A New Guide for Older People on Accessing GP Practices in Wales

The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales has launched a new guide to help older people and their families better understand their rights when accessing their GP practice, and the kinds of services and support that should be available. The guide includes information on a range of topics, from communicating with your practice, to finding the right service and professional, to the support that should be offered to help meet your needs, to what you can do if you’re not happy with the service you are receiving.  Versions of the guide are available in BSL, Audio and Easy Read formats, alongside summaries…

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How to Get a Copy of Your Medical Records

Everyone in the UK has a legal right to see their own medical or health records under the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR). Under GDPR accessing your medical records is free, and you do not have to pay anything. You do not have to explain why you want to see them, and you can nominate someone else, for example a solicitor, to view your records, provided they have written consent. Your request could be refused if a health professional believes seeing the records would be seriously harmful to your physical or mental health. Your medical records include any information about…

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Household Waste Disposal: Your Duty of Care

As a householder, you have a waste duty of care. This means that you must only transfer your waste to someone authorised to accept it. Your waste is not just usual weekly refuse, but includes furniture, electrical items, building waste and green waste. By making sure that waste is handled safely and only passed to people authorised to receive it we can protect the environment and human health. You must make sure that the person or organisation you choose to take away your waste is registered with the Natural Resources Wales. Private businesses such as skip hire or house clearance…

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Lasting Power of Attorney Your Voice, Your Decision

If you lose the ability to make certain decisions for yourself, a lasting power of attorney (LPA) lets people you trust quickly, simply, and legally step in. There are 2 types of LPA. An LPA can be made to cover the donor’s property and financial affairs or their health and welfare. The donor can have one or both LPAs, and they do not have to be made at the same time. Property and Finance – If a couple have a joint bank account and one person can’t make decisions for themselves, their partner cannot legally make decisions for them both. A…

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Electronic Prescription Service rolls out at 2nd site in Wales

Patients in Conwy are the second community in Wales to use the new electronic prescription service (EPS). Electronic prescriptions are now being sent from Llanfairfechan’s Plas Menai Surgery to two local pharmacies, Boots in Llanfairfechan and Gwynan Edwards in Penmaenmawr. EPS allows GPs and other healthcare prescribers to send prescriptions securely online to a community pharmacy chosen by the patient. Clinicians no longer have to print and sign the familiar green paper prescription form, which has been used to dispense medicines in Wales for more than 60 years. There is also no need for patients or pharmacy staff to pick…

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Council Tax Reductions for People Living with Dementia

The ‘severely mentally impaired’ (SMI) council tax discount is a reduction off a household’s council tax bill, worth at least 25%, and in some cases up to 100%. The payments can be backdated, as well as receiving future discounts. SMI is a medical diagnosis, but the underlying cause could be a condition such as dementia (or Alzheimer’s), Parkinson’s, severe learning difficulties or having had a stroke. It will depend on each individual case and simply having been diagnosed as SMI doesn’t automatically mean they qualify for the discount. A doctor must also certify they are severely mentally impaired. GPs are…

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Banking Hubs

Although not the same as having a branch of your bank service nearby, Banking Hubs make it easier to do your banking face to face, whoever your bank. Located in communities across the UK, some are operated by Post Office and some by Cash Access UK, both in partnership with major high street providers. The Hubs offer a counter service, where customers of any bank can carry out regular banking transactions such as pay in cash and cheques, withdraw cash, check your balance, pay utility bills, or top up gas or electricity. There are also private spaces where customers can…

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Number of People Aged 100+ Hits Record High

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) has reported a record high of 13,924 centenarians living in England and Wales in 2021. There were 11,288 female and 2,636 males, according to official 2021 census data published in September 2023. In 1921, life expectancy was about 68 years for women and 61 years for men, but it now stands closer to 91 and 88 years respectively. In the UK, there are 31 centenarians for every 100,000 people, according to ONS analysis of UN population data. By comparison, there are 106 per 100,000 in Japan (considered the oldest nation in the world), 42…

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Do Not Attempt CPR Decisions

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation known as CPR, is a treatment administered during a medical emergency, when you stop breathing (respiratory arrest) or your heart stops beating (cardiac arrest). Some people do not make a full recovery after having CPR, depending on their health or condition, and this is why they may choose not to receive CPR or treatments that may cause suffering at the end of life. DNACPR stands for Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation. DNACPR means if your heart or breathing stops your healthcare team will not try to restart it. DNACPR is sometimes called DNAR (do not attempt resuscitation) or…

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Older People’s Forums 2023 Tackling Isolation & Loneliness

Over the past 6 months, I have been speaking to many older people about lloneliness, isolation, and lack of connection. Most of us have noticed a decline in civility and basic manners, but everyone is now concerned with the lack of human interaction. It’s not just services that are now only online, but the increase of over the phone or internet contact, self-serve checkouts, and fewer chances to have contact with others. Lack of transport and pathway infrastructure, children moving far away for work, and a world that has become all but virtual, have led to isolation and spawned the…

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