Wishing you all a Very Happy New Year for 2021, lets all hope it will better than 2020
Happy New Year 2021
Category: blog
A blog where Chris Sterry can post his views on a variety of subjects and interests.
People With Learning Disabilities Should Be Prioritised For A Covid Vaccine
This I agree with, but what about all the persons with LD/Autism who are needle averse, for as I can see this group of people have not be looked at and have been left out of the research.
But, they are in the same, very vulnerable group of persons with LD. With regards to the flu, they are entitled to the nasal spray, which is given to children under 12 years. While it is not as effective as the flu injection, it is better than nothing and here more research should be given to providing a vaccine of suitable strength to give more protection that can be administered other than by needle.
When Margaret Keenan became the first person in the UK to receive the coronavirus vaccine last week, the nation breathed a sigh of relief. But it is crucial we do not forget those who have constantly been at the back of the queue: people with learning disabilities and autism.
Throughout the pandemic, people with learning disabilities and autism have consistently been let down. A lack of clear, easy-to-understand guidance, unequal access to care and illegal “do not resuscitate” instructions have exacerbated the inequalities many people have long faced.
The impact cannot be ignored: our research shows that 76% of people with learning disabilities feel they do not matter to the government, compared with the general public, during the pandemic. And data shows the danger of contracting Covid-19 for people with learning disabilities and autism is much higher than for the wider population.
Public Health England has said the registered…
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Research: An exploration of Black carers’ experiences of their relative/loved one’s detention under the Mental Health Act
Researchers from University College London want to hear Black carers’ views about what it was like when their loved one was involuntarily admitted to hospital (sectioned under the Mental Health Act).
Please see info below.
PM To Look At Idea Of Raising CA By £20 A Week
Not only increase Carers Allowance by £20 per week, which is long overdue, but alter other aspects for below are the current conditions
The type of care you provide
You need to spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone. This can include:helping with washing and cooking
taking the person you care for to a doctor’s appointment
helping with household tasks, like managing bills and shopping
If you or the person you care for are affected by coronavirus, you can still claim Carer’s Allowance if you provide care remotely. This includes giving emotional support over the phone or online.Your eligibility
All of the following must apply:you’re 16 or over
you spend at least 35 hours a week caring for someone
you’ve been in England, Scotland or Wales for at least 2 of the last 3 years (this does not apply if you’re a refugee or have humanitarian protection status)
you normally live in England, Scotland or Wales, or you live abroad as a member of the armed forces (you might still be eligible if you’re moving to or already living in an EEA country or Switzerland)
you’re not in full-time education
you’re not studying for 21 hours a week or more
you’re not subject to immigration control
your earnings are £128 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses
If your earnings are sometimes more than £128 a week you might still be eligible for Carer’s Allowance. Your average earnings may be calculated to work out if you’re eligible.Calculating your earnings
Your earnings are any income from employment and self-employment after tax, National Insurance and expenses.Expenses can include:
50% of your pension contributions
equipment you need to do your job, for example specialist clothing
travel costs between different workplaces that are not paid for by your employer, for example fuel or train fares
business costs if you’re self-employed, for example a computer you only use for work
If you pay a carer to look after the disabled person or your children while you work, you can treat care costs that are less than or equal to 50% of your earnings as an expense. The carer must not be your spouse, partner, parent, child or sibling.Example
You earn £100 a week (after tax, National Insurance and other expenses) and spend £60 a week on care while you work. You can treat £50 of this as an expense.Payments that do not count as earnings include:
money received from an occupational or private pension
contributions towards your living or accommodation costs from someone you live with (they cannot be a tenant or boarder)
the first £20 a week and 50% of the rest of any income you make from someone boarding in your home
a loan or advance payment from your employer
If you get State Pension
You cannot get the full amount of both Carer’s Allowance and your State Pension at the same time.If your pension is £67.25 a week or more, you will not get a Carer’s Allowance payment.
If your pension is less than £67.25 a week, you’ll get a Carer’s Allowance payment to make up the difference.
If you get Pension Credit
If your State Pension is more than £67.25 a week, you will not get a Carer’s Allowance payment but your Pension Credit payments will increase instead.If you’ve deferred your State Pension, the income you would get from it is included when working out if you’re eligible for Carer’s Allowance.
So what needs changing
your earnings are £128 or less a week after tax, National Insurance and expenses – should be changed so that the £128 is made equivalent to the National Living Wage
You cannot get the full amount of both Carer’s Allowance and your State Pension at the same time.
If your pension is £67.25 a week or more, you will not get a Carer’s Allowance payment. – this again should be matching the National Living Wage
This would mean the Carers Allowance would be a more substantial benefit available to many more carers.
Social care cuts left me and my disabled son alone in lockdown | Metro News
Four comments and three not understanding the problem, perhaps they are conservative MPs or even Government Ministers, for they also do not see the problem, whether by design or not is not clear.
Yes, there are disability benefits, but these are there for the increased costs borne by families due to to their relatives disabilities. For anything required for disabilities costs more, perhaps, through a disability premium, as equipment for persons with disabilities always cost more than they should.
Then we come to Social Care, which has never been correctly funded, from 1970 and certainly before. I mention 1970, as this was the date that the Government of the day brought all social care under the control of Local Authorities (LAs) , but as normal not the funding to cover the costs.
Before 1970, Social Care was a mishmash of care from various organisations, some from Local Authorities, then some from Charities, health, the community and many others. It has been left underfunded right up to the present day, but made much worse from 10 years of austerity cuts and now COVID-19.
Then this Government brought in the Coronavirus Act 2020, which relieved LAs of many of the responsibilities which were granted through the Care Act 2014.
Yes, these were eased on a temporary basis until 1 October 2020, when they were supposed to be reviewed, but true to form this Government decided to extend the easements for another 6 months.
So, Social care is in a very serious crisis, which is indeed very serious, maybe to an extent from which Social Care may not recover from and should this be so, then the crisis in health will more than double or even treble.
So. I created the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care
Please support this petition and then share, for you do not known when you will be in dire need of Social Care or one of your relatives will.
Source: Social care cuts left me and my disabled son alone in lockdown | Metro News
Carers ‘on the brink’ as they face further Covid-19 restrictions
Family carers (unpaid carers) have been pushed to the limit for many years and now they are beyond the limit and there is only so much one can take, but this Government expects them to do more and more.
With the easements brought in under the Coronavirus Act 2020, local authorities do not have to abide with the requirements of the hard fought for Care Act 2014.
So people in need of carers and also their family carers have been seriously let down again by the Government who lie and lie again and again.
They say they care and perhaps they do, but not for persons in need of care and their family carers, for all they care about is themselves and their rich associates.
If they did care, then they would have done something constructive to solve the crisis in Social Care, but again they have done nothing and just see Social Care disintegrate further.
I have created the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care.
This Government needs to act and act now.
I am a carer of two-disabled relatives and have to admit I have climbed the walls sometimes during lockdown. GN
Unpaid carers are fearful of how they will cope with increased restrictions or lockdowns, a charity has said.
Seventy-eight percent of carers claim the support requirements for the person they care for have grown over the period of the coronavirus pandemic, according to Carers UK.
The survey, of 5,904 carers in September, ascertained that 80% are providing more care than they were prior to lockdown, and two-thirds (67%) are concerned about how they will cope with further lockdowns or local restrictions.
The increased burden has left two-thirds of carers exhausted and worn out, with 64% experiencing worsening mental health and 58% seeing their physical health impacted.
Chief executive Helen Walker said: “The majority of carers have only known worry and exhaustion throughout this pandemic. “They continue to provide extraordinary hours…
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Mother plans Supreme Court battle over care for disabled son
Many aspects of Social Care appear to be, in many cases, to be ‘not fit for purpose.
So, we will wait and see the outcome of the Supreme Court action.
Will persons with disabilities be, eventually ,to receive all that they are entitled to rather than what authorities deem to allow them to have.
Then and, only then, will persons with disabilities achieve real equality.
A Glasgow-based mother plans to take Scotland’s largest council to the Supreme Court over the funding of care for her disabled son, in a case that may have far-reaching implications for families across the country.
Terri McCue is bringing the case on behalf of her 25-year-old son Andrew, who has Down’s Syndrome and receives a support package funded by Glasgow City Council.
As part of that package, he is provided with work experience in a garden centre three days a week, attends a social enterprise two days a week, and receives 20 nights of respite care every year. The council pays for the majority of the package, but Andrew has been required to pay a proportion of it since turning 19 years old.
McCue argues that as all aspects of Andrew’s care stem from the fact he has Down’s Syndrome, he should not have to pay anything at all…
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Do-Not-Resuscitate Order: Care Home Use Reviewed
Yes, a review of the use of DNARs in the Coronavirus pandemic earlier in the year is urgently required, for the pandemic is still with us and the use of DNARs could well surface again.
For DNARs to be applied there should be a discussion with each individual and also their family for this is the concept of ‘choice’.
To apply a ‘blanket’ order is completely wrong and brings us into the realm of ‘Big Brother’, the directive of authorities.
If this is not done, what could occur next, could it be the introduction of compulsory euthanasia by, the Government?
The use of do-not-attempt-resuscitate (DNAR) orders is to be reviewed after a number were wrongly applied in care homes at the start of the pandemic.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) will investigate concerns that some care homes still have blanket orders in place covering groups of residents.
It became clear that blanket use was in place in some care homes in the early weeks of the pandemic.
But it was widely condemned by the CQC and medical bodies.
The decision about whether or not to attempt resuscitation if a very sick person falls dangerously ill is supposed to be discussed with the individual, or family members if they are too sick.
Doctors can make a decision on the spot without consultation in exceptional circumstances.
However, the decisions are always supposed to be made on an individual case-by-case basis.
The health minister Lord Bethell has asked the CQC to investigate the…
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‘This is insanity’: Walter Reed doc slams Trump for putting ‘lives at risk’ for ‘political theater’ | Daily Mail Online
Dr James Phillips, a doctor at Walter Reed, reacted with anger on Sunday night to Donald Trump’s drive-by outside the hospital to wave at supporters, saying it was ‘insanity’.
Downing Street and Hancock lied about ‘working closely with Apple and Google’, FoI response shows
A Government lies, well what a surprise, for when do they tell the truth.
What the point si, is the degree of the lies and this was a whooper.
Back in June, the Tories desperately wanted to make the public think they were doing something about Covid-19.
Downing Street said the Government was working closely with Apple and Google. Health Secretary Hancock claimed “We’ve agreed to join forces with Apple and Google” on this so-called ‘world-beating’ contact-tracing app.
There was just one small problem. Apple didn’t know what they were talking about. The company took the unprecedented step of revealing the UK Government hadn’t spoken to them about any of these things.
With that in mind, we asked the Prime Minister’s Office to provide evidence they were working closely with Apple and Google. They didn’t have any.
So then we asked the Department of Health and Social Care for evidence. Guess what? They didn’t have any either. They stated Hancock did not have any meetings with Apple or Google!
The Tories have been rumbled yet…
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