‘My brother with Down’s Syndrome is slowly spiralling’: The severity of the social care crisis laid bare

Nearly half of social care providers in England have been forced to close part of their organisation or hand back contracts to councils due to cost pressures in the last year, i reveals

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This is the true state of Social Care in the UK and this government is not listening, but then no previous government has listened.

The closed ears of UK governments have lead to this crisis, which if anyone cared to look would have seen it coming well before 2010, but the Tory austerity cuts from then only enhanced the crisis much more and still is to this day, with no seen improvements coming from any future governments.

It is not only with Down’s Syndrome but in every aspect of social care both childrens and adults. It requires an immediate increase, of at least, £12 billion to reverse the decline, but to enable continued sustainability much more in all the coming years. For if it is not done we can say goodbye to social care and following very closely the NHS as well. For without a sustained and credible social care the NHS crisis will continue to get worse no matter how much is given to the NHS.

Social care is the immediate priority and then the NHS. both are in severe deficit of staff, social care more so than the NHS. While NHS staff salaries need to be increased in-line with inflation, all social care not only require an inflation increase in salaries but a massive upgrading from the forthcoming April 2023 £11 per hour to around £13/14 this year and £15 next year. To do nothing more than the increase to £11 of the National Liviving Wage is effectively completely saying social care can end to any degree.

Human rights will be ignored and safeguarding alerts will escalate and everyone will blame social workers when the real culprits will be the government.

 

Source: ‘My brother with Down’s Syndrome is slowly spiralling’: The severity of the social care crisis laid bare

Maija Mattila- Mixed Race Model With Downs

It is good that Maija is realising her dream and acknowledged the barriers before her to which she managed to overcome.

Modeling is not an easy experience for anyone, but even with all her additional barriers Maija came through.

I wish her well for the future.

Same Difference

When a mixed-race girl with Down’s syndrome sat down to watch Finland’s Next Top Model, it might have seemed a distant world. But for Maija Mattila, it started the dream that changed her life.

Maija watched in awe as the tall, dark, aspiring model walked in front of judges of the reality TV show and posed for the camera. This was Polina Hiekkala, and she was doing everything Maija wanted to do.

Maija’s hazel brown eyes light up when she talks about modelling.

The young Finnish-Nigerian woman explains how she has watched countless hours of catwalk videos on YouTube since being inspired by Hiekkala in 2012.

“I started practising my walk at home, in front of the mirror,” she says.

Maija, who was born with Down’s syndrome and is now 20, leans gently against her mother and laughs shyly when recalling her early steps towards a modelling career.

Her mother…

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Nicola Sturgeon just shamed the UK government with some great news for disabled people | The Canary

The Scottish government has announced the extension of a scheme to support disabled people to live independently. It’s in stark contrast to the actions of the UK government. Actions which the UN has previously said amount to “grave” and “systematic” violations of disabled people’s human rights.

Forward thinking?

Nicola Sturgeon’s government has said it will be permanently extending the blue badge parking scheme in Scotland to cover the “carers and relatives” of people who “pose a risk to themselves or others in traffic”. This would cover people living with conditions such as dementia, autism, and Down’s syndrome. The move has come off the back of a pilot scheme launched in April 2016.

Currently in England [pdf], people generally only get a blue badge if they have difficulty walking more than 50m, or if they have other issues with physically getting around. But as Scotland’s Transport Minister Humza Yousaf said:

It’s so important that people with disabilities, including cognitive impairments, can live a life of equal opportunities.

He said of the pilot scheme and the working group involved with the blue badge reforms:

 

Source: Nicola Sturgeon just shamed the UK government with some great news for disabled people | The Canary

Man with learning disabilities wins damages after sex education delay

Local authority to pay £10,000 damages to man with learning disabilities after delay in providing sex education forced his wife to abstain from sex with him

Source: Man with learning disabilities wins damages after sex education delay

People who once had a slim chance of surviving childhood will add to care crisis | DisabledGo News and Blog

Ageing expert Karen Lowton says we need to face up to the needs of those growing old with complex health problems – and the costs The health and social care system is not only struggling to meet the care needs of our ageing population, it is completely unprepared for the consequences of looking after growing numbers of older people with extremely complex health problems. That’s the conclusion of Karen Lowton, a professor of sociology at the University of Sussex who specialises in ageing and health. Whereas 40 years ago a child born with cystic fibrosis, severe congenital heart defect or Down’s syndrome had a slim chance of surviving childhood, let alone reaching adulthood, now there are more adults than children living with these conditions. In addition, people with HIV are also growing older. This is a “remarkable testament” to advances in medicine, says 49-year-old Lowton. But she warns that these success stories are set to create another crisis for an already stretched social care

Source: People who once had a slim chance of surviving childhood will add to care crisis | DisabledGo News and Blog

Government approves new Down’s syndrome test | DisabledGo News and Blog

Pregnant women in England will soon be offered a safer, more accurate new test for Down’s syndrome, government ministers have confirmed. The non-invasive prenatal test (NIPT) will be rolled out by the NHS from 2018. It should cut the number of women who need riskier diagnostic tests in pregnancy that can cause a miscarriage. But critics fear the new test, although optional, may lead to more women aborting babies with Down’s. A world without Down’s syndrome? Down’s syndrome is a genetic condition that typically causes some level of learning disability and characteristic physical features. The NHS already offers screening to women 11 to 14 weeks into their pregnancy. Diagnosing Down’s At the moment, an ultrasound scan, the mother’s age and other factors such as smoking are combined to assess the likelihood of a baby having Down’s. Anyone with a greater than one-in-150 chance of giving birth to a baby with the condition is offered an amniocentesis, in which a needle is used to extract a

Source: Government approves new Down’s syndrome test | DisabledGo News and Blog

Will eradicating Down’s Syndrome have an effect on society? | Care Industry News

Following the announcement that a new screening test is said to detect Down’s Syndrome in pregnancies with 99 percent accuracy, Sally examines this emotionally charged subject and asks what effect the test could have on our society.

 

Source: Will eradicating Down’s Syndrome have an effect on society? | Care Industry News

New pre-natal testing technique is ‘further NHS step towards eugenics’ | DisabledGo News and Blog

Government plans to introduce a new, safer form of pre-natal testing for Down’s syndrome and other conditions send a message to disabled people that they are “better off being dead than being born”, according to a leading activist. The Department of Health (DH) is believed to be poised to give the go-ahead to non-invasive pre-natal testing (NIPT) across the NHS. Supporters of NIPT claim it is a safer form of pre-natal testing for Down’s syndrome that will eliminate many of the miscarriages caused by pregnant women opting for an invasive amniocentesis. Those who test positive after NIPT will still need to have an invasive test to confirm the diagnosis. A study funded by the NHS National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) found that introducing NIPT instead of more invasive tests for pregnant women with a more than one in 150 chance of having a child with Down’s syndrome would identify 102 more fetuses with the condition, and prevent 25 miscarriages a year. But campaigners say that

Source: New pre-natal testing technique is ‘further NHS step towards eugenics’ | DisabledGo News and Blog

ATOS Assessor: “Down’s Syndrome Isn’t Going To Go Away”

Same Difference

Spotted on Facebook. Shared because while it is rare to find a benefits assessor with such a personality, it’s good to know that it is possible.

A recent post from a Downs Syndrome forum:
“Yes, A (aged 17) was called for an interview with Atos. Contrary to everything I’ve heard, the lady conducting the interview was very nice, switched on and helpful. The first thing she said was “I have no idea why you’ve been called in!” She said the application had all the information they needed and after all “Down’s Syndrome wasn’t going to go away”. She really seemed to understand about what having a learning disability means and said her recommendation would be enhanced rate for both care and mobility, although she didn’t make the decision.”

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Katie Meade: The model with Down’s Syndrome fronting a beauty campaign | DisabledGo News and Blog

Katie Meade is making waves with her new beauty campaign. Meade, from Des Moines, Iowa has been chosen to front Beauty & Pin Ups’ campaign for their

Source: Katie Meade: The model with Down’s Syndrome fronting a beauty campaign | DisabledGo News and Blog