News items from August 2013
Autumn newsletter out now
Why not put your feet up for a few minutes and enjoy reading our Autumn Newsletter, full of useful information for carers including details of the courses we're currently running for carers around the county.
Simply click here to read it in full.
What carers think of our Mental Health Education Programme
Here is just some of the feedback we've had from carers who have attended our education programme for mental health carers in Leicestershire and Rutland:
"I found all of the sessions to be extremely useful, well structured and well delivered."
"A more positive, modern approach to mental illness, plus that there is more support [available] than I knew about."
"The sessions were very informative and there was plenty of additional written information. The tutor also found time to talk to us individually which was a big help."
"My favourite session was on the concept of Mindfulness."
"It was useful to be reminded that my health (physical and emotional) is as important as the health of the person I support."
"The course was very good and helped me to look after myself more."
"The sessions were well organised and also flexible enough to account for unexpected events."
"I enjoyed the group work and exercises, it made it easier to understand because we were learning by experience."
"The course was extremely well delivered with thoughtfulness and sensitivity."
"I found the tutor very supportive and knowledgeable."
"It was a non-judgemental environment. People had a shared understanding. The experts coming in to advise were very helpful."
"I learned there were many aspects to “caring” that I was just “doing” without realising why, or the impact it was actually having on me and my ability to live my life."
"I found the sessions most helpful that delved into how the person we cared for thinks, how they process feelings and emotions."
"It made me think about things differently and I analyse what I do and don’t do more now. I also realise that everyone goes through similar things, which is a help."
"I now feel more able to do things I want to do without feeling guilty."
"The course was delivered in a very professional and sympathetic way, which encouraged everyone to participate and was very enjoyable."
"It was very helpful."
"I feel that I am not alone and that there are other people going through caring for someone with a mental illness."
"The way the course was delivered was really good and I feel everyone’s needs were met, there was time for us all."
"I understood in a way I didn’t before."
"I would have liked the group to be more committed and not to leave early."
"All the sessions were very useful and well laid out."
"I struggled with the group work, but I did it anyway."
"Every session was extremely well planned and I always felt supported. The information given was always excellent."
"There was a logical progression in the content of the sessions and each session was applicable."
"I learned that I wasn’t alone, and feel more able to cope."
"I learned more about mental illness and the help that was available."
"The delivery was excellent and made everyone feel comfortable and at ease."
"The sessions were interactive and designed to make us think, everyone felt involved and it created a good group atmosphere."
"Don’t change anything."
"It’s a great course and I was made to feel at ease from the beginning to the end. It made me realise I wasn’t alone when dealing with mental health issues."
"It felt very comfortable to talk about my concerns and get positive feedback if I did not understand something. It was fine to go over and over it until I felt comfortable on the understanding of the topic."
"The tutor was always calm and never rushed me when I was speaking. She always had time to listen and clearly knew her stuff, and would find the answers to anything she was unsure about."
"I learned : how to be more positive as a carer, how and where to look for support , the signs of a slippery slope and how to deal with the outcome."
"I’ve become more assertive as a person."
"I don’t feel so alone or ashamed."
"I learned how to live in a normal household again with your family."
"Sessions I found most helpful were : Understanding and Coping with Challenging Behaviour, Understanding Self Harm, Understanding Mental Health."
"All the sessions were useful and linked one after another."
"It was a great course."
"All handouts were sent to me when I had to miss a session and any questions I had were ironed out when I returned. It was never a problem to go through things again."
"I don’t feel anything needs to be changed, I benefitted so much from it."
"Thank you for your time and commitment."
New NHS 111 telephone service on track for autumn launch
The NHS 111 service is a new telephone service being introduced across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland to make it easier for the public to access local health services when they need help quickly.
The service will be staffed by a team of fully trained advisers, supported by experienced nurses, who will ask questions to assess the patient's symptoms, give healthcare advice and direct them to the right local service as quickly as possible. This can include an out-of-hours doctor, walk-in centre or urgent care centre, community nurse, emergency dentist or late-opening chemist. In an emergency, an ambulance will be sent immediately without the need for any further assessment.
One of the key objectives is to ensure that people receive the right care, from the right person, in the right place, at the right time. The NHS 111 service will be available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, via the new free to call, easy to remember three-digit number.
The local NHS 111 development and testing programme is progressing well and the service is on target for full roll out across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland by the end of October. There is a strong focus on ensuring that staffing levels, training and systems meet the high standards expected by the three clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in West Leicestershire, East Leicestershire and Rutland, and Leicester City who are responsible for the service locally. Plans are in place to make the phased launch straightforward for patients so important changes such as the transition from the current NHS Direct telephone service to NHS 111 will be as seamless as possible.
Click here to find out more about the new service
VASL event - 27th September
Voluntary Action South Leicestershire (VASL), the charity who runs Support for Carers, is holding an event on 27th September and carers and cared for are very welcome to come along.
The event will include the chance to find out more about VASL's projects as well as the charity's Annual General Meeting (AGM).
All the details are below. Alternatively, click to download a PDF version of the invite and a Microsoft Word version of the AGM Notice.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Public asked for reasons why they attend A&E
Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) is asking people why they attend accident and emergency at the Leicester Royal Infirmary instead of their GP or other NHS service as part of a project to better understand how and why people use local health services.
The survey, which consists of 23 questions, aims to gather information on how many people already registered with a GP attend A&E as well as when and why they went to A&E particularly if they may have been treated more appropriately by another part of the NHS.
An engagement period with patients and members of the public started on Monday August 19th and will continue for the next three months. At the end of the period the data will be collected and used to better understand patients’ issues around accessing local services and will help to inform targeted work in different areas of the city.
The survey also presents people with a list of common health conditions and asks them to tick where they would choose to go for treatment for each condition. The survey outlines the many health services that people can walk in to in Leicester. These include the Urgent Care Centre and 8-8 health centres. It asks people for their views on renaming the services so they are easier to identify and can be used more effectively by the public.
Dr Avinashi Prasad, co-chair of Leicester City Clinical Commissioning Group and lead for unscheduled care, said:
“The aim of the exercise is for us to gain a full picture of the reasons behind A&E usage from a patient perspective. The results from the survey will help us better understand how and why patients use the service, and highlight any current underlying issues, that may need to be addressed.
“We don’t want patients having to wait hours to be seen at A&E. It’s not only an inconvenience for them but it may also mean that staff spend more time than they should looking after patients who do not need emergency care rather than focussing on those who need it most.”
To take part in the survey, please request a copy from your GP surgery. Or click here to complete the survey online.
Translations, large print and easy read versions are available on request by calling 0116 2954159 or emailing [email protected]
Alternatively, click here for an easy read version.
The survey will close on 1st November 2013.
The CCG is also keen to hear patient’s views on their own experiences of A&E. To support this, people are encouraged to visit the Patient Opinion website to leave feedback and share their stories and experiences of A&E, both good and bad. This information will help shape future local services.
Feedback from carers - what you think of our service
We've had some great feedback from carers about the service we provide, so we thought we'd share it with you:
A carer contacted us after picking up our leaflet in her GP surgery five weeks ago. She had been drumming up the confidence to call us. After a very lengthy conversation and us listening to her, she said that she was so pleased she called and we made the whole experience of talking to us very easy and she felt better and more empowered.
Another carer rang to say how grateful she was for the information we sourced for her. She said she was glad to know we are here if she has any more queries.
Here are some of your other comments:
"Thank you so much for your help, it’s really appreciated and it was good to talk to you face to face on Skype."
"Since moving to Market Harborough we have been overwhelmed by the support and help we have had from everyone including Support for Carers and VASL's transport scheme."
"It s been so nice to speak to someone who understands on the other end of the phone. You’ve been absolutely wonderful and so pleasant."
"You have been a life saver for me."
"Thank you so much for getting the help I needed, I don’t know what I would have done without your support and help."
"I am just writing to say how comforting I found your carers' newsletter. I am very lucky as I received a 'hard' copy and today an on-line copy."
“I’m so glad I came along, everyone was so friendly and it’s good to know I’m not alone. Made me feel good for the rest of the day. I will definitely be coming to future meetings.” (Comment from a carer who attended a support group for the first time.)
“I always feel better after talking to Sue (telephone befriender) she really cheers me up and I look forward to her calls.”
"When I read your newsletter, I thought wow, that’s the sort of information I want. Your newsletters are really useful." (The carer has been able to share this information with another organisation who in turn have shared it with their members.)
"Thanks to you I don’t feel so alone."
Alton Towers trip for young carers
There were thrills a-plenty for our young carers on 7th August when our group went to Alton Towers for the day.
Paid for via our Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Communities Foundation (LLRCF) grant, which funds two ‘special events’ a year for our group, 14 young carers, Gillian Wood (a Trustee of VASL) and Hannah Currington left the Satellite Centre at 8.30am, fortified by water and Murray mints.
We were blessed with the weather, which was fortunate as within half an hour of arrival both adults were absolutely drenched on the Congo River Rapids. The young carers scarpered as soon as we got through the gates, anxious to get in the queue for the most stomach-churning rides – ‘The Smiler’ looks particularly likely to make you lose your lunch!
Despite having to share the park with every wasp in the UK, a great time was had by all, and at least half the group fell straight to sleep on the coach home.
The following feedback was left on Facebook:
“Want to go again!”
“Alton Towers was amazing – you are all so so awesome.”
“Had a great time at Alton towers with everyone yesterday it was really fun… love you all at y.c.c !”
“Alton Towers with YCC was awesome!”
“Me with my girls at Alton towers today xxxxxx had a really good day thanks guys xxx and the rest of YCC, had a good laugh on the bus.”
“Honestly had the best day at Alton Towers with YCC […]! Love you guys.”
“It was the best day ever.”
“Was really good, thanks guys!”
Breaking News: Have your say on the future of carersâ support services in Leicestershire
Leicestershire County Council is asking carers to take part in a very important survey to help shape the support services you receive.
They’re interested in finding out what your needs as a carer are, and if these needs are being met by services like Support for Carers, which is funded by the Council.
As you can imagine, it’s really important you have your say, to make sure you get the support services you need in the future, especially with cuts in local services continuing to take place.
The survey is very quick to fill in – you just need to tick your top three priorities from a list of initiatives currently being run in Leicestershire to support carers.
Please download and complete the survey and return it to us via email at [email protected]
Please note, the survey will download as a Microsoft Word document to your desktop or downloads folder.
Click here to download the survey
Alternatively, you can post your survey to us or bring it along to any of our carers’ support groups.
Our address is:
Support for Carers
Voluntary Action South Leicestershire
The Settling Rooms
St Mary’s Place
Springfield Street
Market Harborough
Leicestershire
LE16 7DR
If you’d like to find out more you’re welcome to call us on 0845 689 9510 (calls charged at local rates, charges may be higher from mobiles).
Many thanks for your help.
Carer Participation Sessions
If you’re able to go along, the Council is also holding three Carer Participation Sessions, where you’ll be able to find out more about the Council’s plans and have your say in person. You’re welcome to take the person you care for along too.
Wednesday 21st August
From 10am to 11.30am at the Bassett Street Centre, Bassett Street, South Wigston, Leicester, LE18 4PE
Thursday 22nd August
From 1.30pm to 3pm at John Storer House, Wards End, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3HA
Thursday 29th August
From 6pm to 7.30pm at the Brite Centre, Braunstone Avenue, Braunstone, Leicester, LE3 1LE
To find out more about these sessions and to confirm you’ll be attending, please call Harvey Rai on 0116 229 3029 or Yasmin Shaikh on 0116 229 3050 or email [email protected]
Please mention any specific needs you may have so that you can take part fully in the session you attend.
Have your say!
The Improved Access to Psychological Therapies Service (IAPT) is a service for people over 16 years of age living in Leicestershire County and Rutland, who are feeling troubled, stressed, anxious or depressed.
It offers patients a trained therapist to talk to, who can also direct them to other support and services that are available.
The IAPT service in Leicestershire County and Rutland was set up in 2009. However, the currently commissioned service comes to a natural end on the 31st March 2014.
East Leicestershire and Rutland Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group will be re-procuring the service. This will mean putting the current service provision out to tender, to enable many different service providers to submit their proposals to be considered as prospective deliverers of the service.
As part of this process one of the elements that the CCGs are being asked to consider is how the service currently works with patients and other groups. They want to seek views from service users, the public and voluntary organisations, about what they would like to be taken into consideration when their new IAPT service is being developed. As such, there will be a number of questions that they would like your comments and feedback on as part of the session.
They are holding two events to discuss the current Improved Access to Psychological Therapies Service. These events will take place on:
Friday 16th August 2013
From 10am – 12pm at The Ramada Jarvis, Loughborough (click here for directions) and from 3pm – 5pm at the Innovation Centre, Market Harborough (click here for directions)
If you would like to attend either of these events please contact [email protected] stating which venue you would prefer to attend.
Young Carers Club makes headline news
Our Young Carers Club has made page 3 of Lutterworth Archery Club’s newsletter, following a trial session on 24th July. The event was given a whole page article and was a great success, here’s an extract:
“Seventeen young people aged between 12 and 17 picked up a bow and arrow and hit the gold. There were a few stars amongst the group, who definitely put some of the more seasoned club members to shame. Very few stray arrows, so the metal detector was not required. After only a minimum amount of coaching, a team competition was held of dozen arrows each, and although it was close, Team 2 were the winners.”
Click here to read the article in full (go to page 3)
Giving young carers a break
To celebrate Carers Week in Leicestershire, our Young Carers Activity Group held a 'BBQ and Bouncy Castle' evening at The Satellite Centre on Wednesday 12th June and we thought you'd like to see some pictures.
The BBQ was kindly sponsored by Sainsbury’s in Market Harborough and a bouncy castle (and 'Gladiators' style inflatable pugil) was funded through Harborough District Council’s Positive Activities for Young People money.
In spite of a drenching downpour halfway through the evening, a constant supply of burgers, sausages and chicken barbecued by our willing volunteer Filipa kept our spirits up.
The bouncy castle was incredibly popular although the adults found it much more exhausting than they remembered from childhood!
Hannah, our Young Carers Project Worker, said:
"Although we try to give our young carers a fun evening once a fortnight anyway, it's refreshing to be able to do something out of the ordinary once in a while. Carer's Week was the perfect excuse to celebrate everything these young people do for their families."
Feedback afterwards was incredibly positive - one young carer told us:
"I loved it last night - it was ggggrreat!"
The Big Knit needs you!
Age UK Leicester Shire & Rutland is calling for all knitters to join in The Big Knit this year to raise much-needed funds to help keep local older people warm and healthy this coming winter.
The local branch of the charity has pledged to make 28,000 little hats and needs all the help it can get to achieve this challenging total.
Innocent drinks will donate 25p for each little hat knitted and the hats will adorn Innocent smoothie bottles sold in Sainsbury's stores in November.
The ladies from one of our carers' groups Knit and Natter have already been busy as you can see! So far, they've made 300 little hats and there are plenty more to come apparently!
To find out more please call Diane from Support for Carers on 0845 689 9510 (calls charged at local rates) or email [email protected]
