The Fostering Network charity is holding Foster Care Fortnight from May the 14th to Sunday the 27th to increase awareness of foster carers and children in foster care. The campaign is held annually to increase the profile of everyone involved in the foster care system and the hard work they do every day. Last year’s campaign reach over 35 million people, informing them of the need for more foster carers.
Foster Care Fortnight and The Foster Care Network have numerous celebrity endorsements from people who have been in foster care or understand the importance of it. Such names as Gareth Gates, Samantha Morton, Jacqueline Wilson and many others help raise the profile of foster care both during the fortnight and throughout the year.
This year’s fortnight is focusing around www.22minutes.org.uk, which encourages people to get into foster care as a child is taken into care every 22 minutes. As more foster carers are continually needed, awareness needs to stay high to encourage people to help and care for those less fortunate.
Around 80% of children who are cared for away from home are in foster care, with the carers working alongside teams of professionals to ensure the highest standards. Whilst fostering is not easy or suited for everyone, it can be an incredibly rewarding experience.
If you are considering becoming a foster carer, there are guidelines and programmes in place to give help every step of the way, from initial enquiry to issues during care. This also includes continually updating information regarding news and laws around the fostering service.
Finding a new career in caring can be an excellent way to transfer skills, improve your earnings and change yours, and other peoples, life. It can be thoroughly rewarding as a career, creating great opportunities and forging new relationships.
Choosing a path to take needs a lot of consideration.
With an increasingly aged population and the recession, now is a great time to choose a career path in care. It doesn’t have to stop at care for the elderly though. From child care to the elderly and everywhere in between, giving someone else a better life is a great idea for everyone involved, whilst being one of the few growth markets for jobs.
Being a care or support worker for young people can be one of the most rewarding sectors for care, but equally can be the hardest and most draining. Working with people who need care physically can be difficult in all areas. With younger people, they are often trying to express themselves more whilst trying to find out who they are, but when you see the results and someone can break out on their own, the rewards make up for it.
In caring for the elderly, working into routines and taking your time will benefit more. This can also be physically demanding with people who are less able bodied. Elderly care can also involve work with the peoples friends and family, working on a good relationship with the person to make them feel comfortable and safe, often when away from home.
There are various other ways to get into care jobs, such as working in, or with the military, being based in hospitals or other medical centres. These less traditional care jobs can often be quicker paced with less one on one time.
If you are thinking of moving into a career of care, there are many options to consider carefully. Such as; what do you want from the job? What do you want to give to people? What skills and traits do you have and who would they suit? Do you want to care one on one or as part of a group? Once all your questions have been answered you are sure to find a suitable vocation for you, which will be rewarding for you and the people you care for.
Assisted suicides and euthanasia are consistently very hot topics, with many different cases and massively polarized opinions on the matter. Differences in ethics, religion, afflictions and the person’s ability to communicate are just some of the factors that can alter arguments.
Whilst there is no specific law governing whether people can be allowed to die, there have been such cases where people refuse treatment or do not want to be resuscitated in case of cardiac arrest, so is this too far from legalizing assisted suicide?
The High Court in London where the decision was passed
Recently, a High Court judge has ruled that the life of a 67 year old man who has motor neurone disease can “peacefully end” after concluding that he had made a valid decision to refuse treatment.
Mrs. Justice Theis was told at a hearing in London how a carer raised concerns about whether the man, who communicates only through eye movement, had agreed to an advanced decision not to have life prolonging treatment.
After hearing evidence from medics, carer’s and the man’s wife, the judge said she was entirely satisfied that the man had the capacity to make the decision when the documentation was drawn up in November 2011.
Lawyers said that this case is the first of its kind to come before the high court and that the man’s family will now decide when treatment is to be withdrawn
Mr Justice Theis heard how the man’s wife had found a template for an advance decision – a declaration which used to be called a living will – on the internet. The man had used eye movements to communicate his consent in front of witnesses, including his wife, a doctor, a social worker and a carer.
Another carer had raised concerns about whether the man – referred to in court as XB – had “communicated his agreement”. But the judge said lawyers had established that the carer who raised concerns had not been present when the document was agreed.
She said the question of “what life-sustaining treatment he would receive” had been discussed with him a number of times in 2010 and in 2011 he had indicated that he wished such treatment to be withdrawn. The man’s wife told the judge he “wanted to be allowed to peacefully end his life”.
Whilst this case is by no means direct euthanasia, it does present a landmark to be worked upon. With peoples wishes being adhered to, for people with debilitating illnesses it can be seen a s a step forward.
Children and young people often look after someone, but they may not class themselves as being a carer. If you look after someone, emotionally or physically; who has an illness, disability, mental health problem or substance misuse problem, then there are services in place to help you.
Who can help?
If you are a young carer, you might not be aware of the services available to you and how to get it. If professionals, such as GP’s or social workers, visit your home to see you or the person you care for, they can provide you with information and point you in the right direction.
You may be a carer for someone without realising that you are.
If you are struggling on your own, the first step should be for you to talk to friends or family. Just telling others about any problems you have will help you along, or if you don’t feel that you can talk to them, try writing letters or keeping a diary.
Whilst at school, teachers can help you with any problems you have, as they are there for you to get the most out of school and caring for someone can often affect this greatly. If they cannot help you directly, there are often councellors in the school or associated with the school.
A social workers job is to support families that may be having difficulties. They assess cases individually and aside from giving advice, may be able to help with any problems families face. In some cases, social workers can help with education and health, for you and the person you care for.
Your rights.
Everyone has rights and responsibilities. If caring is affecting aspects of your life adversely, you can ask for help from your doctor or local authority. The young carers charter was drawn up to help young carers, setting out what rights young carers are entitled to. This includes the rights:
- to be children and young people as well as carers,
- to schools and colleges that give us the help we need to get an education,
- to fun, friends and time off from caring,
- to a well-supported family life,
- to practical help and support,
- to a safe environment and protection from harm, including any harm that our caring roles could cause us,
- to services that value our different backgrounds, culture, religion, race and sexuality,
- to be listened to,
- to an assessment of what we need as individuals,
- to be involved when people make decisions which affect our lives,
- to a wide range of information that would help us,
- to someone who will help us have a voice (advocacy),
- to understand how things work and how to complain if we want to,
- to choose how much caring we do, and
- to become independent adults.
With this information, young carers can improve their lives and have the right to be children, whilst maintaining levels of care for other people.
While most are aware of the abuse that happens in elderly care homes, it is in the minority, with abuse being the small minority rather than the norm. Of course, this does not make it right, but each time a case comes to light, it raises the awareness and increases people’s worries.
Care work looks to increase with people living longer.
Footage aired on the BBC’s Panorama programme recently showed 80 year old Alzheimer’s sufferer Maria Worroll being repeatedly beaten by members of staff at Ash Court Care Centre in Kentish Town, North London. The footage was filmed by Maria Worroll’s daughter Jane, after she hid a camera in her room.
Jonathan Aquino was jailed for 18 months for assault earlier this month and 4 more of his colleagues have since been fired after Forest Healthcare reviewed the footage.
A spokesperson for Ash Court said “We are pleased justice has been done in the case of the male former carer and that the prompt actions taken by the home have been validated by the Court’s decision. This matter caused great distress to residents and staff alike. We apologised both verbally and in writing to the family as soon as the incident came to light.”
Unfortunately, it was revealed that two of the care workers in the video were initially given four days training and then put back in the job. It was five months after that their cases were reviewed and later sacked.
I stress again that this is a rare occurrence, with thousands of people in care across the country, receiving great quality care from professional workers, volunteers and loved ones. The issue is with the abuse of people in delicate positions, especially with cases such as Alzheimer’s where the people involved may not get heard. The only real way out of this is with increased Government funding and a careful eye being passed over all aspects of care. Unfortunately this doesn’t seem to be going ahead, with Government cuts across the board, our increasing population of people in care are getting a bad deal and should not be allowed to suffer like this.
The Carers trust has announced this year’s carers week for June the 18th – 24th. The week will highlight the vitally important work done by unpaid friends, families and volunteers in caring for the elderly, the infirm and those with debilitating illnesses. Without these people, the tough task of care would fall more upon the already strained National Health Service.
It will also encourage the work done by paid professionals, who are increasingly in demand due to the decreasing number of care workers and the predicted increase in the numbers of the elderly and infirm in the future.
Unpaid carers will get increased recognition after the event.
Carers’ week will feature a schedule of profile raising events and a nationwide information campaign. The theme for this year is “In sickness and in health”, focusing on the actual carers well-being as well as the person in care.
The Carers trust continually works to improve support, services and recognition for those living with the daily challenges of unpaid car for family members and friends. Carers will be asked how their caring role impacts their own health, well-being and life in general.
Other topics will be addressed, including; worries over government cuts, will this increase financial and physical burden on carers? Do GP’s know of the carer’s roles, and have they offered health checks and advice? Are employees sympathetic of workers other duties?
The trust aims to raise awareness of the issues mentioned and help carers get access to information, advice and practical support.
England football legend Jack Charlton O.B.E. said:
“The UK’s six million carers come from all walks of life. They are stay-at-home parents, celebrities, and yes, even footballers. What they all have in common is their incredible hard work and dedication, many of them sacrificing all of their time to care for somebody in need. I’m proud to back Carers’ Week and the call for the support and recognition that carers deserve.”
Other charities are helping organise events over the week – Age UK, Carers UK, Counsel & Care, Crossroads Care, Dementia UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, MS Society and Parkinson’s UK are all raising awareness during the week.
Regulating care in peoples home’s is a challenging job, having to check up on a job which is held in people’s homes, behind closed doors and often with people who find it difficult to communicate.
The quality of care in people's homes can vary greatly.
Some people find it an intrusion, being observed in such a private setting. Great care needs to be taken to observe what actually happens. What an observer see’s may not be a true reflection of what happens day to day, making it very difficult to assess cases thoroughly and impartially.
Recent reports by Which? and the Equality and Human Rights Commission both found good examples of good home care, coupled with positive comments from people about their home care. However, these reports also suggest that some don’t receive home care that is good enough and that some do not feel able to report bad home care, with the latter having worrying implications.
Other issues can decrease the quality of the care received too, such as ever stricter council budgets and the desire for people to stay in their homes for longer.
The Care Quality Commission will try and address these factors by carrying out a special programme of 250 unannounced inspections spread across the country. These inspections will include using new ways to test the levels of care and get better information from users and carers alike, hopefully getting a truer representation of the care industry.
The inspections will run alongside the commission’s programme of planned inspections, under which we’ll visit all of the 6,000 or so registered home care locations each year. This programme draws on what we learned from a pilot programme of 30 inspections last autumn. Inspectors were joined by “experts by experience” – people who have a personal experience of using home care services.
This programme will be supported by an advisory group, with members from a number of organisations, including the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Age UK, Mencap, Ceretas, the National Care Forum and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
The gap between sexes has long shown that life expectancy has been lower for males by around 5 years on average. The largest gap peaked around 6 years in the 1970′s.
New information from an adviser to the Office of National Statistics shows that the gap will be cut down to a zero difference on average by 2030.Expectancy for both sexes are rising, but it is set to level out due to increased life expectancy in men, thought to be lead by decreased levels of smoking in men.
The findings were compiled by Prof Mayhew, a professor of statistics at Cass Business School, who analysed life expectancy data from England and Wales based on life expectancy from the age of 30.
There are various factors contributing to this change, both from health and lifestyle sides.
Smoking trends contribute largely to life expectancies.
Heart Disease: Increasing awareness of heart disease and its mitigating factors, such as smoking and fitness levels, have decreased fatalities over the years, leading to raised ages in both sexes.
Smoking: The prevalence of smoking has decreased dramatically. Smoking rates shot up around the 1920′s and reached up to 80% during its peak during the 1970′s, when the male to female life expectancy was at its greatest difference. Also, a documented rise in female smokers has cut the gap.
Occupation: With a huge decrease in hazardous occupations, such as mining, male health is on the increase. This occupation change has lead to decreased heart and lung diseases.
Lifestyle: Increasing trends to be healthier and less dangerous job types have led to a more natural rise in the length of life.
Location: Recent news reports have supposedly found the secret to long life too. Hinton St. George has the highest life expectancy in the UK – 91.6 for women and 88.7 for men
Statistically across the globe, women still have the slight advantage. There are variations, with places such as sub-Saharan Africa showing little difference, due to problems such as disease and famine. Anomalous results such as Russia have shown large gaps in the past, as much as 13 years difference in the early 1990′s.
All in all the trend is just based on averages, so it is still best to take care of yourself, keeping a close eye on your health and lifestyle.
The quality of medical supplies is all important. Poor quality equipment can fail and in the medical profession this can have serious repercussions: quite simply, people will die unnecessarily. Without quality, the manufacturers and suppliers of medical supplies will not be in business long.
High quality medical supplies can make all the difference
On top of this, there are a host of different medical instruments, ranging from basics such as rubber gloves and other health and safety equipment, through expensive microscopes for laboratory work and up to x-ray machines, digital imaging machines and, down to the janitorial equipment needed to keep hospitals and medical practices clean, safe, and hygienic.
Medical supplies cover a wide range of medical disciplines, too, from serious emergency procedures such as trauma surgery, through long-term serious illness treatments like oncology and radiotherapy to more general health concerns like dermatology, paediatrics or GP practices. They also cover dentists and private practices as well as supplying the equipment necessary for essential medical research. Thus, versatility and the ability to source diverse components and supplies are central to a medical supplies company.
Companies providing this kind of high end medical equipment also provide the more basic medical supplies, too, and as health and safety in the workplace is a rising concern, ordering your health and safety equipment, such as first aid kits, from medical suppliers who provide the serious medical equipment too, can keep your employees, yourself and your health and safety regulations satisfied.
Professional carers arguably have one of the most challenging and full-time jobs available to anyone. There are very few people with such levels of dedication to their work, as well as compassion, empathy and patience, and as such it can be said that it takes a specific kind of 
person to become a successful carer. It used to be the case that carers were employed by local authorities, but many are now employed by private agencies, which can have a negative effect on several factors relating to caring.
One of these factors is the pay. Often agency carers are only paid for the time they spend at the home of the person they are looking after, and the journey there and back is not taken into account. This can be problematic if a carer lives a relatively large distance away, or if the journey is particularly difficult. Another factor is the hours they get to work. Often an individual’s care needs fluctuate depending on their health and state of mind, and when the carer is not needed at that time then they will not be paid, unless more work can be found for them in the meantime.
In addition, one of the serious negative points is that carers are often poorly paid for ‘sleepovers’ or ‘wakeovers’, as neither pays the statutory minimum hourly rate. At times, staying over at the person’s house is unavoidable if they are in a certain condition, so these should pay just as much as care during the day.