Latest news with #Palsy
Scotsman
11-07-2025
- Health
- Scotsman
Funding boost for National Charity Support Dogs thanks to players of The Health Lottery
Support Dogs, the national charity trains and supports specialist assistance dogs for people across Scotland, England and Wales with epilepsy, autism, and physical disabilities. They've received a £15,000 grant from The Health Lottery Foundation, made possible by players of The Health Lottery. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The funding, awarded by The Health Lottery Foundation will go towards the salary of an instructor delivering the charity's Disability Assistance Programme — supporting up to ten families across the UK each year. This programme helps adults living with long-term, physically disabling conditions such as MS, Cerebral Palsy, Fibromyalgia, and spinal cord injuries. Support Dogs are trained to carry out practical and personal care tasks, providing 24/7 support and significantly improving safety, independence, and quality of life for clients and their families. Martin Ellice, CEO of The Health Lottery, said: 'This is exactly the kind of work The Health Lottery Foundation is here to support. These support dogs do more than just help people physically — they offer dignity, independence and peace of mind. The impact ripples out across entire families, giving loved ones the chance to return to work or education. We're proud to help make that possible.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Delva Patman, CEO of The Health Lottery Foundation, added: 'Support Dogs' work is practical, effective and has real impact.. We're pleased to help them continue delivering this support to families who need it.' Delva, Kim and Essie The instructor funded by the grant will assess and train new partnerships between dogs and clients, offering six months of follow-up support to help those partnerships thrive. With many training sessions taking place in clients' homes, the grant will also contribute to the cost of a dedicated vehicle to help reach families nationwide. Support Dogs provides all services free of charge. Currently, 100% of service users report reduced care needs and improved independence. Two-thirds are now working or in education. And 80% say family members have been able to take on paid work instead of full-time caring responsibilities.
Irish Examiner
23-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Young people do not belong in nursing homes
One man with early onset Parkinson's is climbing the Himalayas active, empowered and supported. Another is trapped in a care home among residents twice his age, paying €3,000 a month while his savings and spirit drain away. He can't even go for a walk out of the grounds without permission. I've met these men — both under 65 and both with lives worth living. The man living in a nursing home is not merely another wasted life, he is a person too. Prime Time Investigates exposed what we've known for years: the shameful institutionalisation of people under 65, leading to rapid physical and mental decline. Today, 1,227 remain in nursing homes. In 2025, the HSE asked for €8.5 million to relocate 40 people — sounds like progress, right? Until you realise only €4.8 million was allocated, enough to move just 24 people. Over four years, 104 people have been moved out of nursing homes, while 32 more are added every month (Wasted Lives Update, 2024). The maths doesn't add up — and neither does the morality. I've lived with early onset Parkinson's for a decade — a condition affecting 10–20% of people with Parkinson's, with members of our organisation symptomatic as young as 20 years old. With 18,000 living with Parkinson's in Ireland, as many as 3,600 people aged 18 to 55 are at risk of being sent to a nursing home should they experience rapid progression, or symptoms become unmanageable alone. This is not to mention the countless others living with neurodegenerative conditions. I've met people living this nightmare — like a man in his 30s with Cerebral Palsy, placed in a nursing home alongside residents his parents' age. With both parents in long-term dementia care and no community supports available, he was sent there. His fear? That he might never get out. And what about the families? Under the Fair Deal scheme, 80% of a person's assessable income and 7.5% of their assets per annum, are paid towards nursing home care. In the case of early onset conditions what happens to the mortgage, the family left behind, the children still in school? The financial devastation affects everyone. I'm lucky to have a supportive husband, four amazing children, family and friends. I'm doing my best to live well. But many I've met aren't so fortunate. They're institutionalised, cut off from vital therapies like physio, exercise, and neurology that could slow disease progression. Their savings vanish, they're isolated from peers, and their mental and physical health decline as their independence slips away, day by day. This practice is not new. Nor is it an accident. The Wasted Lives report in 2021, laid bare the systemic failings, and since this, the Government repeated promises to end the institutionalisation of young people in nursing homes. What do these promises mean to the young man in his 30s with Cerebral Palsy? Nothing. His life hasn't changed. The government has, but his reality has not. Slow erosion of dignity Having just retired from my role as a dementia adviser in Clare, I have seen how the system fails people. I've seen the heartbreak, the isolation, and the slow erosion of dignity. I've also seen community workers and healthcare staff stretch every resource and contact to find funding and support often forcing them to act first and ask forgiveness later in the hopes of a better outcome. It appears that the €4.8 million allocation is a one-off fund, as there is no indication that funding has been committed for the many years that would be required to solve this crisis. That is not a strategy. It is an insult. Especially when the Government claims its commitment to ending this practice. What happens next year? What happens to the hundreds still living in no man's land. Fiona Staunton: 'Having just retired from my role as a dementia adviser in Clare, I have seen how the system fails people. I've seen the heartbreak, the isolation, and the slow erosion of dignity.' We need real, long-term investment in community supports, as promised in Sláintecare. Clear exit pathways must be created for those already institutionalised and we need transparent, updated data on how many of these people are wrongly placed in nursing homes — including those stuck in hospital beds waiting for nursing home spots. We need full, informed consent — because I can tell you now, no young person willingly chooses this as a long-term path. This shameful practice must end. Being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease should not mean your human rights are stripped away. We are not statistics. We are people with hopes, with families, friends, and with futures. One of the myriad symptoms of Parkinson's is a softening — and even loss — of one's voice. However, on this issue, we will continue to shout until our voices are heard, until there are no more wasted lives. Fiona Staunton is a Board Member, EOPD Ireland Dementia Adviser (retired), The Alzheimer Society of Ireland Person living with Early Onset Parkinson's Disease Parkinson's Advocate
Irish Independent
01-06-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Life for this Cork boy (12) with cerebral palsy has been ‘transformed' by vital charity
Alison Lynch says a Cork-based charity has transformed the life of her son, who lives with Cerebral Palsy Today at 08:49 A Cork mother says a Cork charity has played an instrumental role in helping her son with Cerebral Palsy navigate his life's major challenges into his teenage years, Alison Lynch's son Oliver was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy after a complication during birth, flagged during an early cranial scan. Ironically, it was brother Reuben's scans that led the twins to receive the extra attention.
Irish Independent
31-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Independent
Life for this Cork boy (12) with cerebral palsy has been ‘transformed' by this vital charity
Alison Lynch says a Cork-based charity has transformed the life of her son, who lives with Cerebral Palsy Today at 03:00 A Cork mother says a Cork charity has played an instrumental role in helping her son with Cerebral Palsy navigate his life's major challenges into his teenage years, Alison Lynch's son Oliver was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy after a complication during birth, flagged during an early cranial scan. Ironically, it was brother Reuben's scans that led the twins to receive the extra attention.
Daily Mirror
15-05-2025
- Health
- Daily Mirror
10 health conditions most likely to receive PIP benefit in new update
People with autism, learning disabilities and cerebral palsy topped the list People receiving Personal Independence Payment (PIP) for specific conditions are likely to satisfy new eligibility requirements Labour plans to introduce next year. This includes about 71% of PIP recipients with learning disabilities as they already scored of 21 points or greater on the daily living component assessment. Proposed changes to PIP's eligibility criteria under Labour could result in thousands currently receiving it losing their benefit. Currently, claimants must score at least eight points across 10 activities to qualify for PIP at any level. However, starting November 2026, applicants will still have to meet this existing benchmark but they will also need to earn a minimum of four points in any one activity to qualify. In general, performing an activity without difficulty yields zero points. Needing supervision, aid, or tools may award two points, and requiring even more assistance can grant four points. So, someone securing two points in each of the activities could amass a total of 20 points but still fall short of PIP eligibility under the revamped criteria. An analysis by experts at Resolution Foundation, drawing upon prior data from the DWP, has identified certain conditions that are "least likely to be affected" by these amendments as they typically achieve over 21 points. Indicating they have probably got at least four points in a single category. Notably, 71% of claimants with learning disabilities, 44% with Cerebral Palsy and similar conditions, and 34% with autism spectrum disorders as their primary health condition hit 21 points or more in their assessments. The think tank revealed a list of the primary health conditions with the most claimants getting 21+ points: Cerebrovascular disease: 24% Neurological diseases: 23% Psychiatric disorders: 16% ADHD/ADD: 15% Multiple sclerosis and similar conditions: 14% Psychotic disorders: 11% Cancer: 10% Epilepsy: 8% Moreover, an age-based analysis showed that younger claimants were more likely to score 21 or more points. Specifically, 35% of claimants aged 16-19 and a quarter of those in their 20s met this mark, whereas only 10% of claimants aged over 50 achieved this score. These proposed changes to PIP are currently under consultation as part of a green paper. One aspect of this consultation focuses on how to assist individuals who are presently claiming the benefit but may not qualify under the new criteria. The Resolution Foundation noted: "The Green Paper is consulting on whether people who lose PIP after a reassessment might need transitional protection to offset this loss of income, or help or support in managing their condition. Transitional protection has been an important part of previous welfare reforms, such as the move from tax credits to UC."
