Critics of the new scheme have argued that the new move will take us another step closer to a privatised NHS, but Health Secretary Andrew Lansley believes that the schemes launch in April will mark a new beginning for all of the patients who will be able to choose the care they would like to receive from providers who meet NHS official standards.

Providers who wish to offer services are likely to be a mixture of private companies, voluntary organisations and charities as well as the NHS.

The scheme is starting by opening up competition for eight NHS areas including adult hearing services in the community, talking therapies for adults and wheelchair services for children.

Despite concerns that the move could lead to privatisation of the NHS, Mr Lansley is insistent that it is a good choice for patients and is ultimately about trying to ensure that individuals have more choice over their care.

He commented: “Let’s look at what this is really about: it’s about children getting wheelchairs more quickly.

“It’s about people with mental health conditions choosing to receive their care somewhere closer to home.

“It’s about older people being able to choose a service that will come to their home – perhaps the vital difference between staying at home or having to move into care.”

Director of external relations at the mental health charity Mind has said that they too are in favour of extending the choice and availability of psychological therapies.

“We would hope that this enables people to have access to treatment in a provider near to their home or workplace and in a manner or by a therapist of their choosing.”

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The Relationships Foundation has released details of a large study revealing that rising levels of debt, poverty and long unsocial working hours means Britain ranks among the worst countries in Europe for families.

The Family Pressure Gauge report found that money worries, poor living conditions and a lack of support from parents all played a part in British families being among the most pressured in Europe, with one in every five families struggling to break even.

Additional significant findings from the report included the following:

-14 per cent of families in the UK are suffering from ‘critical’ debt levels compared to 1 per cent of Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian households.

-Almost one quarter of the average UK working family’s income is spent on childcare costs. This is double the amount french families spend and three times more than German families spend.

-One in seven families use over 40 per cent of their income to pay their rent or mortgage.

-Britain is the second worst country in Europe for giving maternity and paternity leave.

-One in 20 families are living in what is considered to be ‘severe housing deprivation’, overcrowded houses which are in poor condition such as without a toilet. This is a significantly higher amount than in other European countries and is notably 12 times more than in the Netherlands.

The report paints a picture of how British families are coping in comparison to 26 other European countries and is based on the analysis of 25 key factors including pressures of money, parenting, living conditions and work.

The report highlights that very little has been done since the Childhood and Families task force was set up last June and executive director of the Relationships Foundation, Michael Trend, has said that the Government really needs to get its act together on family policy.

If you are struggling to cope with any issues mentioned in the above article then please visit our Types of Distress section where you can find detailed information about the various areas in which counselling and psychotherapy may be able to help you.

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According to government figures, more than 80,000 people in Britain claim incapacity benefits because they are obese, drug addicts or alcoholics.

The Department for Work and Pensions has said that over one quarter of those 80,000 had not been in employment for an entire decade and campaigners have estimated that less than 10 per cent of problem drinkers are receiving any form of help.

There have been various pilot schemes which endeavoured to determine whether individuals were capable of going back to work, but none have been a full proof success and campaigners expressed concerns over whether there was enough support to help people back into work.

As part of overhauling the process, the government has released details of 81,670 people who are claiming incapacity benefit as a result of alcohol, drug and obesity issues.

The figures show that as of last August, 42,360 claimants has an alcohol addiction, 37,480 were drug dependant and 1,800 were obese.

When further broken down the figures revealed that 12,800 alcoholics, 9,200 drug addicts and 600 obese people have been claiming the benefit for over ten years.

Employment minister Chris Grayling has said the problem needs to be addressed.

“It is not fair on anyone for this situation to continue,” he said. “Far from being the safety net it should be, the benefits system has trapped thousands of people in a cycle of addiction and welfare dependency with no prospect of getting back to work.

“All of those are conditions which are treatable, which are able to be overcome if we give people the right support.” He said.

Mr Grayling said that various voluntary and private organisations had agreed to invest £580m in helping to treat addicts and prepare them for employment.

If you are struggling with alcohol addiction or drug abuse , please visit our fact-sheets for further information about how counselling could help.

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Mental health charity Mind has reported that the prospect of benefits reassessment is causing distress among many individuals with mental health problems who are claiming Incapacity Benefit (IB).

By spring 2014 1.6 million people will have faced a Work Capability Assessment (WCA), the aim of which is to establish whether individuals are eligible for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA), or if they are to be moved onto Jobseekers Allowance which will require them to actively look for work.

These changes to the welfare reform are intended to pinpoint ”the workshy” who are physically and mentally capable of holding down employment. However, Mind are concerned that the current WCA are not fit for purpose and warn that individuals with mental health concerns may get caught in the reassessment cross fire if the creases are not ironed out.

The charity recently conducted a survey of over 300 people with mental health problems receiving IB and found that 87 per cent felt anxious about the reassessment, with one third saying it has led them to increasing their medication.

Additional significant findings included the following:

-95 per cent don’t think they will be believed in their assessment.

-89 per cent believe they will be forced back to work before they are ready.

-78 per cent did not feel well informed about the impending changes.

-75 per cent said that worrying about WCA had worsened their mental health.

-51 per cent said it had made them have suicidal thoughts.

-45 per cent visited their psychiatrist or GP, with 32 per cent having had their medication increased as a result of anxiety over WCA.

WCA was first introduced back in 2008 for all new ESA claimants. Since it’s implementation, 40 per cent of those declared ‘fit for work’ have appealed against their assessment and approximately 40 per cent of those appeals were successful.

Mind consider the WCA to be too rigid to recognise mental health needs and is also concerned that the assessments are conducted by people who have little to no mental health training. Furthermore, the focus of WCA seems to be to root out ‘benefits scroungers’, despite IB having a very low fraud rate of 0.5 per cent.

Mind Chief Executive, Paul Farmer, said:

”We believe that the welfare system should support everyone – with dignity – who is unable to work or requires additional support because of a mental health problem. If someone is able to return to work, there should be personalised assistance and support to help them do so. As things stand though we remain extremely concerned about the mass reassessment of people on incapacity benefits, as despite some changes to the process it still lacks the sensitivity to understand conditions such as mental health problems.”

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We already know there has been a huge increase in the number of individuals seeking debt advice during unsocial hours, but now even more recent research has revealed that financial insecurity could be fuelling a rise in depression among Brits.

According to figures obtained by the BBC, the number of prescriptions for anti-depressant drugs such as prozac have increased by more than 40 per cent during the past four years.

Charities and health professionals alike believe part of the reason could be linked to individuals feeling pressured by job insecurities and an increase in financial strain.

Chief executive of the charity Depression Alliance UK, Emer O’Neill, said: “There is an increase in the number of people suffering from depression certainly, and the economic downturn has had an impact on that.

However, she also commented that part of the increase could be attributed to the stigma of depression having lifted significantly during the past few years, with individuals now having access to better information than ever before and with more and more people feeling comfortable enough to come forward and talk about mental health.

The sharp rise saw referrals for talking therapies rise four-fold last year and has prompted the government to increase access to therapies which would slow the demand for antidepressants.

According to figures from the NHS Prescription Services, the number of prescriptions for selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors rose by 43 per cent to just under 23 million a year between 2006 and 2010. The same figures also showed an increase in the prescriptions of various other drugs.

Paul Burstow, care services minister has said that the recession has left many facing difficult financial times, but if they do experience any mental health problems the NHS is well placed to help.

“We’re boosting funding for talking therapies by £400m over the next four years. This will ensure that modern, evidence-based therapies are available to all who need them, whether their depression or anxiety are caused by economic worries or anything else.”

For further information on debt counselling and counselling for depression please visit the relevant fact-sheets. Alternatively visit our homepage and use the search tool to find a counsellor in your local area.

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According to a recent study conducted by researchers from University College London’s Institute of Child Health, there were 208 recorded cases of eating disorders among children under 13 during their 14 month study.

Dr Dasha Nicholls who is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist and lead researcher on the project, said : ‘Our study gives the first estimate of the incidence of early-onset eating disorders in UK and Irish children’.

‘It is too early to say if there has been a rise in the numbers of children with eating disorders in recent years, but we hope our research can be used as a baseline from which to monitor future trends’.

The study, which was recently published in the British Journal of Psychiatry revealed that approximately three in every 100,000 UK and Irish children under 13 have some form of eating disorder

The researchers also found that of the young children suffering with an eating disorder, 37 per cent were suffering from anorexia, one per cent were suffering from bulimia or over eating, 43 per cent had another eating disorder. The remaining 19 per cent tried to avoid food, displaying symptoms of eating disorders but without being preoccupied with their weight or shape.

67 per cent of those with an eating disorder were preoccupied with their weight, 50 per cent with their body shapes and 43 per cent exercised obsessively.

Experts are now calling for action in improving the detection of ‘early-onset’ eating disorders among young children, but more needs to be done to help GPs recognise the symptoms.

Care services minister Paul Burstow commented on the study findings and expressed that the coalition Government is committed to improving mental health among the entire population, which is why they are investing £400 million to expand psychological therapies over the next four years.

‘Some of this funding will enable the development of stand-alone programmes that seek to extend access to these therapies for both children and young people’.

‘Early intervention is essential for those with eating disorders’.

If you are concerned about eating disorders and would like to find out more then please visit our fact-sheets for further information. To talk to a counsellor about this matter please visit the homepage and use the search tool to locate a qualified professional in your local area.

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The Alzheimer’s Society are calling for dementia checks on the NHS when individuals reach 75.

According to the Alzheimer’s Society there are 750,000 people in the UK suffering with dementia with many cases going undiagnosed and many individuals not receiving the care they need.

In order to combat this growing number and provide better care for sufferers, leading charity the Alzheimer’s Society have recommended that the NHS offer check for dementia when people reach 75.

With numbers set to soar to more than a million by 2021, the Alzheimer’s Society say it is essential we identify those who need help quickly and efficiently, and the charity’s director of research Clive Ballard says that a diagnosis is fundamental to ensuring the right treatment and care are given.

“Really the only way we’re going to improve identification is through effective screening, and probably the right time to do that screening is over the age of 75 once dementia starts to become more common”. He said.

Ballard is proposing that individuals be offered a cognitive test at their local doctor’s surgery with questions based on time, date, place, memory and understanding which would later be backed up by an interview with a relative or carer.

If dementia is suspected, patients would then be referred to a specialist for a full assessment.

The British Medical Associations Dr Laurence Buckman says that though the screening is a good idea, many doctors would struggle to find the time and it would mean less time for other services.

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The study involved tracking over 17,000 working adults from Stockholm aged under 64, between 2002 and 2007. At the beginning of the study each participant was asked to complete a questionnaire in order to determine their mental health and stress levels.

During the observation period 649 of the participants began receiving disability benefits, with 203 suffering from a mental health problem and the remaining number having been affected by physical ill health.

The researchers found that high stress levels at the beginning of the study were linked to a higher chance of individuals being awarded long term disability benefits, but surprisingly those with mild stress were also 70 per cent more likely to receive disability benefits after taking account of other factors likely to influence the results, such as lifestyle.

One out of four of these benefits was awarded for physical illness such as high blood pressure and stroke and two thirds of the benefits awarded for mental illness were attributed to stress.

The authors of the study hope their findings will be considered in the context of modern working life, which see’s a great deal of pressure placed upon employees.

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After recent reports from earlier this month found that less UK households contribute to charity than they did 30 years ago, Osborne has made changes to the inheritance tax rules to ensure people feel encouraged to leave percentages of their estates to charity.

Health and social welfare charities are now in line for a leg-up as from April 2012, individuals who leave 10 per cent or more of their estate to charities will receive a 10 per cent cut in their inheritance tax bill, a move which could mean an extra £300 million for charities.

Furthermore, charities will also be able to claim new Gift Aid on up to £5,000 of small donations each year and tax breaks will be given to those who donate works of art or historical artefacts to the nation.

“These represent the most radical and most generous reforms to charitable giving for more than 20 years. Do the right thing for a charity and the government will do the right thing by you. It’s a big help for the big society.” said Osborne.

Chief executive of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (Acevo), Sir Stephen Bubb said:”This budget leaves a legacy of better giving for generations to come. But now we need government to get a grip on local cuts so that today’s generation of charities is still around to benefit tomorrow.”

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Care services minister Paul Burstow has recently announced the launch of a new government campaign which hopes to increase awareness of the early symptoms and signs of dementia.

According to research and statistics, almost 400,000 individuals in England may not be receiving the proper help they need because they have not yet been officially diagnosed.

At the moment there are a huge number of people who overlook what could be the early signs of dementia. Memory loss can often be put down to old age and ‘senior moments’ when actually it is an indicator of something more serious. It is at this early stage that treatment could be most effective and this is why the government is hoping that the new £1.2 million advertising campaign (which is being piloted in the north-west and Yorkshire and Humber) will reach many of these people.

Mr Burstow reinforced the campaigns important message by stressing that if you are worried you are showing symptoms then you should seek help as soon as possible.

‘Being diagnosed with dementia won’t make the condition worse, but leaving it untreated will.’ he said.

If either yourself or a loved one have been diagnosed with dementia and you are struggling to come to terms or cope with the effects of the condition then you may find it helpful to talk to a counsellor. For further information about dementia counselling please visit our fact-sheet, or to contact a counsellor to discuss the matter directly, please use the search tool located on the homepage of this site.

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