By David Callaghan, Reg McKay and Alex Dobson.
Mencap's housing alert
There are thousands of people with severe learning difficulties who will have nowhere to live once their elderly parents die, a new report from Mencap says.
The charity estimates 29,000 adults are presently living with parents aged over 70, and about 6,000 every year require alternative accommodation. But there are only 227 places set aside nationally.
Most people are placed in local authority nursing or residential accommodation where there is inadequate support for them.
Mencap's survey of 92 councils found that half did not know how many adults with severe learning difficulties in their area were living with their parents, and only a quarter made any planned provision for them.
Source:- The Times Tuesday 18 June page 2
Couple face life for abducting adopted son
An American couple who went on the run with their adopted son 20 years ago when they were ordered to hand him back to his natural parents, could be jailed for life in New York.
They fled the city in 1980 and settled in Albuquerque, Mexico, with false names. Barry and Judith Smiley said they were worried that if they handed their 'son' Matthew, who had a serious heart condition, back to his natural parents he would not receive the same level of care they could offer him.
Matthew's parents were not living together, and his natural father was unaware of the adoption.
Source:- The Guardian Tuesday 18 June page 2
Study finds 1 million mistakes each year
A new survey showing that there are likely to be a million mistakes, accidents and near-misses in the NHS each year, has been banned from publication by health secretary Alan Milburn.
Milburn said the study due to be published by the National Patient Safety Agency today gave a misleading picture. The survey found 20,000 'adverse incidents' in 28 NHS trusts in six months, equivalent to more than one million errors for all 450 trusts.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 18 June page 1
Cabinet rift over asylum crackdown
Tony Blair's plans for a crackdown on asylum seekers across Europe have met with opposition in the cabinet and from other EU countries.
Clare Short, the international development secretary, is fighting plans to link aid to poor countries' performance on preventing people leaving to apply for asylum in Europe.
The issue is due to be debated at an EU summit in Seville on Friday.
Source:- The Independent Tuesday 18 June page 1
Scottish newspapers
Free personal care a lottery, warns charity
Older people could face a continued postcode lottery in paying for their care despite the introduction of nationwide free personal care, according to Age Concern Scotland.
The charity fears that aspects of the new deal being introduced on 1 July are not clear enough, and different interpretations may be applied by different local authorities. A spokesperson for Malcolm Chisholm, minister for health and community care, said that the executive would work with councils to ensure "fair and consistent charging".
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 18 June page 4
Call for less health service managers
The Scottish National Party has called for a severe reduction in senior managers in the health service after producing figures indicating that Scotland has twice as many posts per capita than England.
The SNP claims there are 17.2 senior managers per 100,000 in the health service in England compared with 35.4 in Scotland. The Scottish executive rejected the claim saying that the posts were defined more broadly defined in Scotland than in England and Wales.
Source:- The Herald Tuesday 18 June page 9
Parents to receive fingerprint kits to avoid child abduction
Parents in Scotland who fear their children may be abducted are to receive police-style finger print kits to combat the growing trend of kidnapping across international borders.
The packs will be issued by Reunite, an agency which combats child abduction, and have received the approval of the police. The packs also instruct parents to keep a few strands of their children’s hair so to aid their DNA identification. Reunite say that child abduction in Scotland is a growing problem and is set to become worse.
Source:- The Scotsman Tuesday 18 June page 4
Welsh newspapers
Doctors under attack
Doctors in Gwent, south Wales, face violence, intimidation and vandalism as they try to go about their work.
Some GPs and their staff are forced to barricade themselves inside surgeries. The problem has become so serious that Gwent health authority, police and doctors are looking at measures to protect patients, with one possible solution being a special surgery for people with a history of violence.
Source:- South Wales Argus Monday 17 June page 1 and feature pages 4 and 5
Minister calls on parents and communities to help fight drugs battle
Government minister Peter Hain is calling on parents and communities to help tackle the growing menace of drug abuse.
Hain, who is MP for Neath and Europe minister at Westminster, said it was "absolutely essential" to give full support to the campaign against drugs recently launched by south Wales police.
Chief constable Sir Anthony Burgess has warned that drug cartels are looking to south Wales as a new and lucrative outlet for their trade in illegal drugs, and has pledged to do all he can to stem the flow of heroin and cocaine that are flooding the area.
Hain said it was important that the drug problem was talked about openly, and that communities needed to accept the reality of drug abuse and work with agencies to tackle it.
Source:- Western Mail Tuesday 18 June page 9
