The Supreme Court has dismissed a disabled man’s appeal against the level of funding of his care package.
Lawyers representing the 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said the Cambridgeshire County Council made an “irrational” decision when funding its client’s care.
The offer of about £85,000 a year was “manifestly insufficient” to meet the man’s assessed needs, they claimed.
An independent social worker put the cost of annual support at £157,000.
Lawyers representing man, referred to as KM, who was born without eyes and has a range of serious mental and physical conditions, said the case raised “profound issues” for disabled people dependent on local authority support.
The lawyers claimed Cambridgeshire County Council made an “irrational” decision when funding his care.
But the judges unanimously rejected the challenge.
They said local authority resources were not to be taken into account when establishing the needs of disabled people.
‘Law clarified’
The court also made it clear that when individuals received direct funding for social care it was “crucial” local authorities provide enough detail to decide the correct sum.
Four charities – Sense, National Autistic Society, RNIB and Guide Dogs – sponsored the case.
Their lawyers maintained some councils restricted assessments on the grounds of costs and some did not, which in the past resulted in a postcode lottery for social care.
Yogi Amin, representing the charities, said: “This is potentially the biggest community care ruling in 15 years.
“Although KM’s appeal has not been successful, we are pleased that the Supreme Court has now clarified the law with regard to local authorities taking their resources into account when assessing a disabled person’s needs.
“Each of the national charities who intervened in this case firmly believes that a person’s individual needs are the same regardless of where they live.”
Supreme Court To Rule On Care Package For Man, 26
Judges at the UK’s highest court are due to rule on a care funding battle which lawyers say raises “profound issues” for disabled people dependent on local authority support.
Lawyers representing a 26-year-old disabled man have told the Supreme Court that Cambridgeshire County Council made an “irrational” decision when funding its client’s care.
They say the council’s offer of around £85,000 a year was “manifestly insufficient” to meet the man’s “assessed eligible needs” – and have told judges that an independent social worker put the cost of an annual support package at £157,000.
Charities working with disabled people said judges had been asked to clarify whether local authorities should base funding decisions on patient need or budget limitation.
They say the outcome of the case, which was contested by the county council, could have far-reaching implications for disabled people.
Lawyers representing the man – who cannot be identified for legal reasons – took the fight for more cash to the Supreme Court after losing battles in the High Court and Court of Appeal.
Supreme Court judges heard arguments in London in February and are now scheduled to hand down their ruling.
Tips On Supporting A Loved One With Dementia
This is a guest post by Nisha from the MHA. Thanks to Nisha.
Ways to Support your Loved One with Dementia
A loved one has been diagnosed with dementia from Alzheimer’s Disease or another condition and it has fallen on your shoulders to be their confidant and caregiver. This is not an easy position to be thrust into and can get the better of even the strongest of us. Here’s some ways to support your loved one with dementia and tips on what to do if you cannot care for them all by yourself.
Create a Safe Space
You need to make sure the area where your family member resides is safe both physically and psychologically. Make sure someone can keep an eye on them at all times and try to put photographs or other items that may trigger a positive memory in your loved one. Day-to-day needs like cooking and cleaning should not be left up to your loved one. If you cannot do these things yourself, hire someone to take care of them for you.
Speak Slowly and Have Patience
As the loved one of someone with dementia it can be a trying experience for both of you. You need to learn how to relate your feelings and thoughts in an easier-to-understand manner. This starts with slow, clear speech and simple questions. It is important to remember you are not speaking to a child; rather to someone who has lost part of their mental capacity.
Have a conversation like any other but keep to simple “yes or no” questions when possible and avoid using lots of big words. Identify yourself by name and your relationship to the patient and always address them by name. It’s easier said than done, but never lose your temper when a dementia suffer cannot grasp the simple concepts they once could. It isn’t their fault any more than it’s your fault; they have a condition and they cannot control it. Make sure your interactions are part of the solution, not adding to the problems they face each day.
Revisit Past Successes
When conversing with someone with dementia one of the greatest tools that can be used to improve their quality of life and aid in continued use of the mind is to take a trip back in time to remember past pleasant memories and successes. Dementia often means the affected person will have trouble remembering simple day-to-day things, but helping them use that memory is good for their condition.
Bring up significant events from the patient’s life, like a wedding, a time spent skydiving or other key life event. Get them talking and use the time to bond. Regardless of the current state of a dementia sufferer’s condition, they crave the simple person-to-person interactions that everyone does.
Decide When It’s Time to Seek Help
If you are the primary caregiver for an individual with dementia, a family member for example, there may come a time when you realize you can no longer go it alone. Sadly, dementia always worsens over time and taking care of a sufferer can be a life-consuming activity. There are plenty of care homes in Southampton licensed to provide compassionate and expert care for your loved one. Just because they reside in a live-in facility, still take the time to visit as often as you can. The brain condition can be scary and it is important to constantly remind the sufferer they are cared for and remembered.
Care homes have the medical expertise to spot and treat any other medical conditions you may miss, helping to prolong life and increase the quality of a person’s last days. Good-quality care homes treat the whole person and not just the condition.
This article comes from Nisha representing mha.org.uk – a charity providing care and support
services for older people in Britain, with care homes in Stockport, Southampton, Glasgow, Leeds and many other locations.
Doc Watson Dies At 89
Grammy award-winning folk and bluegrass guitarist Arthel “Doc” Watson has died in North Carolina aged 89.
The American musician died following abdominal surgery, and had been in a critical condition for several days, his manager said.
Watson, who was blinded as a child, was known for his lightning-fast style of flatpicking which influenced guitarists around the world.
He won eight Grammy Awards including a lifetime achievement prize in 2004.
Watson died at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, where he was admitted recently after falling at his home.
“Doc was a legendary performer who blended his traditional Appalachian musical roots with bluegrass, country, gospel and blues to create a unique style and an expansive repertoire,” his management company, Folklore Productions, said.
“He was a powerful singer and a tremendously influential picker who virtually invented the art of playing mountain fiddle tunes on the flattop guitar.”
Blinded by an eye infection before his first birthday, he learned to play the banjo at the age of five before picking up a guitar in his early teens.
He got his musical start in 1953 playing lead guitar in a country-and-western swing band and became a full-time professional musician in the 1960s.
Watson’s mastery of flatpicking helped make the guitar a lead instrument in the 1950s and 1960s, when it was often considered a backup for the mandolin, fiddle or banjo.
For much of his career he toured and recorded with his son, Merle Watson, who died in a tractor accident in 1985. He set up an annual fundraising musical event, Merlefest, in his memory.
The musician played at events across the US from folk festivals to the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York and recorded some 60 albums, with his most popular songs including Tom Dooley, Shady Grove and Rising Sun Blues.
Country and bluegrass singer Ricky Skaggs paid tribute to Watson saying: “An old ancient warrior has gone home.”
“He knew he wouldn’t last forever, he did his best to carry the old mountain sounds to this generation,” he added.
Neil Portnow, the president of the Recording Academy, praised Watson for his “masterful skills as a musician and his beautiful, emotion-filled voice”.
“Watson’s immense talent and spirit will be deeply missed, and our sincerest sympathies go out to his family, friends and all who were inspired by his music.”
To mark it’s 50th anniversary, the Advertising Standards Authority has released a list of the top ten most complained about adverts of all time. I’m pleased to see that Paddy Power’s 2010 advert, which featured a blind footballer kicking a cat into a tree because he mistook it for the ball, has come third in the list. I covered the advert and the complaints it recieved in 2010. I hated it then and I still hate it now.
A press release from the EDF:
Brussels, 30 May 2012 /// The Vodafone Foundation has today launched the Smart Accessibility Awards, 2012. The competition calls for developers across Europe to design smartphone applications which take into consideration the needs of older people and people with disabilities.
The Smart Accessibility Awards are part of the Vodafone Foundation’s ‘Mobile for Good’ programme which supports initiatives around the world which use mobile technology to drive positive social change. This year, the Vodafone Spain Foundation is running the pan-European competition, and will host the final in early December.
The awards are supported and co-organized by AGE Platform Europe, the European network of around 165 organisations of and for people aged 50+, and by the European Disability Forum (EDF), representative of 80 million Europeans with disabilities.
Andrew Dunnett, Director of the Vodafone Foundation, said, ‘Smartphones are transforming how millions of people manage their daily lives, but some groups in society are at risk of missing out on the revolution. The Smart Accessibility Awards is one of many Vodafone Foundation programmes around the world which are tackling the diverse barriers to a fully accessible mobile internet.’
“2012 is the European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations, and the Smart Accessibility Awards are fully in line with its objectives to promote older people’s active participation in society and support independent living in old age”, said Anne-Sophie Parent, Secretary-General of AGE Platform Europe. “We hope the contest will encourage the development of many new applications to facilitate older people’s access to new technologies and inspire further initiatives to foster digital inclusion of all EU citizens, including persons with disabilities and ageing people.”
Rodolfo Cattani, EDF Secretary and EDF ICT Expert Group, said, “In an increasingly digitalised society, more and more essential information and services are available on smartphones. To access them, persons with disabilities require applications designed for all in order to enjoy the right to information, full participation and mobility as any other European citizens. The accessibility of those applications allowing new ways to access websites and internet features is as important as the accessibility of assistive technology devices. Therefore, we call on the European Commission to adopt an ambitious and legally binding European Accessibility Act by 2012.”
Launched today in Brussels, the competition will award the best smartphone application in each of four categories: social participation; independent living; mobility and wellbeing. The competition is open from 30th May 2012 to 15th October 2012.
Qualifying entries will be evaluated in November by a jury consisting of representatives from AGE Platform Europe, European Disability Forum and the Vodafone Foundation. Twelve shortlisted finalists will be invited to present their application to the judges at the final in early December, when the four overall winners will be chosen.
For further information about the Smart Accessibility Awards, and information on how to enter, go to http://developer.vodafone.com/smartaccess2012/ and follow #vsa2012 on Twitter.
Chronic Fatigue: ‘It’s Like Being Switched Off’
Chronic fatigue dominates the lives of people with multiple sclerosis – and other long-term conditions. Here Alison Potts, who has had MS for 20 years, tells how it affects her life.
Earlier this month MS in Focus magazine published the results of a global survey on MS fatigue.
“My family and friends just think I’m tired and lazy,” one person said – and another: “Fatigue prevents me from being the wife and mother I want to be.”
Chronic fatigue is the most common symptom of MS, the hardest to treat and the most misunderstood.
In the MS Focus poll, 89% of the 100,000 people from 101 countries who were surveyed said fatigue had a high impact on their life.
But more than half felt those around them do not accept its effects.
Unless you have endured it yourself, there isn’t anyone who can imagine what this experience is like, yet for we who live our lives with this illness, other peoples’ understanding is crucial and other peoples’ misunderstandings add further damage to an already devastating condition.
‘Bewildering’
I have lived with MS fatigue for more than 20 years.
I sometimes feel like I have spent half my adult life in a cave.
I woke up one morning with the equivalent of a blanket on my head which I stumbled around with for years and which was finally explained with my diagnosis of MS.
Even I didn’t understand why I found the simplest activities so hard. Even I questioned my own sanity. So it’s hardly surprising that it’s so bewildering for those looking on.
Part of the problem is that people equate fatigue with ordinary tiredness – which it is nothing like.
Even the word “fatigue” really just doesn’t cut it.
It sounds rather soft or quaint, like something that could be fixed with a good lie down or a nice cup of tea.
We are easily misunderstood because we look fine and we are often perfectionists by nature so we can get a lot done in spite of what we are dealing with.
‘Can you drop everything?’
In fact, chronic fatigue (in MS and other illnesses) is nothing like every day tiredness.
Fatigue is a debilitating state of physical and mental exhaustion that comes crashing down suddenly and without warning attacking – among other things – eyesight, balance, muscular strength, and threatening everything in one’s immediate focus.
“I am lifeless. At times it is like someone has switched me off,” says someone in the survey.
In an acute episode I have to cancel many or most activities. I have to do as little as possible – which goes against my nature and I hate it – but I don’t have any choice.
Conversely when an episode is over, I am in danger of bouncing around like tigger, playing catch-up and trying to get anything and every done while I feel well enough.
Fatigue doesn’t announce itself in advance. It can happen at any time, anywhere.
It can bring anxiety – “What will happen if I don’t get this done?”, and panic, even terror – “Will I get home in time before the complete collapse? Am I safe to drive? What if I am not?”
It brings with it this terrifying conundrum. Can you drop everything at once, not knowing for how long?
What will happen to your life if you drop everything at once? What will happen to your life if you don’t?
We often feel under pressure to do things we know will be bad for us.
Saying ‘no’
My friend and fellow chronic fatigue sufferer Sarah reports one experience where she felt under pressure to comply with others’ plans when she felt unable to.
“For my birthday in 2005 friends insisted meeting me for a BBQ. I resisted as I knew I had been overdoing it. They would not take no for an answer.”
It had such an effect on her that she says: “It took me three months to recover from that event. It was like falling sick all over again.”
And she adds: “It’s unhelpful of friends or family to beg me to come or to modify the nature of my attendance, or worse still, be hurt. Don’t they realise it breaks my heart to cancel?
“It’s not like I wanted to spend my entire 30s missing out on shared, fun times. Don’t make it any harder than it is. This is simply what I have to do.”
These days everyone is too busy, overloaded, driven by tyrannical deadlines.
“I know there are probably people who look at me and think, how is my life any different from theirs?
“But In my case I have to do all this while accommodating an illness which presses the stop button indiscriminately.
Those of us with chronic fatigue have to say “no” a lot.
As the survey states: “People with fatigue need time to rest, but most of all they need understanding from others.”
