So we now have in Wiltshire a single web site for carer support , this to me is a fundamental step forward to the concept of a single carers support organisation for the county .
The logic is very very simple the number of carers in Wiltshire does not justify in these harsh economic times the added cost of the Tax payer funding indirectly four separate organisations infrastructures in the county , the money just is not in the pot .
Carers In Wiltshire :: Home
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
Saturday, July 10, 2010
CONDEMS-NHS
So Mr Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, raises the spectre of job losses in the NHS as he pledges to cut £1bn a pa in "central bureaucracy".
Rising demand for health services, means that major savings must be found in the NHS's "ring-fenced" budget.
In reality tens of thousands of jobs could go.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the NHS as we know it ?
Rising demand for health services, means that major savings must be found in the NHS's "ring-fenced" budget.
In reality tens of thousands of jobs could go.
Are we seeing the beginning of the end of the NHS as we know it ?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Mental illness will rise as millions struggle with debt
Depression and mental illness will increase as millions struggle to cope with debts and money problems during the economic downturn, according to a study.
People who owe money are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, the study from the Nottingham School of Economics found.
Researchers examined information from the Families and Children Survey, which questions about 8,000 people a year on issues including their financial situation and health.
In 2007 13% of respondents who reported debt problems and 17% of those reporting financial stress also reported mental health and psychological concerns.
At the same time less than 3% of those who did not report debt or financial stress said they were suffering from psychological problems.
With the new governments tight fiscal controls the personal debt problem will only increase in the short term so we have a ticking time bomb
People who owe money are more likely to suffer from psychological problems, the study from the Nottingham School of Economics found.
Researchers examined information from the Families and Children Survey, which questions about 8,000 people a year on issues including their financial situation and health.
In 2007 13% of respondents who reported debt problems and 17% of those reporting financial stress also reported mental health and psychological concerns.
At the same time less than 3% of those who did not report debt or financial stress said they were suffering from psychological problems.
With the new governments tight fiscal controls the personal debt problem will only increase in the short term so we have a ticking time bomb
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Mental illness research warning
The following article comes from the BBC news web page it is very thought provoking and well worth a read
Mental illness research warning
VIEWPOINT
Professor Til Wykes
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Poor mental health affects 16.7 million people in the UK today.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, clinical psychologist Professor Til Wykes says strategies for funding research into mental health need to be overhauled.
Patients and their families deserve better, she says.
When it comes to thinking about mental health, I'd like to believe we've come a long way from the Victorian stereotypes of hysterical women and crazed madmen languishing in Bedlam.
But while physical diseases like cancer are managing to throw off the stigma they carried in previous centuries, mental illnesses are still too often ignored or misunderstood.
Not only does this lead to prejudice and discrimination, it also seems to make it harder to find funding for research into the causes of, and treatments for, mental ill health.
Improving care and treatment for people with mental health problems requires the same rigorous research as demanded for tackling physical illness.
However, despite the huge burden that poor mental health represents to society - from the disabling effects on individuals and their families, to the financial costs of dealing with mental illness - mental health research is incredibly underfunded.
“ In these austere times, it is worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year ”
Only 5% of medical research in the UK is into mental health, despite 15% of disability resulting from disease being due to mental illness.
It's estimated that one in four of us - 15 million people of all ages in the UK - will experience a mental health problem this year.
That's substantially more people than will have a heart attack or a stroke, and yet twice as much research goes into heart disease and stroke than is carried out in mental health.
It's more people than will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and yet cancer gets more than 25% of medical research funding - five times as much as mental health.
In these austere times, it is also worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year.
If we had a better understanding of mental health and better treatments for specific conditions, it would go a significant way to easing the nation's financial situation, as well as our states of mind.
Last week, one of the major research funders, the Medical Research Council, published one of the most up to date reviews of the strengths and challenges of mental health research in the UK.
It not only showed that the research that does get funded is world-class but that the UK is well-placed to lead the way in this area.
The review concludes that there are several opportunities to fund more research in the UK that would help accelerate progress in developing new treatments, or lead to better ways of preventing mental illness in the first place.
It means we have to set priorities. We have to direct the funding that is available into the research most likely to help.
But (and there always is a but) it sets the bar high in terms of funding decisions over the next few years and challenges the UK to really pull its weight in this much needed research arena.
Mental health problems frequently start in childhood and persist throughout the rest of a person's life. Finding better ways to treat - or preferably prevent - poor mental health as early as possible will bring enormous benefits to individuals, their families and society as a whole.
We simply can't afford to ignore this problem any longer.
Provocative thoughts from experts in the worlds of health and medicine
Mental illness research warning
VIEWPOINT
Professor Til Wykes
Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London
Poor mental health affects 16.7 million people in the UK today.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, clinical psychologist Professor Til Wykes says strategies for funding research into mental health need to be overhauled.
Patients and their families deserve better, she says.
When it comes to thinking about mental health, I'd like to believe we've come a long way from the Victorian stereotypes of hysterical women and crazed madmen languishing in Bedlam.
But while physical diseases like cancer are managing to throw off the stigma they carried in previous centuries, mental illnesses are still too often ignored or misunderstood.
Not only does this lead to prejudice and discrimination, it also seems to make it harder to find funding for research into the causes of, and treatments for, mental ill health.
Improving care and treatment for people with mental health problems requires the same rigorous research as demanded for tackling physical illness.
However, despite the huge burden that poor mental health represents to society - from the disabling effects on individuals and their families, to the financial costs of dealing with mental illness - mental health research is incredibly underfunded.
“ In these austere times, it is worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year ”
Only 5% of medical research in the UK is into mental health, despite 15% of disability resulting from disease being due to mental illness.
It's estimated that one in four of us - 15 million people of all ages in the UK - will experience a mental health problem this year.
That's substantially more people than will have a heart attack or a stroke, and yet twice as much research goes into heart disease and stroke than is carried out in mental health.
It's more people than will be diagnosed with cancer this year, and yet cancer gets more than 25% of medical research funding - five times as much as mental health.
In these austere times, it is also worth bearing in mind that in England alone mental health issues cost us £77bn a year.
If we had a better understanding of mental health and better treatments for specific conditions, it would go a significant way to easing the nation's financial situation, as well as our states of mind.
Last week, one of the major research funders, the Medical Research Council, published one of the most up to date reviews of the strengths and challenges of mental health research in the UK.
It not only showed that the research that does get funded is world-class but that the UK is well-placed to lead the way in this area.
The review concludes that there are several opportunities to fund more research in the UK that would help accelerate progress in developing new treatments, or lead to better ways of preventing mental illness in the first place.
It means we have to set priorities. We have to direct the funding that is available into the research most likely to help.
But (and there always is a but) it sets the bar high in terms of funding decisions over the next few years and challenges the UK to really pull its weight in this much needed research arena.
Mental health problems frequently start in childhood and persist throughout the rest of a person's life. Finding better ways to treat - or preferably prevent - poor mental health as early as possible will bring enormous benefits to individuals, their families and society as a whole.
We simply can't afford to ignore this problem any longer.
Provocative thoughts from experts in the worlds of health and medicine
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Charity funding cuts
THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS TAKEN FROM THE WILTSHIRE TIMES
A leading voluntary sector worker fears Wiltshire Council is preparing to make big cuts that could affect many west Wiltshire organisations.
Veronica McAndry, director of the Bridge House Community Trust, in Stallard Street, Trowbridge, which provides assistance to the voluntary sector, says funding could be at risk after Wiltshire Council changed the way it awards grants.
Bridge House has already lost all of its public funding and is now relying on its own assets and fundraising efforts to stay afloat.
Mrs McAndry said: “I suspect that they will be cutting to the bone and I think they will find it difficult to do anything other than what they really have to do as a statutory requirement.
“We lost all of our public funding in April because of the changes they have been making, but we will continue to try and provide a service here in west Wiltshire. We have gone from having 11 people working here to just me and one other person. I just don’t know how they are going to deliver services here by bypassing us.”
There will now be a single process for grant applications, after councillors approved the changes at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
The council had been relying on five existing processes, a legacy of the former district councils.
A report outlining the changes encourages organisations to consider their priorities for the future, suggesting that cuts to non-essential projects could be made.
The council said that future funding decisions will have to be made “within budget availability”. The amount the council will fund the voluntary sector is to be decided upon in the current financial year.
A decision may be made once the national coalition government reveals its Emergency Budget on June 22.
Council leader Jane Scott said: “These changes are going to make it clear to the voluntary sector how we can fund and support them.
“It is not talking about taking money away from them but about how we will do business with them in the future. For the last two years we have kept up our level of funding.” The government has this week announced £6.2bn in savings in a bid to tackle the £156bn national deficit.
Of this, £1.165bn will come from the cutting of grants to local authorities.
Brian Deeley, chief executive of Age UK Wiltshire, added: “Any potential cuts in funding of the help Age UK Wiltshire offers to older people is obviously worrying.
“However our priority will be to continue to provide and develop services in response to the needs of people in the county within the resources available to us.”
A leading voluntary sector worker fears Wiltshire Council is preparing to make big cuts that could affect many west Wiltshire organisations.
Veronica McAndry, director of the Bridge House Community Trust, in Stallard Street, Trowbridge, which provides assistance to the voluntary sector, says funding could be at risk after Wiltshire Council changed the way it awards grants.
Bridge House has already lost all of its public funding and is now relying on its own assets and fundraising efforts to stay afloat.
Mrs McAndry said: “I suspect that they will be cutting to the bone and I think they will find it difficult to do anything other than what they really have to do as a statutory requirement.
“We lost all of our public funding in April because of the changes they have been making, but we will continue to try and provide a service here in west Wiltshire. We have gone from having 11 people working here to just me and one other person. I just don’t know how they are going to deliver services here by bypassing us.”
There will now be a single process for grant applications, after councillors approved the changes at a cabinet meeting on Monday.
The council had been relying on five existing processes, a legacy of the former district councils.
A report outlining the changes encourages organisations to consider their priorities for the future, suggesting that cuts to non-essential projects could be made.
The council said that future funding decisions will have to be made “within budget availability”. The amount the council will fund the voluntary sector is to be decided upon in the current financial year.
A decision may be made once the national coalition government reveals its Emergency Budget on June 22.
Council leader Jane Scott said: “These changes are going to make it clear to the voluntary sector how we can fund and support them.
“It is not talking about taking money away from them but about how we will do business with them in the future. For the last two years we have kept up our level of funding.” The government has this week announced £6.2bn in savings in a bid to tackle the £156bn national deficit.
Of this, £1.165bn will come from the cutting of grants to local authorities.
Brian Deeley, chief executive of Age UK Wiltshire, added: “Any potential cuts in funding of the help Age UK Wiltshire offers to older people is obviously worrying.
“However our priority will be to continue to provide and develop services in response to the needs of people in the county within the resources available to us.”
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