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From relaxing wheelchair walks around the stunning Cumbrian lakes to adrenalin-rushing abseiling and zip wiring, Calvert Trust – Outdoor Activity Centre, Keswick has everything designed specifically for the disabled
Set within the stunning Bassenthwaite Lake, overlooking the majestic Skiddaw mountain range the centre has over 3,500 people visiting each year and caters to people of all ages with sensory, learning or physical disabilities, including those with the most complex needs where other outdoor centres cannot supply.
‘The carers take part in all activities and we’ve even had people in their 80s come and enjoy themselves’
Justin Farnham, sales and marketing manager for the centre told homecare.co.uk: “We take disability groups from any age and any disability including learning, physical and sensory.
“We have a combination of school groups, charity groups and adult individuals who may come with a care home, on their own or with a friend or family member or carer. The carers take part in all of the activities and we’ve even had people in their 80s come and enjoy themselves.”
There are many activities at the centre with all groups enjoying a variety of single and multiple instructor-led activities. Each activity group has a dedicated instructor with them for the duration of their stay, allowing staff to get to know every individual. Mr Farnham said: “We have everything you’d expect, horse riding, abseiling, zip wire, canoeing, accessible cycling and high ropes.”
‘I’ve got a gentleman who is 73 years old and had never been on holiday’
Calvert Trust was created for disabled guests to enjoy the benefits of outdoor activities in a safe and accessible, yet challenging environment. “We can do it all,” says Mr Fanham. “Down by the jetty, if we have a wheelchair user, we have a hoist to get people in and out of canoes and we can put people in a hard-backed chair.
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Alzheimer’s Research UK and Dementia UK are calling on the government to prioritise dementia research, in the wake of a new report revealing the number of people with the condition in the UK and across Europe will double by 2050.
According to the report, the number of people with dementia in the UK is set to rise to nearly two million by 2050, while in Europe the number is expected to rise to over 16 million.
Following the Conservatives’ 2019 election pledge to double dementia research funding, Alzheimer’s Research UK launched its Delivering the Dementia Moonshot report, outlining six priority areas for the UK government’s research funding.
These priorities are:
• To find ways to detect the diseases that cause dementia 10-15 years earlier and to broaden the search for new treatments.
• Intervene with those most at risk of developing dementia.
• Make the UK the best place to conduct clinical dementia research.
• Further our understanding of dementia risk reduction and prevention and dementia in the context of multimorbidities.
• Find ways to more effectively validate novel targets in early drug development to maximise chances of successful clinical trials
• Expand research infrastructure to maintain the UK’s position as a world leader in dementia research.
To read more visit the homecare.co.uk website
Tax rises to cover the cost of caring for elderly and disabled people are being considered by the Welsh Government. The money raised could be spent on abolishing care fees or on a pay rise for care workers. A consultation on possible reforms to social care is due to start this summer.
Health Minister Vaughan Gething is set to call for “honesty” and a “grown-up debate” about increasing care costs. But the idea of raising income tax is likely to prove contentious in the run-up to the Welsh elections next year. Social care is under pressure across the UK from a squeeze on funding, an ageing population and high staff turnover. The state spends about £1.2bn on adult social care every year in Wales.
But in a statement to AMs on Tuesday Mr Gething will say the cost is predicted to grow between £30m and £300m by 2023. If the government wants “to seriously improve the quality and the reach of care, then it will require more funding”, he told BBC Wales.
For more on this story visit the BBC Wales website
A report highlights the likely effect of the government’s salary cap post Brexit on the social care workforce. It paints a bleak picture suggesting than no workers would qualify for entry to the Uk under the new rules.
With an estimated 122,000 vacancies in the sector and the government currently reviewing how social care is funded this will likely add to the problems facing the sector.
Social care leaders say Britain will miss out on ‘desperately needed’ care workers after Brexit, because the Migration Advisory Committee’s (MAC) recommendation to government to lower the salary threshold for non-British workers fails to go far enough.
In a report, the committee has recommended the government reduce by £4,400 the salary threshold for skilled workers taking a job in Britain, after the UK leaves the European Union.
After Brexit, the right under freedom of movement rules for EU nationals to live and work in Britain goes. For people arriving in Britain with a job offer, MAC recommends cutting the general minimum salary requirement from £30,000 to £25,600.
While MAC argues the threshold will stop the undercutting of the labour market, care leaders have voiced their concerns that the workforce shortages in social care will only get worse.
Simon Bottery, senior fellow at The King’s Fund, said: “One in six staff working in adult social care in England have a non-British nationality. These workers are crucial for the viability of social care services which are struggling to cope with approximately 122,000 vacancies at any one time.
“By prioritising higher-paid workers, the Migration Advisory Committee recommendations for a points-based visa system would effectively shut the door to thousands of people who are desperately needed to shore up the social care workforce.
“In doing so, the Committee has batted the social care staffing problem back to government, challenging the government to improve care worker pay and conditions so more home-grown staff are attracted to the roles. However, the immediate reality is that the average hourly pay for care workers is below the rate paid in most supermarkets.”
