All posts tagged: carers

From silver travel to gig carers, how 6 changemakers in Asia are reimagining what it means to age

From silver travel to gig carers, how 6 changemakers in Asia are reimagining what it means to age

“I used to think ageing was something helpless,” said Wang Jing, a volunteer at Seagull Comprehensive Elderly Service Centre. “But after working with these aunties, I’ve witnessed a different kind of retirement living. It’s made me look forward to my retirement with more hope.” EQUIPPING CARERS BETTER In India, one startup is already nurturing a new generation of professional geriatric carers — a crucial workforce for the country’s population of more than 150 million seniors, who largely prefer to age at home. Many of these aspiring carers are young migrants from villages and small towns, drawn to cities in search of opportunity. Once hired, they are expected to adjust quickly to unfamiliar households and deliver efficient care. “This job requires a tremendous emotional equilibrium,” said Ramakrishna Velamuri, the dean of Mahindra University’s School of Management. “To expect that from such young workers is quite unrealistic.” That realisation inspired Anant Kumar and Priya Anant to leave their healthcare jobs and establish Life Circle Health Services, a Hyderabad-based eldercare company that equips trainees with practical and emotional …

Even in Japan, robots are a long way from being fully-fledged carers – here’s why

Even in Japan, robots are a long way from being fully-fledged carers – here’s why

The robot pauses at the edge of the room as an engineer checks its sensors. Then, with a soft mechanical hum, this humanoid machine begins to move. It lifts a mannequin from a bed, slowly and carefully. The engineers hold their breath. I am in a robotics lab in Tokyo, Japan, as part of my Wellcome research fellowship. The engineers have repeated this test hundreds of times over several weeks, with mixed results. Japan has one of the world’s oldest populations, and a strained health and care workforce. It has also long been the global leader in the development and deployment of care robots. While other countries are exploring robotic technologies, Japan stands out for the size of its investment over several decades, and the strong link between innovation and national policy. Government-led initiatives such as Society 5.0 and Moonshot promote a “super-smart” society in which, by 2050, robots could be integrated into everyday life. One early example is the impending trial of humanoid baggage handlers at Tokyo’s Haneda airport. My research assesses what the …

Multimillion-pound drive to recruit 10,000 new foster carers | UK News

Multimillion-pound drive to recruit 10,000 new foster carers | UK News

The government says it wants to recruit 10,000 more foster carers by the end of the next parliament, launching what ministers describe as a major drive to reverse a long-term decline in support for vulnerable children. Backed by £88m in funding, the plan promises to open fostering up to younger and more diverse households, sweep away what it calls outdated rules, and ensure carers are better supported so fewer leave the system altogether. The announcement has been broadly welcomed by fostering charities, who say the ambition must be met with more investment. Image: Bryony Farmer stopped fostering because the system is ‘just too challenging to work with’ The government argues that the new plan is a reset that simplifies bureaucracy, strengthens regional fostering hubs, tests more flexible models of care and offers clearer financial and practical support, with ministers insisting that no one should be worse off for fostering. But carers on the frontline have told Sky News that the crisis is deeper than recruitment alone. Jamie Hirst, who fosters three teenage boys in Stockport, …