Financing

Caring with Confidence fund to be transferred to training and support projects. [Journal abstract]

The government once called carers unsung heroes and promised to legislate to improve their lives. Reports on how many of the measures it has taken have been welcomed but extra cash to ease the acute financial difficulties many endure is still in short supply.

Up to £6 million will be made available over the next four years to help GPs identify carers earlier, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow announced in November.

Speaking at the Carers UK Summit, Mr Burstow outlined a series of measures to further support carers as he launched ‘Recognised, valued and supported: Next Steps for the Carers Strategy.’

In early 1999 the government announced money was to be spent on giving carers respite breaks. Reports on how the money, despite coming through to local authorities, has not reached the carers themselves.

Norman Lamb, Minister of State for Care and Support, writes about the contribution of carers and new funding for projects to support carers. [DH website abstract].

The increasing focus on the involvement of people who use health and social care services and their carers in developing services and in social work education has the potential to bring significant change. This book examines the challenges in enabling people who are `experts by experience' to participate in an agenda which is largely dominated by 'top-down' managerial practices. Several themes run through the book.

The economic and social burden of dementia on society is the value of all the resources used to prevent, diagnose, treat, and generally cope with the illness. This article assess the overall resource implications of dementia in Ireland. Six main areas are covered in the cost analysis as follows: mortality and life years lost, in-patient acute care, in-patient psychiatric care, residential long-stay care, family care, and primary and social care in the community.