Epilepsy Action campaign film receives media applause

epilepsy

A film to raise awareness of how to support a person having an epileptic seizure is receiving positive media attention for health charity Epilepsy Action, including coverage by BBC Breakfast. The campaign video has been devised and produced by Leeds-based video firm On the Ark, and relies on a simple shorthand: C-A-R-E (Comfort, Action, Reassure, Emergency), to provide advice on the […]

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Protecting the rights of older people to health and social care

rights of older people

Protecting the rights of older people to health and social care: The current health and social care crisis affects the whole of society but has greatest impact on older people. People aged 65 and over account for over 40% of hospital admissions, occupy around two-thirds of hospital inpatient beds and are the most frequent users […]

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Adults learn babies cries

babies cries

Deciphering a baby’s cries of pain is not an innate ability and must be learned. Before young children learn to speak, crying is their only means of vocal communication. But do adults know when a baby is in pain as opposed to being mildly uncomfortable? A new study reported in Current Biology on August 8, […]

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When the time comes

time

Families of older people dying of progressive chronic disease often feel insufficiently informed about the course of the illness, so when death occurs it can be felt as a surprise. However, this misperception of an ‘unexpected death’ could be minimised if only we provided our patients and their loved ones with information that includes an […]

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UK Government must start fixing social care

UK Government

“COVID emergency means the UK Government must no longer delay its promise of fixing social care”: The social care system must be drastically overhauled, and the Government urgently needs to deliver on its manifesto commitment to fix the failing social care sector. Launching its new report, Let’s do this: The promise of fixing social care, the Health […]

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Health of ageing populations

illustration of an elderly couple dancing spanish dance

Populations around the world are ageing due to increased life expectancy and falling fertility. These shifts have been driven by improved healthcare, better infrastructure and medical innovations. But why do so many people struggle to see this as a good thing? The WHO’s recent World report on ageing and health recasts the “problem”.  Rather than pointing the finger at older people and […]

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Older people face ‘double whammy’ of unmet needs

The Hippocratic Post - older people

Hundreds of thousands of older people are facing ‘double whammy’ of unmet care needs and being chronically lonely. New research from Age UK shows just how tough life is for hundreds of thousands of older people with care needs who are struggling on without any help. Fresh analysis finds that if you are an older […]

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Is a baby worth more than an old man?

The Hippocratic Post - elderly

Is your beginning worth more than your end? Helplessness defines both ends of life: our need to be washed, fed, carried (or hoisted) in a world where nothing makes much sense, we struggle to be understood, and where human touch brings special comfort. Why then do we care so much more for our newborns than […]

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