Some people in England are facing waits of nearly two-and-a-half years for an NHS hearing aid, the RNID charity says. Among 99 primary care trusts, it found 10 were not treating people within a year, with the longest wait of 125 weeks in Kingston-upon-Thames, London.
A Shropshire hospital has received almost £1m in donations in the last 12 months, it has emerged.
A charity supporting Norfolk people with learning difficulties has been awarded a grant of £100,000 by the East Of England Development Agency (EEDA). Forward and Futures of King's Lynn will receive the cash from the agency's Investors In Communities fund.
Proposed electronic tagging of dementia sufferers, with their agreement, has been backed by the Alzheimer's Society. The charity said the plan could empower patients by allowing them to wander, but called for a debate on the ethics of gaining consent.
Disability rights groups are celebrating a High Court decision that a council unlawfully withdrew services for up to 500 disabled adults. Judge David Mackie QC ruled the London Borough of Harrow was wrong to tighten up adult care eligibility criteria to meet "critical needs" only. The council wanted to withdraw services for those with "substantial" needs.
The carers allowance is too complex and should be replaced with a single benefit for people unable to work for any reason, a think tank says. The allowance is designed to help those caring for relatives for more than 35 hours a week,