Bridlington boy who uses a ventilator in fundraising bike race
Head of product design Dr Ross Head said the charity responded to requests directly from families."Whether it's an adapted bike, a paddle board or a device to help a child throw a ball for their dog, each product has a real impact on a child's life," he said. "We might only make one or two of each item, or we might produce hundreds, but they are so well-used because it meets a real need for that child."Henry was born with multiple medical conditions and needs help to breathe through a tube in his neck.Despite requiring a ventilator 24 hours a day he plays football, cycles and learnt to swim.
His mother Shevonne said that wherever Henry goes the medical equipment "has to move with him"."The difference with Henry is that he is a mobile child as well and he's running, climbing and everything and he has always been that way," she told the BBC One Show."Dr Ross made these trollies ready for us to try different prototypes."All of getting up to this point Henry being so independent is down to those solutions that Dr Ross has made for us."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
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BBC News
19 hours ago
- BBC News
Moorlands Home Link launches fundraising appeal as NHS grant cut
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Telegraph
20 hours ago
- Telegraph
Claimants handed disability benefits for acne and writer's cramp
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The spiralling cost of disability benefits was laid bare by a new analysis of the data by the TaxPayers' Alliance campaign group, which highlighted examples of claims that warranted the £77 weekly payment under DWP rules. The total number of claimants receiving enhanced Pip in April 2025 was 1.75 million, up from 734,136 in January 2019. The largest increases, in line with other benefits data, were granted to people with mental health issues including autism, anxiety and depression. But other rises involved people with factitious disorders, which increased to 13 claimants from 11. The NHS says that Munchausen syndrome, one factitious disorder, happens when a patient's 'main intention is to assume the 'sick role' so that people care for them and they are the centre of attention'. The health service's website adds: 'Some people with Munchausen syndrome may spend years travelling from hospital to hospital faking a wide range of illnesses. 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Times
a day ago
- Times
Welfare payments granted for obesity, alcoholism and acne
Thousands of people with conditions such as alcoholism, obesity and even acne are being given welfare payments to improve their mobility — including free access to brand new cars, it has been claimed. The Taxpayers' Alliance, a right-wing pressure group, said its analysis of government data had revealed a huge rise in claims for Personal Independence Payments (PIP) over the past six years, which has contributed to the increased cost of the scheme. These included 5,817 people who received enhanced PIP for alcohol misuse in April 2025, up from 1,443 in January 2019, while 1,635 people received enhanced PIP for drug misuse, up from 277. • What is in the revised welfare bill? Liz Kendall's concessions Other successful claimants included 857 people who were awarded higher PIP payments for Tourette's syndrome, five for acne and 13 payments for factitious disorders — a mental health conditions where someone pretends to be ill or deliberately produces symptoms of illness in themselves. PIP mobility was given to 31 people suffering from food intolerance, 2,783 people with obsessive compulsive disorder and 1,211 people with sleep apnoea. There were six claims for writer's cramp — a neurological condition that causes abnormal hand and arm movements while writing. In total 1.75 million people in England received enhanced PIP in April 2025, up from 734,136 in January 2019. This entitles them to payments of up to £110.40 for daily living costs and £77.05 for mobility. It is designed to help them with additional costs they face associated with disabilities or long-term health conditions. The higher payments give claimants access to a mobility scheme where they can use the payments to lease new vehicles including cars such as the Nissan Duke and the Peugeot 2008. The Taxpayers' Alliance analysed government figures showing PIP mobility payments by the condition that they were supposed to alleviate and how many more claimants had become eligible. It found that the largest increases over the period were in claims related to autism and conditions linked to anxiety and depression. The number of enhanced PIP payments for autism rose from 26,256 in January 2019 to 114,211 in April 2025. Cases of payments for anxiety and depression rose from 23,647 to 114,211. Successful claims for ADHD rose from 4,233 to 37,339, while claims for obesity rose to 2,346 from 11,228. The Taxpayers' Alliance said it had created a new benefits 'dashboard' that broke down payments for a variety of UK benefits by postcode. They showed that almost one in ten Britons received personal independence payments in England and Wales. Blaenau Gwent in southeast Wales recorded the highest number per 1,000, at 211. The region with the most claimants per 1,000 was Wales, at 147.7. However, the region with the largest increase was the east of England, where there was a 118 per cent increase over the past six years. John O'Connell, chief executive of the Taxpayers' Alliance, claimed that the benefits system was being 'significantly abused'. 'While England is a sicker country than it was before the pandemic, the size of the increases for many of these conditions surely cannot be believed by even the most gullible of MPs,' he said. 'Britain is in desperate need of a politician who has the courage to tackle this system head on to ensure that taxpayers' money is being protected while those who genuinely need help receive it.'
