Muscular dystrophy and related muscle diseases cause muscles to waste and weaken. More than 70,000 babies, children and adults in the UK are affected.
2010 national patient survey on living with muscle disease
Archive for May, 2010
Responses from Carers UK
28 May 2010
Iain Duncan Smith lays out his stall on welfare
27 May 2010Iain Duncan Smith has laid out his stall on welfare reform
And his own beliefs in an interview. We can see that he is determined to tackle the cycle of deprivation on council estates and mildly sick people parked on sick benefits. We have no comment to make on these policies.
CarerWatch are pleased to see that Steve Webb is a LibDem Minister at DWP. The LibDems have always supported CarerWatch in our campaigns on welfare reform.
We look after people with serious and enduring illness (easily identified by serious diagnosis by the NHS) and they are not the target for the IDS
program.
But this group have been caught up in the welfare reforms and are feeling very anxious and need at least one word of government reassurance. The last government absolutly refused to speak out and reassure them and has caused a lot of fear. Mr Cameron has at least said he will look after the most frail and vulnerable – but they do need to hear it said for benefits.
It isn’t fair, humane, wise, or cost effective to put pressure on the seriously and enduringly ill such as people with schizophrenia. For seriously ill people we say YES to carrots and help and NO to sanctions and pressure.
It isn’t going to help IDS with his program if the CAB continue to highlight the tragic cases of very sick people being caught up in this or programmes go out like the one on Scottish TV last night. Just passport the seriously sick to the ‘support’ group – Professor Gregg says all the back to work help is available there free of sanctions and that is where the original design intended them to be.
Will carers’ benefits be mentioned today re: Welfare reform
27 May 2010The government is to lay out its plans for what it calls a “root and branch reform” of Britain’s welfare system.
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith is set to create a welfare to work programme and make benefits more conditional on willingness to work.
Will the Law Commission’s new proposals change the lives of carers?
26 May 2010Blog from Gordon Conochie, Joint Policy and Parliamentary Officer at The Princess Royal Trust for Carers. read in full
The Law Commission are proposing to merge various community care laws enacted since 1948 into one legal statute. But more than just amalgamating existing laws, they are also suggesting new ones.
Grovesmedia- I’m so angry,I wrote to my MP
26 May 2010Carers’ Week 2010 is just around the corner.
So to mark the occasion I have written to Lichfield MP Michael Fabricant asking him to put pressure on the coalition government to stop calling us “unsung heroes” and start listening to what we have to say about the type of practical help and support we require:
Has residential respite care had its day?
26 May 2010The MS Society is about to decide whether to close all its respite care homes and offer more personalised support to its users. The outcome could have repercussions for other disability charities.
ILF Benefits Changes Hit Most Vulnerable People with Disabilities- tell your MP
24 May 2010
We were dismayed to learn of changes to the benefits system, which could hit those who need benefits the most.
The Independent Living Fund was designed to give people with disabilities better lives. Thousands of Scots with disabilities have used ILF to fund new lives in their own homes after decades of living in institutions. But, changes to the criteria mean that new applicants will only be eligible if they work more than 16 hours per week. Of the thousands who currently receive ILF- fewer than 10 would be eligible if they were to apply under the new rules. This is tantamount to scrapping the benefit altogether.
