Latest News for Parents & Carers

Family carers should be paid the living wage, a full-time carer has told the UK’s House of Lords. Nadia Taylor made the comment at a meeting of the House of Lords Adult Social Care Committee. Family carers should be paid the living wage, a full-time carer has told the UK’s House of Lords. Carers are “abandoned by society”, mum Nadia Taylor has told the House of Lords. She told the committee that carers are “abandoned by society”. Mum-of-two Taylor, 46, gave up work to care for her parents. They have chronic medical conditions.

A wheelchair tennis player has her sights set on Wimbledon and the next Paralympics. Abbie Breakwell, from Long Eaton in Derbyshire, has a muscle-wasting condition called Charcot-Marie-Tooth and a spinal syrinx, which is a ball of fluid on the spinal cord. The 19-year-old, who trains at Loughborough, started playing wheelchair tennis after being part of the ball crew at the Nottingham Open, aged 13.

Policy Connect has published a new report: Smarter Homes for Independent Living. Smart technology can be assistive to Disabled people in several ways – for example, enabling individuals with limited mobility to control their environment, or enabling individuals to remain socially engaged and connected to their communities. As the use of smart home technology is increasing, Policy Connect is calling on companies to ensure the needs of Disabled people to live independently is at the heart of their product design and production. The report makes several key recommendations ranging from Government funding to including Disabled people in the commissioning and design of technology.

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in learning disability and autism has been signed into law as part of the Government’s Health and Social Care Act. Oliver McGowan was just 18 years old when he died in 2016, after being given anti-psychotic medication against both his own and his parents’ wishes. Since then, his parents have been campaigning for mandatory Learning Disability and Autism training for all health and social care staff, to ensure that they have the skills and understanding to support people with a learning disability and/or autism. The amendment to the Bill has now been accepted by government.

Mind is one of 120 charitable organisations that has been chosen to work with Sport England to increase access to sport and physical activity across the country. Mind will receive £1.9m over the next five years and will use the funding to support people from all different backgrounds to develop healthy relationships with physical activity. Their aim is for physical activity to form part of a wellbeing support package to enable mental health recovery.