A charity claims regeneration work in Leicester is making it increasingly difficult for disabled people to find a parking space in the city centre. The group, Mosaic, said the work being carried out has severely reduced the number of parking spaces dedicated to those with disabilities. It claims disabled spaces on Church Gate have been cut from 16 to five. The city council has said it will look again at the balance of spaces which are available.
A severely disabled man has been told he must move his girlfriend out of his home in order to receive benefits, because of money she previously had. Stephen Hook, 50, from Barming in Kent, was left unable to work after injuring his back when he was a hospital porter, and has claimed benefits for 15 years. But the Department for Work and Pensions stopped them because his partner had money from her house sale. It said they would be restored if she moved out and he used a state carer.
A charity for deaf people is warning that loud music in pubs and clubs is leading to a hearing loss "time bomb". The Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID) found that the hearing of about 70% of people who visited nightclubs was affected. The group is now calling on the Scottish Executive to introduce recommended noise exposure levels for revellers to prevent future damage. The study also found loud music damaged the ears of nearly 50% of pub goers.
People with epilepsy are three times more likely to commit suicide than the general population, research suggests. Danish researchers also found women with epilepsy were more likely to kill themselves than men with the condition. People diagnosed with epilepsy in the previous six months were at an even higher risk of committing suicide. The Lancet Neurology study said greater efforts were needed to control seizures, which could be stigmatising, and had many knock-on effects. The Aarhus University Hospital team studied 21,169 cases of suicide in Denmark between 1981 and 1997.
Thousands of young diabetics could be skipping insulin injections in order to lose weight, the BBC has learned. People with type 1 diabetes need daily injections to help them absorb glucose to use as fuel. Failure to take correct doses can lead to rapid weight loss.
The NHS must urgently address failings in dementia care if it is to cope with future demands, a watchdog has said. The number of people with dementia is expected to rise by a third in the next 15 years, but the National Audit Office said it was not enough of a priority. The report said England lagged behind other European countries over early diagnosis and access to drugs.
