adviser service is being launched in Wiltshire to coincide with dementia awareness week (May 19-25).

Funded by Wiltshire Council and the Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group, the service will be available to people with dementia and their carers.

It will provide personalised information and guidance, and give people a named adviser to support them.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Elderly patients will get personal NHS worker to coordinate health care, pledges Jeremy Hunt

Every vulnerable elderly person in England will have a personal NHS worker who will be responsible for co-ordinating all their heath and care needs, the Heath Secretary Jeremy Hunt promises today.


Warning in an interview with The Independent that dementia has replaced cancer as the biggest challenge facing the NHS, Mr Hunt said that the NHS must entirely overhaul the way it looks after elderly patients.

On Monday he will announce a review into all aspects of later-life care that is expected to bring forward recommendations in the autumn.

Full Article on Independent

Carers should be monitored for mental health problems, warn doctors

Carers should be routinely screened for depression and mental health problems as they often "neglect" their own wellbeing, the Royal College of General Practitioners has warned.

The college has recommended creating a register of the UK's 7 million carers to help the 40% of them who experience depression or psychological problems.

It said holding routine appointments with carers and ensuring family doctors monitor those on a carers' register could tackle the "hidden" problem.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Care Bill: Full Text

The full Care Bill, as mentioned in this week's Queen's Speech, can now be viewed online here.

Care system now 'unsustainable' after £3bn cuts, social services chiefs warn

A total of £2.7 billion less is being spent on care for vulnerable elderly and disabled people across England than before the current round of austerity cuts began – a drop of a fifth in just three years.

The cut in care budgets comes despite hundreds of millions of pounds being diverted from the NHS to prop up the struggling system.

Care chiefs warned they now expect to see many nursing homes and home-care agencies being driven to the brink of bankruptcy because councils can no longer afford to increase what they pay them, even in line with inflation.

Full Article on Telegraph

'Simple consumer rights' and help for carers unveiled in Queen's Speech

Plans for a simple set of consumer rights, as well as help for those paying for long-term care are among the issues on the Government's agenda for the coming year, under plans announced in today's Queen's Speech.

The Government plans to cap bills for social care, introduce a flat-rate state pension, extend consumer rights and cut regulations affecting small businesses.

Full Article on MoneySavingExpert

Full roll-out of Wiltshire 111 health line delayed again

Health bosses in Wiltshire have again delayed the full roll out of the 111 non-emergency telephone service.

As concerns have been raised in other parts of the country about how the 111 service is operating, the Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG) for Wiltshire and Bath and North East Somerset announced last Thursday that it was deferring the roll out of the service to operate 24/7.

It has been operating in Wiltshire and Banes at evenings and weekends since February, run by private firm Harmoni but its call handling staff have sent some ambulances to patients with minor ailments such as sore throats and hiccups.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Carers to receive legal rights under new laws

The so-called “Sandwich Generation” who juggle work and family life with caring for their own frail parents will receive an entitlement to help, such as respite holidays, and training in care techniques.

Under new laws to be announced in Wednesday's Queen’s Speech, councils will have to assess what support carers need to manage their own lives and provide services to those who need them.

Although financial assistance will be means-tested, other help with advice and guidance will be offered to all for the first time.

Full Article on Telegraph

Melksham store tunes into plight of carers

Shoppers in Melksham had a musical surprise on Saturday when an impromptu performance took place to raise awareness of the work of unpaid carers.

Singers from Devizes Musical Theatre performed a flashmob rendition of Lean on Me in the town’s Sainsbury’s store to raise awareness for Carer Support Wiltshire, which gives emotional support and information to the hubndreds of people in the county caring for a family member.

Events Coordinator Debbie Martindale said: “The flashmob was a fun way to get people’s attention and we felt that the words of this particular song reflect what our charity can offer to carers.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Store flashmob highlights help for carers

Shoppers in Sainsbury’s, Melksham, had a musical surprise on Saturday when Devizes Musical Theatre performed a rendition of the Bill Withers’ hit Lean On Me to highlight help available for unpaid carers in Wiltshire.

The flashmob, at 11am, was organised by Carer Support Wiltshire – a charity giving emotional support, advice and respite to those caring for family members or friends across the county.

Debbie Martindale, events co-ordinator at Carer Support Wiltshire, said: “The flashmob was a fun way to get people’s attention.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

SURVEY: Young adult carers - tell us about your experiences in education and work

Carers Trust

Are you 14-25 years-old, caring unpaid for a friend or family member? We’ve launched a new survey to allow you to share your views and experiences of school, college, university and work.

Young adult carers often find it difficult to juggle caring with school college or work. So Carers Trust is working with The University of Nottingham to find out what helps. Tell us what you think!

The overall aim is to use our findings to develop better services and support for Young Adult Carers.