UK Disability and Disabled Blog Blog Posts

• Alcoholics - Scientists Find Rogue Gene
  on Oct 22, 2014
  Scientists have discovered the process by which heavy drinkers can become alcoholics.Prolonged boozing can trigger a gene which destroys a protective protein in the brain controlling decision making.In moderate drinkers, the BDNF protein goes up - wh...
• Private NHS Ambulance Bills Double
  on Oct 21, 2014
  An article in the Daily Mirror by Jack Blanchard reports that NHS spending on ambulances has leapt 82% in two years.And Labour said a tenfold increase in London since 2011 was evidence of the sell-off of the health service under coalition reforms.Eme...
• Difficult Decisions on Welfare
  on Oct 20, 2014
  Up to 100,000 people will see their benefits cut to pay for David Camerons plans for three million new apprentices.The PM is to reveal "difficult decisions on welfare" are at the heart of a £1billion back-to-work drive. And he will call on Britain's...
• Guinea Pigs for New Drugs
  on Oct 20, 2014
  Angela Wormald of the Daily Mirror has revealed patients could be treated with untested medicine from early next year after the Government backed a controversial new bill.Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last night supported Lord Saatchi's prop...
• Private Sector Drives Jobs Growth
  on Oct 20, 2014
  Latest employment figures - Office for National Statistics (ONS) - No mention regarding disability.Unemployment fell by 468,000 over the year bringing the unemployment rate to a new six-year low of 6.2 per cent. The employment rate, at 73 per ce...
• 5 Steps to Treating Hearing Loss
  on Oct 15, 2014
  Hearing loss is frightening, debilitating and increasingly widespread. Famous musicians, chefs and many other people all suffer from this problem - it’s important that you learn how to cope with this problem so it doesn’t ruin your life.  1.
• New measures to speed up PIP claims process
  on Oct 14, 2014
  DWP has improved all parts of the Personal Independence Payment (PIP) claims process to make sure that claimants who are entitled to the benefit are paid as quickly as possible.The two PIP assessment providers, Atos Healthcare and Capita Health and W...
• Medics must be 'honest' about errors
  on Oct 13, 2014
  Healthcare regulators have outlined their commitment to a more open and honest way of caring following the Mid Staffs hospital scandal.The joint statement on the "essential" duty of candour calls for health professionals to let patients know if somet...
• Shocking Care of Dementia Patients
  on Oct 13, 2014
  Lianne Kolirin of the Daily Express has reported failings at 90% of homes and hospitals.A damning report today reveals the "staggering" betrayal of dementia sufferers by the NHS.The review shows that nine out of 10 state run homes and hospitals are f...
• £75 A Night NHS Bed - Nick Cleggs Mental Health Vow
  on Oct 8, 2014
  £75 A Night for NHS Bed Patients will face a £75-a-night "hotel cost" charge for hospital beds if the NHS crisis is not solved.Senior bosses warned they will need to "think the unthinkable" if funding fails to keep up with soaring demand.The shock...
• MPs' Anger at DVLA Car Tax Shambles
  on Oct 7, 2014
  The chaos following the scrapping of paper tax discs came under fire from MPs on Monday.The Driver Vehicle and Licensing Agency website was overwhelmed last week and its phone lines jammed when thousands struggled to pay their vehicle excise duty onl...
• Missing Work to Look After Relatives
  on Oct 6, 2014
  One in three employers say staff are increasingly absent from work because they are caring for elderly relatives or young children, a survey has found.Dubbed the"sandwich generation", a large number of people are stuck between ageing parents and look...
• Force Doctors to Work for the NHS
  on Oct 5, 2014
  Exclusive report from Caroline Wheeler -  Political Editor at the Sunday Express.Medical graduates will be forced to work for the NHS or repay the cost of their training under emergency plans being considered by the government to boost the...
• Lib Dem £1bn NHS Pledge
  on Oct 4, 2014
  The Lib Dem's have thrown another party political piece of rhetoric into the melting pot regarding NHS fundingToday they have pledged to pump an extra £1billion into the NHS.Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander has told the party's Glasgow conference...
• GP's working in hospitals 'may reduce A&E burden'
  on Oct 3, 2014
  Another post regarding the NHS I'm afraid - no apologies for this.On a similar vein to what has been muted for some time, the head of the NHS in England has said today hospitals could employ their own GP's to relieve the huge pressure on surgeri...
• Crisis of Old GP's
  on Oct 2, 2014
  I'm afraid it's another worrying post regarding are crumbling NHSThousands of patients could be left without a GP because of a looming shortage.A large number of UK family doctors are nearing retirement.Unless drastic action is taken to replace...
• Ward tablets (iPad etc) are a life saver
  on Sep 29, 2014 in hospitals iPad mobile phones technology
  Interesting report that death rates at two hospitals fell by more than 15% when nurses started using tablets and mobile phones instead of paper to record patients vital signs.Research published 26.09.2014 shows "truly dramatic" results for the electr...
• Antibiotic fail rate hits 15%
  on Sep 29, 2014 in antibiotics GP's health research
  The failure rate of antibiotics is rising as GP's hand out too many of them researchers have recently warned.The drugs were ineffective in treating 15.4% of four common infections in 2012, a study of 11 million prescriptions shows. The failure r...
• Benefit Claims to be capped at £23K
  on Sep 28, 2014 in Benefits cap DWP Iain Duncan Smith
  The Cap on benefits is to be slashed by £3,000 to  £23,000  a year, ministers will announce this week.Thousands more families will see their benefits drop when the new lower limit comes into force. But cash saved will be pumped into provi...
• Compo Lawyers in £352million NHS Hit
  on Sep 23, 2014 in Compensation Lawyers Medical Accidents NHS
  Ambulance chasing lawyers bled the NHS of a record £352million in legal fees last year.Some firms demanded as much as £1,400 per hour, according to official stats.One patient settled for £11,800 while their lawyers demanded £175,000."And the meek...