Kath Parson, Chief Executive of the Older People's Advocacy Alliance, is calling for independent advocacy to be available in healthcare and social care settings. Ms Parson is interested in hearing from anyone with ideas on how to generate resources for independent advocacy activity in care homes, or who can advise on establishing advocacy training for healthcare and social care staff. Email: kath.parson@gmail.com. 

Age Concern New Zealand has commented on figures released by Statistics New Zealand on May 14th 2012 which show that people aged over 80 are the fastest-growing age group in the country (increasing in numbers at about four times the rate they were 20 years ago). 160,000 New Zealanders are aged over 80 in 2012, but Statistics New Zealand estimates that the figure could reach half a million by 2050. Age Concern New Zealand's Chief Executive, Ann Martin, describes the projected increase in numbers as good news: “People living longer, healthier lives has to be a positive. Older people are some of our most active volunteers, as well as an invaluable source of wisdom.” However, Age Concern NZ also believes that the country will have to plan ahead if it is to meet the demands for older people's services that such an increase in numbers will make inevitable: “For Age Concern, it means that we need to plan to respond to the current and future needs and demands for our services. An older population means more isolated, lonely people requiring services such as Age Concern's accredited visiting services. More people in the 80-year-old age group also means more people who are at risk of being abused, and who will require our prevention and intervention services.” Age Concern NZ is calling on the New Zealand government to conduct more research, and carry out more policy and planning, on older people's issues. The full press release can be found at: http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU1205/S00204/new-figures-show-older-people-significant-portion-of-society.htm

Canada’s Change Foundation, an independent healthcare think tank, has released a report, Loud and Clear, in which older people with chronic health conditions (and their unpaid caregivers) describe the experience of navigating Ontario’s healthcare system. One person comments in the report: "The problem is that no one seems to understand the system. There’s no system map to explain how it works to caregivers or people using it for the first time. Without such a map, you have no idea how it works. People explained parts of the system, but not the overall system." The PDF of the report (and a video about the report) can be found at the above link.

The English Community Care Association (ECCA), a charity representing care providers, has responded to the April 23rd 2012 half-hour-long BBC Panorama programme  detailing the abuse of older people in a London care home. Martin  Green, Chief Executive of ECCA, writes: "The Panorama programme was truly shocking, and there is a real need to learn lessons from this incident, and make sure that it does not happen again. The [Government's] Dignity Commission has called for the establishment of a Social Care Quality Forum, and the ECCA is calling on the government to establish this body as a matter of urgency, to ensure that we identify the causes of poor care, and eradicate them from the system.”

Following the Australian Federal Government's April 20th 2012 announcement that older Australians will no longer be forced to sell their home to pay for their aged care, Council on the Ageing Chief Executive Ian Yates  stated: "The government's announcement today signals the beginning of a new era of care and support for older people and their families. The package also provides greater support for older people to be able to age at home, a plan to tackle dementia, and a 'Compact' to improve pay and conditions for the workers who care for older people".

Pill Identifier (for US citizens only). Imagine that you do not know what a pill is—perhaps because it has fallen out of the pack, or the pack or original prescription is lost. This online tool considers the shape and colour of the pill (as well as any imprint on the pill), to help identify the tablet.
The facility is hosted by the AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons).