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Benefits for the Elderly

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The Which? website has a great page outlining the benefits available to the elderly and/or disabled:

Benefits for the elderly

The list includes:

  • Attendance Allowance
  • Benefits for carers
  • Constant Attendance Allowance (CAA)
  • Council tax reduction
  • Council tax and dementia
  • Housing Benefit
  • Pension Credit
  • Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
  • Travel perks: free bus pass, Blue Badge and more
  • TV licence
  • War Widow(er) Pension
  • Winter Fuel Payment
  • Benefits for couples
  • Benefit cap

It also has a link to a Benefits calculator that could be useful.

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service

Thanks to ChatGPT for help creating and editing this article.

elderly care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service

Thanks to ChatGPT for help creating and editing this article.

elderly care
elderly care
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Whiteboard Idea Helping Dementia Sufferers

Dementia whiteboard

Talking to the BBC, Dr Philip Grimmer says he was “struck” by the whiteboard and had not seen anything like it before

Words of reassurance written on a whiteboard by a daughter to her mother have led to a global conversation about dementia.

What is dementia?

Dementia is a syndrome – a group of related symptoms – associated with an ongoing decline of brain function. It can affect memory, thinking skills and other mental abilities.

According to the Alzheimer’s Society there are around 850,000 people in the UK with dementia.

Dr Grimmer says the daughter explained that the board aims to reduce “anxious phone calls” made by her mother to relatives, and has been placed in her eye-line at her home in Chippenham.

Dr Grimmer told the BBC: “I’d not seen anything like it before in thousands of house visits. It’s caring, reassuring and sensible – it’s just such a simple idea.”

Read the full article on the BBC here.

Dr Grimmer is now looking forward to sharing the responses he has received from his tweet to his patient’s daughter.

He said: “Dementia is such a heartbreaking subject for so many people and this simple solution to support often elderly relatives has resonated with so many people around the world.

If you are in the UK and need support regarding dementia there are a variety of options on the NHS website.

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service

Thanks to ChatGPT for help creating and editing this article.

elderly care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service

Thanks to ChatGPT for help creating and editing this article.

elderly care
elderly care
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Analysis Shows 25% Cuts to Elderly Care

Care agency service

Spending on vital care services for the elderly has been cut by a quarter per head since 2010, a BBC analysis shows.

An analysis by the BBC found reported spending on care for the over-65s has fallen by a quarter to £747 per head in England since 2010 once inflation is taken into account.

While facing the same pressures of an ageing population, in comparison, Wales and Scotland have largely protected their budgets.

Councils, which administer the system, have sympathy for the plight of the vulnerable who rely on their services.

The Local Government Association (LGA) became so fed up with waiting for the government that it produced its own Green Paper.

It called for tax rises so town halls could invest more in the system.

“The current situation is unsustainable and is failing people on a daily basis.”

Read more about the analysis here

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service on our website here.

elderly care

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Consumer law advice sets out obligations for care homes

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The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is providing advice so care homes understand their responsibilities under consumer law.

The advice is being published as part of ongoing consumer protection work into residential care homes and nursing homes for older people (over 65s).

It follows the CMA’s examination of the sector last year, which found that some residents are at risk of being treated unfairly and recommended urgent action to reform the sector.

The CMA has also published an open letter to care homes, reminding them of their responsibilities under consumer law and urging them to review the advice immediately. Care homes may need to make changes to their contract terms and business practices as a result.

Read more about the article here

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care are an independent, privately-owned care agency. We look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester.

Read more about our care service on our website here.

elderly care

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Doctors Encouraged to Refer the Lonely to Social Activities

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The long term effects of loneliness have been linked to illnesses including heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease.

Instead of offering medication, doctors will be encouraged to use “social prescribing” to refer lonely patients to activities that could help tackle feelings of isolation.

Theresa May recently launched the first loneliness strategy saying social prescriptions would reduce demand on the NHS and improve patients’ quality of life.

Mrs May plans for the new approach to be in place by 2023.

In addition, extra funding (£1.8m) has been pledged to support community projects, such as community cafes, art spaces or gardens.

Age UK are on record stating that loneliness is a potential public health concern. More than 2 million people over 50 will be lonely by 2025-26, a 49% increase on the 1.36 million who were socially isolated in 2015-16, according to projections by the charity.

Additional announcements to combat loneliness include an employers pledge to tackle loneliness in the workplace. Additionally, postal workers are to be encouraged to check in with lonely people on their delivery rounds.

Read more about the announcements here.

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care is a at-home care company helping to look after the elderly in Cheshire and South Manchester. Read more about our independent care service on our website here.

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‘Care injustice’ Means Limited Access to Good Quality Social Care

care agency in stockport

NHS funding and soaring patient demand in England are fuelling “care injustice” where patients cannot access good quality social care because of where they live, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) has found.

£20bn has already been announced for the NHS, but it is not clear if any of this will help support social care which is creating many of the health services’ woes.

Peter Wyman, chairman of the CQC, said: “It is increasingly clear without a long-term funding settlement for adult social care, the additional funding for the NHS will be spent treating people with complex conditions for whom care in the community would have been more effective both in terms of their health and wellbeing and use of public money.”

Or see the full CQC report here

Read more about the report here.

About Deckchair Care

Deckchair Care is a privately owned independent domiciliary care company. We look after the elderly and disabled between Didsbury and Alderley Edge in South Manchester / Cheshire.

Read more about our care service on our main website https://www.deckchaircare.co.uk

elderly care

 

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Encouraging the Elderly to Exercise

Home much does home care cost

Research shows it’s never too late to adopt and reap the health benefits from a more active lifestyle.

For example, older adults who are active will reduce their risk of heart disease and stroke to a similar level as younger people who are active.

If people have been inactive for a while, they can gradually build their activity to reach recommended levels.

Physical activity and exercise can help you stay healthy, energetic and independent.

Many adults aged 65 and over spend, on average, 10 hours or more each day sitting or lying down. This inactivity comes at a high cost with higher rates of falls, obesity and heart disease.

As we get older, it becomes even more important to remain active if we want to stay healthy and maintain our independence.

There’s strong evidence that people who are active have a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression and dementia.

It is reccommended that people aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate activity every week, for example 30 minutes on at least 5 days a week.

Examples of moderate activity include:

walking fast
playing doubles tennis
pushing a lawn mower
water aerobics
riding a bike on level ground or with few hills

Even if people aren’t very active there are ways to safely increase the heart rate and start benefiting from the health benefits.

The NHS has some great resources to encourage the elderly to exercise, find out more on their website here.

For help looking after the elderly and more about how Deckchair care can help, see our main website https://www.deckchaircare.co.uk