Latest News from Everycare
People with dementia are being given the opportunity to lead and manage research into the disease, with the help of £700,000 from the National Lottery.
The ground-breaking new project Dementia Enquirers will give people with dementia the chance to undertake their own research into the condition, rather than just being participants. The project will work with DEEP, a UK-wide network of more than a hundred community groups and Innovations in Dementia. They will be able to identify research priorities and plan and carry out their own research.
It envisages using university researchers as advisors or with specified roles within the projects. People involved in DEEP will be supported and trained to capture and share their findings in a creative way such as through film, music, poetry and photography.
Rachael Litherland, director of Innovations in Dementia, said: “We are so proud to have been awarded this National Lottery grant, and excited to be undertaking such ground-breaking work. We are confident that the project can influence the prevailing approaches in research – while bringing new respect for the skills, expertise and resilience of those who are living with dementia.”
Joe Ferns, UK funding director at the Big Lottery Fund, said: “We’re delighted to be funding this project, which puts people with experience of living with dementia at the heart of research into the condition. Thanks to National Lottery players, this important issue is being tackled in a way which helps people to feel more in control of their lives.”
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Almost a fifth of people have no idea where to find information about care – prompting a charity to call the social care system “bewilderingly difficult for older people and their families to navigate”.
The comment from a director at the older people’s charity Independent Age, follows findings from a Which? poll which revealed 19 per cent of people said they did not know where to get information about care.
George McNamara, director of policy and influencing at Independent Age added: “We regularly hear from people who tell us they don’t understand whether care is free, what they are being asked to pay for from care providers or how to choose good care services.”
The poll of 2,104 people also revealed only a third (34 per cent) of people aged 55+ have discussed their care preferences with a friend or relative.
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One of the UK’s bravest centenarians is hoping to break the world record to become the oldest tandem skydiver.
On 2 August, Sydney Crossland celebrated his 100th birthday by jumping 15,000ft and free-falling for 60 seconds at a speed of 125mph.
The former game ranger and engineer, who previously worked in Zambia, has now set his sights on beating the world record, currently held by 101-year-old Verdun Hayes.
Describing his first skydive, Mr Crossland from Emsworth, Hampshire, said: “It’s better than staying at home playing Scrabble. The view was fantastic – you could see Stonehenge. It makes a change from a mobility scooter – they don’t usually require a parachute.”
According to Henk Post, one of GoSkydive’s most experienced instructors, Mr Crossland “didn’t seem nervous” and was “a natural”.
More women will leave their jobs to care for elderly and sick relatives if social care employers can no longer recruit workers from the EU, the Department of Health has said – prompting Labour MP Jess Phillips to brand the prediction as “sexist” but true.
‘Greater numbers’ of women will take up informal care
If EU migrants are barred from coming to the UK post-Brexit, Ministers have said there will be a shortfall of 28,000 care staff within five years and women will most likely stop work to step in to support loved ones.
The Department of Health has warned: ‘If we fail to meet social care needs adequately we are likely to see a decrease in labour market participation levels, especially among women, as greater numbers undertake informal care.’
It also stated: ‘If social care employers were no longer able to recruit EEA [European Economic Area] direct care staff, after five years there could be some 28,000 fewer workers in the sector.’
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