Plight of the elderly who miss their grandchildren

By Mithran Samuel, Caroline Lovell, Derren Hayes and Sally Gillen

Two and a half million grandparents go for more than a month at a time without seeing their grandchildren and are in danger of isolation and depression as a result, Help the Aged has said.

By contrast, as many as one in three grandmothers devote half their week to looking after their grandchildren, while one in five are thought to share childcare bills.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 21 September 2007 page 5

Matrons who ran a care home of horrors

Two people who ran a nursing home where residents were reportedly neglected and abused were found guilty of misconduct by the Nursing and Midwifery Council yesterday.

Elizabeth Uttley, the former deputy matron at the Laurel Bank nursing home in Halifax, Yorkshire, was struck off the register, while her boss, home manager Patricia Parker, was given a five-year caution.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 21 September 2007 page 33

Woman, 96, lay ill for two days on the floor

A 96-year-old woman lay on the floor of her sheltered accommodation flat for two days because there was no warden on duty at weekends.

Hilda Bishop is recovering in hospital after a fall at her flat in Cinderford, Gloucestershire. The sheltered accommodation used to have a warden at weekends but that was changed.

Source:- Daily Mail Friday 21 September 2007 page 33

Equal-pay tribunals ‘not fit for purpose’

The flood of equal pay claims hitting local authorities has made the tribunal system for dealing with them not fit for purpose, Jenny Watson, chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission has said.

The tribunal service heard over 44,000 cases last year, a rise of 155% on 2005, which Watson attributed to the actions of no-win, no-fee lawyers working in the field.

It is estimated that councils could face bills of £3bn in compensation and back-dated pay when all the claims have been processed.

Source:- The Times Friday 21 September 2007 page 1

12-year-olds locked up for racial attack on boy, 11

Two 12-year-old boys have become two of only six children their age to be held in custody, after being found guilty of kicking and stoning an 11-year-old Asian boy in a racially motivated attack.

They were jailed for six and eight months respectively on detention and training orders.

Source:- The Times Friday 21 September 2007 page 4

Truancy rise blamed on ‘boring and irrelevant’ lessons

School inspectors have blamed boring lessons for the increase in truancy rates, not bad parenting, in a report published today.
 
Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, found that the main reason pupils skipped school was because they found lessons dull and un-stimulating.
 
Over the last three years, national truancy figures have continued to rise, with the average student missing three lessons each year.      
 
Source: – The Independent, Friday 21 September 2007, page 31
 
Care home torched by OAP grilling slippers
 
An elderly woman nearly set fire to the care home she was staying at when she tried to warm her slippers by putting them under the grill.
 
Nine fire-fighters evacuated all of the residents from the sheltered accommodation in Stockbridge, Hampshire after fire alarms were set off by the smoking slippers.
 
Joan Hiscock, 84, had placed her slippers under the grill to dry them after giving them a wash.
 
Source: – The Sun, Friday 21 September 2007, page 26

Scottish news

Tagging scheme for young offenders ‘a failure’

Electronic tagging of children to stop them committing crimes has proved an expensive and largely ineffective tool, according to the first independent study of the controversial scheme.

The evaluation of the £12 million pilot will vindicate local authorities and charity groups, because the report shows one-to-one support given to 150 young people, without a tag, has proved extremely successful, and cheaper.

Three-quarters of the 12 to 16-year-olds on Intensive Support Services (ISS), have reduced their offending, and almost 60% have not re-offended at all. By contrast, of the 52 tagged young people many repeatedly breached their conditions and some ended up in secure accommodation.

Source:- The Herald Friday 21 September

Sheriff refers child sex case for tougher sentencing

A man who had sex with two under-aged girls will face a tougher sentence at the High Court after a sheriff said the powers at his disposal were “woefully inadequate”.

Steven Brodie from Edinburgh, had previously admitted having sex with the girls, aged 13 and 15.

Sheriff Andrew Berry, who said he could hand down only a maximum sentence of five years, referred the case to the High Court to be dealt with.

Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 21 September

Mental illness ‘has hit 25% of Scots’

More than a quarter of Scots have suffered a mental health problem.

A study for the Scottish Government found 28 per cent of people had experienced mental illness.

Depression, panic attacks and stress were among the most common problems.

Source:- The Scotsman, Friday 21 September

Drowning Care Firm Fined £45k

Camperdown Care Home in Dundee has been fined £45,000 after a severely disabled man drowned when he was left alone in a bath.

A trial at Dundee Sheriff Court heard that carer Stewart Lindsay put Robert Burns in a bath, then left him to get towels. But he got talking to another resident for 10 to 15 minutes and returned to the bathroom to find another carer trying to resuscitate Burns.

Duncare Limited, who are based in Kirkcaldy, Fife, admitted breaching health and safety rules in July 2005.

Source:- The Record, Friday 21 September

Welsh news

Call for children’s panel to be set up
 
Children’s campaigners are lobbying the Welsh Assembly to set up a dedicated children’s committee.
 
Officials from Children in Wales will meet government figures next week to put the case for a specific panel.
 
Source:- www.icwales.co.uk Friday 21 September