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Carers Leeds, 6-8 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PT 0113 246 8338 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.carersleeds.org.uk
Company Registered No: 3242065 Charity No: 1058706
CARERS NEWS
Sponsored by Direct Line Insurance
February / March 2010
Including our pull-out centre section on training work-shops for carers in Leeds
Contents Page
Editorial 1
News from Carers Leeds 1 & 4
Events & Support Groups for carers 2-3
Courses Connect Carers 5-8
Get involved 9
Carer training reply slip 9-10
Local & national news 4, 10-11
Back Page Info 12
Editorial I can hardly believe it’s 2010 already! Has it really been a whole 10 years since we all celebrated the arrival of the year 2000?
Carers Leeds has been - and continues to be - affected by changes in national and local government policies. This has determined not only how we are funded but has also influenced the development of our service to carers and professionals; in fact all aspects of what we do. Carers Leeds is proud that, despite all these changes, it has continued to grow and to develop. Our newsletter circulation has increased by almost 50% in the past 5 years and we look forward to continuing to support carers in Leeds over the coming years. Jill Foalks
Our Annual General Meeting was held in November at Leeds Church Institute. Many thanks to all the carers, volunteers and representatives from other organisations who attended; it was great to see so many people there to help celebrate the work of the organisation. If you would like a copy of the annual report for 2008/09 please contact the office.
If the AGM inspired you to think about joining the Board of Trustees please leave a message at the office and a member of the Board will contact you. At the first meeting of the Board of Trustees after the AGM the following officers were elected: Siân Cartwright (Chair) Jenna Watson and Andy Bottomley (Vice Chairs) Richard Peters (Treasurer) Peta Matthews (Minute secretary).
We’re going electronic! In the current economic climate, government is demanding more information from our funders - which in turn means we need to provide more details about the people using our service. We hope to be introducing a pilot client database shortly and may need to ask you a few questions next time you call Carers Leeds. Please bear with us while we ‘fine tune’ our system and also please be assured that we don’t share your personal details with any outside body.
News from Carers Leeds
2
Events for Carers in February & March *** Bookings taken from Tuesday 2nd February: tel. 0113 246 8338 ***
All events are free of charge but donations are sometimes requested.
Carers’ Cafés
All carers are welcome to drop in to Carers Leeds on Tuesday 9th February and Tuesday 9th March from 11.00 am to 12.00 pm to enjoy a cup of tea or
coffee and some cake or fruit, whilst chatting with other carers.
Wellbeing Days
Monday 8th February and Monday 8th March at Carers Leeds.
Choose from aromatherapy massage, Indian head massage, foot massage with pressure points, relaxation or face and neck massage with pressure points.
On Monday 29th March you can book an appointment for Reiki only.
Individual appointments, lasting 40 minutes, are available between 10.00 am and 2.10 pm A voluntary donation of £3 per carer would be welcome.
*** Need to book: tel. 0113 246 8338
from 2nd February ***
Please note: Each carer may have a maximum of 2 therapy sessions
between April 2009 and March 2010.
Morley Carers in the Community Room at Morley Fire Station, Corporation Street, from 10.00 am –12 noon
Join us on Tuesday 16th February for ‘A Batchelor’s Delight’ - Anne Batchelor will speak about how she traced her family history back to 1527 and tell us about some of the interesting and eccentric characters she found along the way.
On Tuesday 16th March please come along to the bi-monthly carer-led group and meet other local carers over a cuppa in a friendly and supportive environment.
More details from Jill at Carers Leeds: tel. 0113 380 4306.
3Cs Carers Craft Circle
Wednesday 24th February at Carers Leeds from 10.30 am - 1.00 pm
Join Helen for a session with a Spring theme, making cards especially for the ladies in your life.
Editor’s note: perfect timing, with Mother’s Day and Easter coming up soon.
*** Need to book: tel. 0113 246 8338 from 2nd February ***
Carers’ Lunch
Join us on Tuesday 2nd March for fish or quiche and chips at Nash’s, St.John’s House, Merrion Street, Leeds LS2 8JE. Meet at the restaurant for 12 noon.
Please note: the room we will be using is
upstairs and there is no lift.
*** Need to book: tel. 0113 246 8338 from 2nd February ***
Lucky Dip Cinema Visit
Join us at The Light, Leeds City Centre, on Wednesday 17th March for an early afternoon film.
Times will be confirmed the week before. When we went to print we’d no idea what the film choice will be, but we’ll go with the majority decision!
*** Need to book: tel. 0113 246 8338 from 2nd February ***
West Leeds Dementia Carers Group meets on the last Monday of each month. Call Angie at Carers Leeds on 0113 380 4301 for more details.
3
Carers’ Support Groups For more details about all of the groups on this page, please call
Angie at Carers Leeds on 0113 380 4301.
Many carers tell us they find it helpful to attend a support group to chat, share experiences and support each other over a cuppa. Why not try one of these groups yourself?
Wheatfields Carers Support Group
Now meets fortnightly on Wednesdays from 1.30 pm - 3.00 pm at Wheatfields Hospice, Grove Lane, Leeds LS6 2AE.
Dates for the next 2 months are: Wednesdays 10th and 24th February and 10th and 24th March.
This group is for anyone who is caring for someone who has palliative care needs.
Come and join us for a coffee and a chat and gain support from others in a similar situation.
No need to book, just turn up.
Mental Health Carers Support Group f
The group meets from 5.30 pm until 7.00 pm at Carers Leeds, 6-8 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PT on Thursday 11th February and Thursday 11th March.
Come along for chat and mutual support from other carers caring for someone with a mental health condition.
WETHERBY CARERS
All local carers are welcome to join us at Wetherby Town Hall, LS22 6NE, in the Micklethwaite Room, from 10.00 am - 12 noon on Thursday 18th February and Thursday 18th March.
Otley Parent Carers Support Group
Do you have a child with a disability or long term health condition and live in Otley or the surrounding areas? Would you like to access professionals and meet other parents to share experiences and share mutual support in a caring, friendly environment?
Join our group on Monday 15th February and Monday 15th March from 1.30 pm to 3.00 pm at Otley Court House ( Robing Room), Courthouse Street, Otley LS21 3AN.
Horsforth Over 50s Carers Support Group from 1.00 pm - 2.30 pm at Central Methodist Church, Town Street, Horsforth, LS18 4AH on Tuesday 2nd February and Tuesday 2nd March.
A group for anyone over 50 who is caring for a family member or friend because of disability, illness, addiction or frailty and who lives in Horsforth or the surrounding areas.
Substance Misuse Carers Support Group
Tuesday 23rd February and Tuesday 30th March from 12 noon - 1.30 pm at our NEW VENUE - Multiple Choice, 33 Eastgate, Leeds LS2 7RD (next to Jobcentre Plus).
A friendly, supportive lunchtime group for people living with or supporting someone with a substance or alcohol misuse problem.
Light lunch provided.
PACES Parent Carers Express Support Group for parent carers of children and young people with special needs, disabilities and long-term health conditions in South Leeds. Everyone is welcome to come and join us at Nesfield Family Resource Centre, Nesfield View, Leeds LS10 3LA from 12 noon to 1.30 pm. Lunch provided - please make a small donation if possible.
Dates for the next 2 months are Tuesday 9th February and Tuesday 9th March.
Crossgates Carers Support Group
2.00 pm - 4.00 pm at Crossgates Good Neighbours, Station Road, Leeds LS15 7JY on Wednesday 3rd February and Wednesday 3rd March.
All carers are most welcome to join us.
4
More News from Carers Leeds Staff news
We were sad to say goodbye to Valerie Banks, our Office Administrator, in December. Valerie had been an invaluable member of the staff team for over 5 years. As well as all her ‘normal’ administrative duties, she took the lead on co-ordinating the envelope stuffing by a large team of volunteers over 3 days every 2 months and was the person who could solve problems with the photocopier, phones, computers, franking machine and much, much more! We’re not sure how
we’ll survive without her but we wish her all the best in her new job.
Auction
On Saturday 27th February an autographed photo of Les Dawson and Ronnie Hilton will be auctioned in aid of Carers Leeds at Andrew Hartley Auctioneers in Ilkley. The photograph was kindly donated by one of our carers. If you fancy bidding or attending, call the auction house on 01943 816363 for more details.
Priory View Medical Centre
Carers Leeds would like to thank Practice Manager Sandra Kaye and her team at Priory View Medical Centre LS12 for allowing Jane, our Health Development Worker, to have a Carers Leeds display and information point in the Surgery over two mornings last October. It was a great success and we were able to reach out to carers who were unaware of our service. This will be repeated over the next couple of months.
Computer printers
Carers Leeds has some inkjet printers to give away to carers. If you can make use of one, please call the office on 0113 246 8338.
Yorkshire Water WaterSure scheme
If you have a water meter, but you need to use more water than usual for essential purposes such as medical conditions, you may be able to benefit from the WaterSure scheme. This means that your bill will be capped at the average company rate, so you won't be charged for the amount of water that you've used if you've got a water meter.
To qualify, someone in your household needs to be receiving one of a number of income-related benefits including Income Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Additionally, either the person getting this benefit must be also be receiving child benefit for three or more children aged under 19 living in the household or someone in your household needs to be diagnosed with a medical condition which means they consume more water than usual (for example abdominal stoma, Crohn's disease, incontinence, skin diseases or Ulcerative Colitis).
For an application form, please ring 0845 1 24 24 24 or go to www.yorkshirewater.com
(Thanks to Sheffield Carers Centre for this article. Editor)
More local & national news
Thank you to everyone who donated items for our Christmas events: the Marriott Hotel, Leeds; Marks and Spencer, Leeds; GH Dovener, Headingley, The Devon in Cross Gates and individual carers. Special thanks once again to our friends at Markel Insurance for a surprise cheque for £381. Also, thank you for gifts to staff at Carers Leeds. We do appreciate them!
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Fir
st
Aid
A
wa
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s
All
ca
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L
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to
dea
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ith
so
me
o
f th
e m
ost
co
mm
on
h
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ld a
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9
Opportunities for carers to get involved The Leeds Safeguarding Adults Partnership Board would like to work with carers to develop a better understanding of carers’ issues as part of its work. The Board recognises that carers have very busy lives and can find it difficult to get to meetings. It is proposing to set up a carers reference group and would welcome suggestions from carers about what would work best for them.
The intention is to develop a two-way dialogue so that the Board can: • consult carers on particular matters to do with safeguarding the vulnerable people they
care for; • receive views, concerns and information from carers about their experience of the
safeguarding process.
The Board is also offering training for carers, so that carers can recognise different types of abuse and feel confident about what to do if they suspect someone is being abused or neglected.
If you would like to discuss the safeguarding adults carers reference group further, or if you would like advice on a safeguarding adults matter, please ring the Safeguarding Adults Partnership Support Unit on 0113 224 3511. Alternatively you can email the unit on: [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you.
CARERS LEEDS COURSE BOOKING FORM
If you would like to book on one of the Carers Leeds courses featured in the centre pull-out, please complete the form below and tick the course(s) you would like to attend overleaf. Please return the form by Monday 8th February 2010. Name ……………………………………………………………………………………… Address ………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………………………………………….Postcode ………………… Daytime Telephone No. ………………………………………………………………. Dietary Requirements ………………………………………………………………..
Infostore User Group
Please see the article overleaf (on page 10) for details of how to join this new group.
Telecare Group
Do you care for someone who uses Telecare equipment (e.g. a falls detector, a bed or chair sensor, medication reminder etc)? NHS Leeds and Leeds City Council will be working together to develop the use and availability of Telecare in Leeds in the future and would like to invite a carer to join a stakeholder group. If you are interested please contact Amanda Douglas at NHS Leeds on 0113 305 7656 or email [email protected]
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More local & national news Do you know about Infostore? www.olderpeopleleeds.info
Infostore is a very easy to use website for older people that brings together details of organisations, useful leaflets and other documents, news, events and activities within the Leeds area, with more general advice and reference information of specific interest to them.
The website is designed to meet the needs of older people in Leeds, their carers and the people who work with them. We want to make it easier for older people to find good information about the things they want to know about and support them to live healthy, active and fulfilled lives.
Infostore has been running successfully for over a year, and we now want to develop the website using some of the internet’s interactive facilities, such as people being able to leave feedback or reviews of services, have blogs or diaries, or to add useful organisations directly to Infostore. By making these additions, we hope to help everyone to become much more involved and engaged, both with their community and in shaping their own information and services.
Get involved!
The opinions and suggestions of older people and the people who work with them have helped to make Infostore useful and easy to use. Now we are developing Infostore further, we want to make sure that the people who are going to use it continue to be involved.
We are looking for people who would be interested in becoming part of a user group. If you are interested, please email [email protected] or telephone Sally Boyes or Chris Dunne on 0113 247 8239.
We want to support as many people as possible to use Infostore. We have the opportunity to provide training to organisations in Leeds and may also be able to provide some computers.
Anyone with a library card can use a computer free of charge at the local library, but if you know of somewhere that would benefit from training or computers, email [email protected] or telephone Nic Tortice on 0113 247 8239 or 07909 166 523 to discuss it further.
Course Booking Form Please tick the course/session you would like to attend and fill out your details on page 9. For full details of the above courses please see course pullout. Thursday 4 March Moving and Handling Thursday & Friday 11th & 12th March Self Nurture Friday 19th March First Aid Awareness To be returned for Carers Leeds courses ONLY before Monday 8th February to Margaret Hebden, Carers Leeds, 6-8 The Headrow, Leeds LS1 6PT.
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Have you made a Will?
Every year, thousands of people die without having made a Will. Whilst it may seem a trivial arrangement, can you really afford to take the risk?
Your wishes would go unheard... Without a Will any specific wishes or requests may not be followed. With a Will you can arrange special gifts, legacies, donations to your favourite charities or ensure any much-loved pets will be looked after. You can also specify any funeral arrangements you would prefer. This vital document could make a difficult time much easier for your loved ones.
Your loved ones may be left with nothing... Without a Will your estate would be divided according to the Laws of Intestacy, which don’t currently recognise co-habiting couples or stepchildren. With a Will you can choose your beneficiaries with peace of mind.
You can’t choose who administers your estate... Without a Will your estate could potentially be administered by somebody you have not chosen, who may not realise your wishes. With a Will you can nominate a relative, friend or even a professional Executor to ensure your instructions are followed.
Creating your Will needn’t be complicated or expensive. Download the Which guide ‘Writing a Will’ from www.which.co.uk/advice/writing-a-will or call Carers Leeds on 0113 246 8338 for a list of companies and organisations offering a Will writing service - and take a look at www.freewillsmonth.org.uk for making a Will for free with selected solicitors in May 2010.
Council Tax and severe mental impairment
People who are severely mentally impaired are not counted when adding up the number of people in a property. So for example if a husband and wife were living together and one had a severe mental impairment, they would get the usual discount of 25% that a single adult living alone would get. No Council Tax is payable on a property occupied solely by people with a severe mental impairment.
A person is considered to be severely mentally impaired if they have a severe impairment of intelligence and social functioning which appears to be permanent. The cause of impairment is irrelevant. The definition is therefore wide enough to cover people suffering from degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, and those who are severely impaired as a result of mental illness, such as chronic schizophrenia.
To be eligible for a Council Tax reduction, the person will need a doctor's certificate saying that they are severely mentally impaired and to be entitled to one of a range of disability benefits including Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance at the middle or high rate for personal care. For more details call Leeds City Council on 0113 222 4404.
Warm Front £300 heating rebate scheme
If you are over 60, own or privately rent your home and do not qualify for a Warm Front Grant because you do not receive a relevant benefit, you may be eligible for a £300 rebate. This rebate is available to help towards repairing or replacing an inoperable system or installing a new central heating system. The cost of work must be over £300 including VAT and is only available in English Local Authority Areas.
To apply, ring the Contact Centre on 0800 316 2808 or write to eaga plc, Freepost NAT 13708, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 1ZL. If you are eligible, you will be sent a letter and voucher/claim form which will list a number of installers working in your area. You must then contact one or more of the installers who will carry out a technical survey and provide a quote. When the work has been completed, you will receive an invoice for the work which will include a £300 deduction. You will then give the contractor your signed voucher which they can use to claim the £300 from the scheme. (Thanks to Sheffield Carers Centre for this article. Editor)
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Back Page Info Snippets
The Back Page is kindly sponsored by Wm Dodgson & Son, Funeral Services: 0113 249 8849
If you can help us cut costs and receive your Carers News via e-mail, please e-mail your name, e-mail and postal addresses and your telephone number to: [email protected] Carers News is also available in large print and on audio tape: please contact Carers Leeds on 0113 246 8338 to request your copy.
Whilst every effort is made to ensure that the information in Carers News is correct, Carers Leeds cannot accept liability for errors and omissions, nor can we recommend services or products.
FirstStop Advice
FirstStop provides support and advice for seniors as well as an information service for carers covering care, housing, finance and rights, both through their website and their telephone Advice Line.
• Care and support - in your own home, in specialist housing or in a care home. • Housing - services to help you 'stay put'
successfully; information about all the options if you choose to move somewhere more suitable.
• Finance - including paying for care, benefits and allowances, Council and NHS funding, insurances, financial planning and financial products.
• Your rights - the law; standards you should expect; and how to get what you are entitled to, including advocacy services that can support you.
Call 0800 377 7070 or go to www.firststopadvice.org.uk
Holiday information from iknow
The website www.iknow-uk.com offers general holiday accommodation listings but, if you scroll down the left side of the Home page for your chosen area in the Active Directories, you can search under ‘Speciality’ for Disabled Access.
There are details of hotels, guest houses, holiday flats, caravan parks and much more. There are pages for the Lancashire coast (including Blackpool and Lytham St Annes); Yorkshire (including Scarborough, Bridlington and Filey) and other popular UK holiday areas.
If you don’t have Internet access, Carers Leeds can print off a limited number of sheets and post them out to you: call 0113 246 8338 with your chosen destination.
The Beautiful Octopus Club
The next Beautiful Octopus Club, run by and for people with learning disabilities over the age of 18, is on Tuesday 30th March at Leeds University Union from 7.00 pm – 11.00 pm.
Tickets, priced at £6 each, are available from the West Yorkshire Playhouse Box Office on 0113 213 7700, online at www.wyp.org.uk or on the night.
The theme for the night is ‘1980s Disco’
Blue Badges - use with care
Make sure you display the parking badge with the expiry date showing, not the photo.
Remember to display the clock and to check whether parking charges apply, even for Blue Badge holders.
Don’t park in loading bays, bus stops or taxi ranks - you could get an expensive parking fine!
The Badge is issued to a specific person, for use in any vehicle s/he drives or uses as a passenger.
For more information on the Blue Badge call Carers Leeds on 0113 246 8338.
