News items from September 2015
Step by Step - three new groups for former carers
We're pleased to announce we're launching three new groups for carers whose caring role has come to an end, thanks to funding through Leicestershire County Council.
We understand that when a carer's caring role comes to an end there is often a huge gap left, because the carer has devoted so much of their time and life to caring for their loved one or friend.
The evidence shows this is the crisis time; your role has changed, all the help and support stops and you can become isolated, which can lead to anxiety and depression.
Our Step by Step groups will support former carers to help you:
- Rebuild your life
- Explore new hobbies
- Look at volunteering opportunities
- Make new friends
- Build on your social networks
- Look at ways of staying healthy
- Develop coping strategies
The Step by Step groups will be held monthly on a Wednesday in Market Harborough, Lutterworth and Hinckley. The groups will be social as well as informative, and an opportunity to meet people in a similar situation and make new friends over a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits.
Lutterworth Step by Step Group
Meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month from 2.30pm-4pm starting on Wednesday 14th October at Lutterworth Town Hall, High Street, Lutterworth, LE17 4AT.
Hinckley Step by Step Group
Meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month from 2.30pm-4pm starting on Wednesday 21st October at Hinckley Baptist Church, Pathway Centre, Baptist Walk, Hinckley, LE10 1PR.
Market Harborough Step by Step Group
Meets every 4th Wednesday of the month from 1.30pm-3pm starting on Wednesday 28th October at the Methodist Church (opposite the Market Hall), Northampton Road, Market Harborough LE16 9HE.
If you would be interested in coming along to the group or know of someone who would be, please call Gurjit or Jackie on 0845 6899510.
R U OK? A new mental health campaign for Leicestershire
We're supporting R U OK? Day - a multi-agency event to raise awareness of how a kind word or quick conversation can help lift the mood of someone who might be feeling low.
Organisations from across Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland will be on Leicester Railway Station on Thursday 8 October 'making connections' for World Mental Health Day, under the banner of Change Your Mind.
Scores of volunteers will be mingling with passengers between 7am and 7pm, with the aim of engaging people in 30 second conversations.
Event co-ordinator Matthew Wakely, a mental health team manager from Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT), explained:
“What we want to convey is a very simple concept. Letting someone know you are there, sharing a cup of tea and listening, sending a text message, giving some time to someone, are all ways every one of us can help."
There will be a central information point close to the station entrance where travellers can pick up information about organisations who offer help, and a quiet area where people can have a more in-depth discussion if they wish to. Plus, commuters will be offered free bookmarks signposting them to a new dedicated Change Your Mind website, which outlines the aims of the campaign and provides information about sources of support.
It's hoped the R U OK? event will kick start an ongoing multi-agency Change Your Mind mental health awareness campaign, complimenting existing campaigns such as Time for Change and Rethink Your Mind.
R U OK? is part of a week of activities supported by organisations across Leicestershire and Rutland in the week of World Mental Health Day (10 October): The line up includes: Monday 5 October - Bake Off event at Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust’s Mett Centre; Tuesday 6 October - Speak out stand in Leicester market; Wednesday 7 October - Belgrave Neighbourhood Centre event; Thursday 8 October - Network / LAMP Social Evening at Regents Club and Social Media Cafe; Saturday 10 October - Highcross Mental Health Day pop up shop event.
To find out more call Sheila Ashton, communications manager, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust on 0116 295 0042 or email [email protected]
You can follow Change Your Mind on Twitter @CYM_LLR
Read more including a story by someone affected by mental health and how others helped
Have your say!
The Alliance Partnership is a unique and innovative approach to delivering care through a multi-agency partnership, and is a new approach to contracting for care within the NHS. They are holding a listening event on Tuesday 6 October to understand what is most important to people about the way outpatient, diagnostic and day-case services are provided to help shape future delivery.
Help raise funds for carers in Charnwood this Halloween!
Why not book your ticket for a night of family Halloween fun for all ages in Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough and help raise funds for Support for Carers and Barrow upon Soar Community Association? We're hoping that the money raised will go towards a day of pampering and relaxation for carers in Charnwood!
The Barrow upon Soar Panto Group will be travelling to the sinister Talbot Manor, for a frightfully fun night of interactive murder mystery, on Saturday 31st October from 7.30pm, at Humprey Perkins School, Cotes Road, Barrow upon Soar, Loughborough LE12 8JU. You're welcome to dress up for the occasion if you'd like to, whether you fancy wearing your scariest Halloween costume or attending in classic 1930s style.
The proceeds will be split between Barrow upon Soar Community Association and carers in Charnwood, via Support for Carers.
Tickets cost £10 including a two course ploughman's supper and dessert. They can be bought from the Barrow Paper Shop or by PayPal via the BUSCA website or from any of the cast.
Health watch Leicestershire - Your Voice Matters
Healthwatch Leicestershire regularly conduct surveys to find out the public's views, opinions and experiences of healthcare services in Leicestershire, in order to influence positive change.
Why not have your say in two of their latest surveys - The Ambulance and Emergency Services quick poll and their Community Conversations questionnaire.
You can complete the Ambulance and Emergency Services quick poll online or by downloading it here as a Microsoft Word document and returning by the end of September to FREEPOST, LE5 328, Healthwatch Leicestershire, Voluntary Action Leicester, PO Box 30, Leicester, LE1 7ZX, marked For Attention Of Yachna Desai, Information Assistant.
You can complete the Community Conversations questionnaire by downloading it here and returning it to the address above.
Please note: Microsoft Word documents usually download to your downloads folder - they don't open in a new window.
If you have any questions, please call Yachna Desai on 0116 257 5016.
When Margaret met Margaret…
Margaret, one of our Telephone Befrienders, has been calling one of our carers, also called Margaret (lady in red) for nearly two years but they've never actually met. So imagine their delight when they finally caught up face-to-face at VASL's AGM & Celebrating Volunteers event last Thursday!
Our Telephone Befriender Margaret said:
"It was such a special moment as over the last two years we've developed a relationship and now, to meet, was amazing!"
Get your Will written in exchange for donating to a UK charity
Thank you to Angela Gifford, Managing Director of Able Community Care Ltd for sharing this story via the Able Newsflash:
Will Aid November 2015 - Will Aid runs for the month of November each year. It is a special partnership between the legal profession and nine of the UK's best-loved charities. Every November, participating solicitors waive their fee for writing a basic Will. Instead, they invite their clients to make a donation to Will Aid.
To find a participating solicitor in your area visit www.willaid.org.uk
Help shape community healthcare services
Over the past few months, West Leicestershire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) has been doing a lot of work with patients, carers and staff, living and working in the Hinckley and Bosworth area, to understand their experiences of healthcare and find out what matters most to them.
This information led the CCG to develop a shared vision of what community health services in the area could look like, and the journey they would need to make to achieve that change - including forecasting what future demand for services will be, looking at their buildings and how suitable they are to meet future demand, making sure they have the staff with the right skills to care for patients, and ensuring the services they deliver now and in the future offer the best value for money for patients from the resources they have.
Now, the CCG is inviting you to take part in the next step of shaping community healthcare services in Hinckley and Bosworth and the surrounding area.
They are holding two workshops to tell people what they have learnt and share the range of possible ways they could shape and improve services based on the evidence based research they have gathered, to get your feedback.
The CCG wants everyone interested in shaping community services in Hinckley to attend one of two events. They are holding one in the daytime and one in the evening, to ensure as many people as possible can attend. The events will be at Hinckley Golf Club on Monday 5 October, the first starting at 12.30pm-3.30pm and the second from 6.30pm-9.30pm. Light refreshments will be available. Everyone is welcome to attend either of the two events.
The events are expected to be popular so please register your place by calling 0116 295 4183, email [email protected] or visit www.westleicestershireccg.nhs.uk and sign up online.
Creative writing course for carers
Nina Robertson is running a creative writing group for carers again this term. She explains:
This is a not for profit group and I'm a carer myself. The group aims to give carers time-out to nourish ourselves through writing. For beginner and experienced writers. Write a poem, a play, a novel, your autobiography. A friendly and supportive group where you can pick up a pen and see what happens!
The group runs monthly Wednesdays 2pm - 4pm at Evington Park House, Evington Park, The Common, Evington LE5 6DE.
Dates: October 21st, Nov 25th, Dec 16th.
Cost by donation (suggested minimum £2).
To find out more:
Call Nina on: 07500 833771
Email: [email protected]
‘Feel Alive from 65’
Sport and physical activity is an important part of all our lives, especially as we get older. Last year, Leicestershire and Rutland Sport's (LRS) annual active ageing campaign saw over 1,500 older adults participate in sport and physical activity taster sessions across the county. This year's campaign week 'Feel Alive from 65' will run from 28th September to 4th October - giving you an amazing opportunity to take part in a programme of physical activity across Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland, including over 150 taster sessions featuring kurling, tai chi, walking, bowls, seated exercise and many more.
Take a look at the programme to find sessions near you
Carer’s Credit - have you checked what you’re entitled to?
Nearly 200,000 carers could boost their future State Pension simply by signing up for Carer's Credit.
Minister for Pensions, Baroness Altmann, is calling on all carers to check they are getting what they are entitled to – and urging everybody to spread the word to carers they may know.
Nearly 200,000 people with caring responsibilities could receive a boost to their pension – worth hundreds of pounds a year – by claiming Carer’s Credit. But currently only an estimated 5% of those eligible are signed up to receive these additional National Insurance contributions.
Signing up for Carer’s Credit for a year means a carer could receive over £200 extra per year in State Pension when they retire.
Minister for Pensions, Baroness Altmann, said:
It is important to recognise how much carers give to society, and I would like to see them receive what they’re entitled to. If carers are not working full time, these credits can fill gaps in their National Insurance record – helping to bolster the amount of State Pension they will receive. It is straightforward to apply and doesn’t cost anything. There is nothing to lose by signing up – and money to gain for the future. I’d like people to spread the word about this because I don’t want to see anyone missing out. Currently only 11,000 people have signed up for the credit, which contributes to their National Insurance record, yet around 200,000 are thought to be eligible. It is designed for those who are caring for others for 20 hours or more per week and do not qualify for Carer’s Allowance. The credit helps carers to continue to build the amount of State Pension they will receive – so they can protect their future State Pension, while carrying out their caring responsibilities. Signing up for this credit can particularly help older women. Women make up 130,000 – or 65% – of those who could be eligible, and two-thirds of those with caring responsibilities who could apply are estimated to be over age 50.
Leicester’s Hospitals Annual Public Meeting - Thursday 17th September
You're welcome to go along to Leicester's Hospitals Annual Public Meeting on Thursday 17th September from 4pm-8pm at The Big Shed, Freemans Common, 93 Commercial Square, Leicester, LE2 7SR.
With a theme of 'Delivering Caring at its Best', this year's meeting will focus on how hopsital services are changing over the next five years. The event will begin with an information and health fair between 4pm-6pm followed by refreshments and a light buffet, before the formal AGM meeting begins at 6.30pm. During the meeting, the Trust Board will review the past year and discuss Leicester's Hospitals new Five Year Plan: 'Delivering Caring at its Best'.
If you have any questions about the services Leicester's Hospitals run, the Trust Chief Executive, John Adler, and other Senior Directors, will be holding a question and answer session for the general public towards the end of the event.
Everyone is welcome with no booking required and parking is free at the venue.
To find out more:
Email: [email protected]
Visit: www.leicesterhospitals.nhs.uk
