Emma Raducanu Was Not The Only Brit To Win The US Open | Same Difference

In the media they decide who and what they are willing to publish and we can get a disjointed or a not true reflection on what is happening.

So I applaud you for bringing us to the attention of the great result by Gordon Reid and Alfie Hewett who became the first all-British pairing to complete the Grand Slam, with victory in the men’s wheelchair doubles final at the US Open, this was so as important as the success of Emma Raducanu.

While I offer my congratulations to Emma I also offer them to Gordon and Alfie also.

Source: Emma Raducanu Was Not The Only Brit To Win The US Open | Same Difference

People with learning disabilities ‘failed again’ as CQC closes unit over abuse | Nursing Times

Yet again persons with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism are being let down by the system, a system that due to many years of underfunding is far from ‘fit for purpose’. But underfunding should not be used as an excuse for cruelty and abuse, for this is purely down to management and the standard of carers employed.

However, as the article states if Social Care was sufficiently funded persons could live in their own communities and not be locked away in these , so called, hospitals, for that is a disgrace for they are not hospitals, but more like . But, it is also wrong to say prisons, for prisons would not be allowed to cause suffering in these ways.

What needs to occur is for this Government make good their promises and promises of many previous Governments to once and for all put Social Care on a very secure financial footing. For it is my belief that Social Care has never been sufficiently funded, but 10 years of austerity cuts and then going on 2 years of COVID have caused many more problems for social care, when one would have expected it could not get worse. But much worse is has become, due to many years of Government inactivity with regards to social care.

Unfortunately social care does not receive a good press, for many in the population feel that spending on social care is a waste of money, just because they fail to see the need for social care. This is compounded by government actions in many areas, including the benefits system and how the majority of the media view social care and the persons in need of social care. That is, until a scandal is uncovered, but it is the lead to the scandal which is also of concern. So decrying social care at every opportunity leads to the scandals in the first place.

A ‘White Paper’ on Social care has been promised by many UK governments, but to date not one has delivered. Even when a White Paper is published it may not be the solution, for it will be coming from a Government which has shown many times it cares nothing for social care and the persons who are in need of receiving social care.

So the attitudes of many within the UK, or just England have to improve. For until they do the Human Rights of Persons with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism will not be adhered to.

 

Source: People with learning disabilities ‘failed again’ as CQC closes unit over abuse | Nursing Times

People with learning disabilities in England ‘have eight times Covid death rate’ | Learning disability | The Guardian

Yes, it is true that persons with disabilities due have a greater degree of dying than someone without a disability and that this is generally 20 times more as been proved by research from Bristol University on the LeDeR Programme, which has been in force since 2016.

Then COVID is showing there is also a 8 times greater degree, but although the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) new about the 20 times, through the research of the LeDeR programme which reports to DHSC, they did not immediately include adults with disabilities as a priority on the Vaccine programme and when they did it was only for persons with Downs Syndrome.

Is this proof that this Government does not view persons with disabilities as of any importance, but to just ignore them, as though by ignoring them they will go away. One would hope not, but the vaccine programme is only one instance others being, include the Benefits System, the inaction on Social Care and many others.

But, the media has also some blame on this for they usually only depict disabled people with negativity and the general view of the UK population is also similar, with many viewing disabled people as ‘scroungers’, of which they are not. They just need a little more to be treated equally and then they only live a ‘reasonable’, whatever, that may be.

 

Source: People with learning disabilities in England ‘have eight times Covid death rate’ | Learning disability | The Guardian

Disabled councillors blocked from accessibility vote — because they are disabled

Yet again People who are disabled are discriminated against and this should never be so, especially after years of legislation, being the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005 and then Equality Act 2010.

But, unfortunately these acts did not go far enough, for there ways to get round the acts requirements, sometimes due to finance to make the required adjustments or alterations, which should never have been allowed.

But here it is not finance, but pure discrimination, by either not understanding the legislation or not willing to do.

In many instances there could always be some reasons to mention there is a ‘conflict of interest’ but never done so because the possible reason is not known, but here it was disability, which was there to be seen. But just because someone is disabled it should never be used as a reason to discriminate whether there be legislation or not.

Then to mention that they were being  allowed to vote on this occasion only, went to make the action even more despicable.

Here, we have persons with experience, which should be viewed as being advantageous to the debate, rather than being treated as a conflict of interest. It looks as though York City Council have a lot to learn, especially on areas of disability and maybe many other areas. Or did the person or persons who mentioned the alleged conflict of interest have their own conflicts of interest.

Disability legislation needs to be altered, Urgently, to make it all consuming and leave no areas where there omissions or areas of doubt can be found.

Only then will people with disabilities be treated equally.

Source: Disabled councillors blocked from accessibility vote — because they are disabled

People with learning disabilities had higher death rate from COVID-19 – GOV.UK

What the LeDeR information may not be reporting is that some of the persons with Learning Disabilities who have died from COVID could well not be able to have the vaccines as they could be averse to needles and due to their Learning Disabilities will not be able to understand the importance of overcoming their aversion so they could have the vaccines.

Thereby, due to this aversion they could well be still shielding and may not understand why they are not going out as they used to, this is the case with my own daughter, who under the ‘Best Interest’ is not going out, so she is protected more from catching COVID. Thus behaviour issues may be more prevalent, which have to be managed by their carers or family members. In their own interests their freedom of movement is being affected.

There is special Needle Aversion therapy available for persons with Learning Disabilities, but there is a very long waiting list to be assessed and then their ability to understand, will also be a factor in whether the therapy will be affective.

Even more problems that persons with learning disabilities have to contend with, but is the Government listening, I very much doubt they are, for they have not appeared to have been in the past. I take this view due to Government actions or is is much more, their in actions with regards to persons with Learning Disabilities, their apparent lack of concern to the crisis  within Social Care, which this Government are still to deal with, just as many previous Governments have failed to do.

Social Care is a forgotten health service, be it by design or not, the very urgent crisis is still not being dealt with, as though people with learning disabilities are not seen as a body of people in the UK.

It is not just the lack of dealing with the ‘Social Care Crisis, , but their whole concept of disability, the impressions they create for the general population around disabilities, the way the benefit system is managed, the lack of concern to ensure that the the UK is truly fully integrated in the terms of ‘Equality’. as there are still too many areas within the UK where equality is nowhere equal. Such as, access to buildings and transport, the benefits system, attitudes of Government departments, comments made by politicians, MPs and Ministers, even the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, MP and other senior Ministers.

Yes, much as been done with legislation, but there is still a long way to go to make the UK a fully equal nation.

 

 

 

Source: People with learning disabilities had higher death rate from COVID-19 – GOV.UK

Guardian Interview With Jo Whiley

There so much wrong with the system, not just the vaccine programme, that I fear is there anything right.

Since 2016 the LeDeR programme as been inforce through Bristol University where all deaths of persons with Learning Disabilities should be reported to and they in there research provide much needed research information on the early deaths of persons with Learning Disability.

This information is reporterd to NHS England so the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, MP should be fully aware of all the apsects of early deaths of persons with Learning Disabilities.

But he ignored all this research evidence when creating the priority lists for the Vaccine Programme and even the assessments for shielding throughout the COVID pandemic.

They have all the evidence, so the only conclusion is the Hancock and the rest of this excuse for a Government purposely ignoring the evidence because they feel people with Learning Disabilities have no equal right to live as others in .

This is abuse, total abuse and the whole Government should be charged with neglect of persons with learning Disabilities, as this is a major safeguarding concern.

This Government have totally disregarded their Duty of Care for all persons with Learning Disabilities, be they Children or adults.

Unfortunately they are not aloner on this for all previous Governments have also been as guilty be they Conservative, Labour, or Coalitions, not one person in any of these Governments have shown any degrees of concern,for a large part of the English population.

It is as though persons with Learning Disabilities are ‘out of sight and out of mind’ can this and previous Governments be seen as the ‘3 Wise Monkeys’.

The general public are also a matter of concern for they also treat persons with Learning Disabilities very similar to the Government as do certain elements of the media.

Social Care is not on anyones radar when it should be the Top Priority.

For as many years as I can remember there has been the promise of a ‘SWhite Paper on Social Care’ which by now has gone completely grey and is now reduced to dust, as is the passage of time.

Funding is and always has been a major concern, or the lack of it has been, and the 10 years of austerity cuts have on ly made it a much more serious concern. With austerity cuts the Government was wanting savings to be mad, but with Social Care there where no opportunities to cuts for these was no slack only a great deal of need, many of which was and is being unmet and the unmet is forever increasing. This then affects the incidences of further and more complexities in the need for health care, so increasing healtyh costs. If there had been proactivity instead of reactivity and in some onstances even no activity, these further draining costs being imposed on health would not have taken placer as the needs would have been met and not lead to health issues because they were unmet.

But this requires forward thinking, commitment and a genuine wish to care, none of which any Government has done for I can see.

Only when deaths occur is action taken by inituation reviews, but are the lessons ever learned from these reviews, well the simple answer is no not ever, for I feel there is a complete unwillingness to do by by all the appropriate authorities.

This is a complete disgrace in any Society and all concerned should be ashamed of themselves, but more than ashamed there should all be prosecuted for their complete lack of Duty of Care.

By supporting the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care,https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care, would be a start.

Same Difference

The Guardian have interviewed Jo Whiley on her campaign to change the vaccine priority list and her work as a DJ and presenter.

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Fix care for all – Public say social care should a top priority | Care Industry News

Social Care should have been a top priority for many years, but it has not been for neither the Government or the public appreciate how important social care is. Perthaps social care is more important than health, for without social care health would be off the scale. For it is having social care, even though in many instances it is lacking in both quality ans quantity, than saves health for being required even more.

So a fully funded social care would have a tremendous affect on health and the costs of health would be substancially reduced, so the required increase in social care spending, will evenbtually reduce the costs related to health care.

This is why I support the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

If you, also supported the petition then you would not only being helping those in need of social care and their families, but also helping to reduce the costs of health care. This is a long-term view but is really required, for if not the costs of health care will continue to increase, as will the suffering of people in need of social care.

You or your family may not need social care currently, but your time will come, so look to your future and do now what will help you when you need it.

Currerntly social care needs you, so please sign the petition, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

Then it will be there when you eventually require it.

 

Source: Fix care for all – Public say social care should a top priority | Care Industry News Fix care for all – Public say social care should a top priority

How the UK’s four social care systems measure up against each other | Community Care

Even though the article is short in volume on a very important topic, it is very depressing reading.

Social care is extremely important for those who are reliant on it, so a fuller article is required. It is my bet that none of the 4 areas are doing as much as is actually required on the exact need for social care. So while it is good to see what each area is doing, what is more important is full research on what is really required.

I have been saying for many years that this is what should have been happening for without that information, no one will be aware of what the unmet needs are. But I know from my own experience with my own family that some social workers come to the assessment and state very early on that there will not be sufficient funding for all care needs, so in many instances they do not record what they feel will not be met. While this gives the respective recipient of care a more accurate idea of what they may receive, it is not the correct methodology.

We all know that social care is seriously underfunded, much more so than health, and so far as I am aware it has always been underfunded. But with 10 years of austerity cuts and then, so far, a year and a half of increased costs due to COVID, this has resulted in a vast seriously fall in funding from one that was very seriously underfunded to start with.

No one really wishes to rely on social care to live a reasonable life, but circumstances do mean that many have to.

It should not be a fight to receive social care, but it is and many families do provide care for much longer than they should because they do not wish their relatives to go without care, but a time comes to us all when it is inevitable.

The systems need to be seriously looked at and with great urgency, but from what I see that is not occurring.

In 2015 the Cameron Government was reported to be ready to produce such a provision, but for some reason decided to defer to April 2020, but then there was COVID, but would this Government even done something then.

For they had the opportunity to include provision in the Queen’s speech a few days ago, but did not except for a few words. Is anyone really understanding the urgency to sort out the crisis in Social Care.

I fear not, so persons in need of Social Care will continue to suffer from inadequate social care provision.

I support the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, will you do also?

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

However, under-funding is but one area of the crisis in social care, as there is also a major insufficiency of persons wishing to enter the care profession, the under-funding could be a reason for the pay rates are abysmal, but also are the working conditions.

Hopefully everything will be sorted soon, for hope is all I have and people in need of care have.

 

: How the UK’s four social care systems measure up against each other | Community Care

Mother Asks Victoria Derbyshire: Will I Ever See My Disabled Son Again?

A good question, but who knows the answer is another.

As to why adults are not being treated with more priority is yet another,good question, for does this stem from this Government’s inability to understand disability in its entirety, let alone the specific relationship to learning disability and also autism.

For this Government and many previous Governments have decided to ignore matters relating to disability for a large extent and at times, even bring forward measures to reduce the quality of life for disabled people further than it is currently, which is far from ideal. As the quality needs to be urgently improved not reduced.

As to learning disability, which covers a vast range of conditions, as does each specific conditions, let alone a persons having one or more conditions.

Then the relation to children, which have been, virtually, totally, ignored in connection with COVID. Even more so, there is no vaccine for any children, let alone children with Learning Disabilities and/or autism.

Is this ignorance on behalf of the Government, which would be bad enough, or is it of no concern to them.

In virtually any reference to vulnerable persons, it appears to be only reference to elderly persons and while they are extremely vulnerable they are far from the only vulnerable persons who need to be considered.

In some respects adults with Downs Syndrome are receiving some consideration, but not enough, for they have been included in the vaccine priority groups, but not any others with learning disabilities and/or autism, except in relation to their age.

But it is not only the Government what is appearing to ignore persons, children and adults, with learning disabilities and/or autism, but the general media and certainly a fair proportion of the UK population. That is except, following the Government condemnation of persons with disabilities.

For when persons with disabilities are mentioned it is generally as a form of scorn, criticism and general abuse from many of the public, following the Government line.

This is also how Social Care is viewed by a fair proportion of the UK population, perhaps, because that, currently, they feel they have no use for it while they do or can see why health is important.

But in reality Social Care is just as important as health care and in some respects even more so. For a lack of social care will, eventually have a serious impact on health care resources.

I have said, many times that finance of social care is of prime importance, so support for the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care is vital, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care

So coming back to ‘Will I Ever See My Disabled Son Again?’, well in the short-term I fear the answer will be no. However, I do hope, and the Government will need to change their actions, that soon this will not be so, for children away from their loving and concerned parents is not good for anyone, child and parent and will have a detrimental effect on their health, physical and certainly mental.

By ignoring this question and many others is extreme short sightedness by this Government and others in authority.

Same Difference

Why are people with learning disabilities not higher up vaccine list? Covid death rates for 18-34 y/olds w such disabilities is 30 times higher than others in same age group. Jo Fisher’s son has autism & complex needs & lives in a care home. She asks:’will I ever see him again?’ pic.twitter.com/uGHnvHB9yH

— Victoria Derbyshire (@vicderbyshire) February 2, 2021

As well as this interview, Victoria spoke to the parents of a severely disabled 14 year old boy in a care home who haven’t seen their son since Christmas Day. They raised the very important issue of children’s care homes, which have had no coverage at all while elderly care homes have been everywhere.

The vaccine is, of course, currently only advised for adults.

Same Difference joins countless parents in asking a very important question: What about learning disabled children? We call for them to be given priority for the vaccine…

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Thousands of vulnerable people held unlawfully in care homes – report | Dementia | The Guardian

So, another problem relating to social care,  but is it another problem for it is relating to an existing problem and that is the insufficiencies in Social Care.

For in Social Care there is a capacity problem, in that there are insufficient care workers to provide care to all the persons in need of care in the location they wish to be in.

Many of these persons placed in care homes would wish to stay in their own homes, but to do that more care workers would be required in home care.

Also many of these persons in need of care will need 24/7 care, but there are insufficient care worker to provide the minimum care of, say, visits of 15 minutes to 1 hour. Then there is the question of good quality care, which is far from consistent.

But the lack of care workers is but one of the problems, the main being insufficient funding to provide all the care which is needed.

However, if there was a miracle and a Government came that was prepared to fund social care sufficiently, it would not be able to do so.

This being because when Social Workers do Assessments of Need they tend to only record needs which they feel their Local Authorities (LAs) will fund.

Unfortunately Social Care has never been sufficiently funded, due to this current and previous Governments not willing to fund social care sufficiently. With the 10 years of austerity cuts and now the additional costs relating to COVID-19, this insufficiency is even more serious, which could lead to social care fail for everyone.

When this occurs, even more pressured will be placed on health care, which is already under great pressures.

Yes, this current Government has provided some funding to cover some of the costs relating to COVID-19 costs, but nowhere to the extent required.

An immediate amount of £12 billion needs to be provided, but this will only return the funding to 2010 levels, which has previously been stated was insufficient.

As  this should be monitored by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and(LAs), but again there is an insufficiency of funding for this to be done fully.

So, Social Care is in a very serious crisis, which led me to create the petition, Solve the crisis in Social Care, https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/solve-the-crisis-in-social-care.

Some of the issues raised in the petition were mentioned on Boxing day in a Sky News report, Social Care – The Other Health Crisis, https://news.sky.com/video/social-care-the-other-health-crisis-12172633, regarding an investigation they have done into the crisis in social care.

They highlighted many of these issues and called on the Government to abide by the promise made by Boris Johnson in 2019 in his election winning speech outside 10 Downing Street, one promise that is still outstanding.

Unfortunately Social Care is not well thought of by many persons not in need of Social Care, that is until they do need it. Much of this is down to the Media in how they report on care and the attitudes of Governments, both now and previously and this is also reflected in how benefit claimants are treated.

This all has to change and change now.

Supporting the petition could be a start.

Source: Thousands of vulnerable people held unlawfully in care homes – report | Dementia | The Guardian