Latest News from Everycare
Live in carers for the elderly, although still only catering for a tiny proportion of the older population are now becoming an increasingly mainstream choice.
But the choice between finding a care home for relatives unable to manage on their own and leaving them to struggle on in their home could become a thing of the past amid surging demand for live-in “companion carers”.
Once a virtually unheard-of option, a small network of companies providing full-time live-in carers, say they are experiencing a rise in demand in the wake of waves of scandals about standards in care homes and traditional homecare agencies as well as headlines over soaring fees. According to the Live-in Care Hub, a network of 14 small and medium sized companies offering live-in care set up two years ago to promote the sector at present only around 10,000 families currently make use of it although all have reported growing interest. By comparison, around 290,000 older people in England and Wales live in care homes, according to the last census.
To read more about why live in carers are becoming more sought after – click here.
As the government struggles with the social care budget the true scale of the problem is highlighted by the Local Government Association.
As part of their review of possible alternative ways to pay for the care of our ageing population a recent review indicated that ‘The numbers of elderly people going without care, paying for it themselves or relying on family and friends currently outstrip those getting council help by four to one.’
For further details of the governments funding plans click on the link
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38319342
Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in England and Wales, latest figures reveal.
Last year, more than 61,000 people died of dementia – 11.6% of all recorded deaths.
The Office for National Statistics says the change is largely due to an ageing population.
People are living for longer and deaths from some other causes, including heart disease, have gone down.
Also, doctors have got better at diagnosing dementia and the condition is now given more weight on death certificates.
For decades, numerous attempts to find a drug that might slow the progress of the disease have failed. Without an effective drug treatment, doctors and scientists have pragmatically focused on treating people’s symptoms.
Recently, a new trial drug, aducanumab, has emerged that offers strong hope, particularly for those with mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.
Early trials show the drug works by reducing the build-up of amyloid, another protein implicated in the disease, which clumps together in plaques years before the tau forms tangles.
For more information on this story visit the BBC Website
Nine out of 10 councils in the UK are failing to pay realistic prices to support older and disabled people in their own homes, the industry says.
The UK Home Care Association calculated the minimum price councils should be paying was £16.70 per hour, but the average was over £2 less.
Councils said they had been left with little choice given the squeeze on their finances by the government.
But the UKHCA said the situation was threatening the future of the market.
It warned agencies were struggling to recruit staff and maintain quality, noting growing numbers of organisations were handing back contracts to councils. For more information on this story visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-37756433
