Autism Consultation: Have Your Say

Fulfilling and Rewarding Lives: The Autism Strategy for adults with Autism in Wiltshire

The ‘Wiltshire Autism Partnership’ would like to know your views about the strategy for adults with autism in Wiltshire. This strategy has been written so that:



“All adults with autism are able to live fulfilling and rewarding lives within a society that accepts and understands them.



"They can get a diagnosis and access the support if they need it, and they can depend on mainstream public services to treat them fairly as individuals, helping them make the most of their talents.”



To help make this happen, there are 5 areas that the Wiltshire Autism Partnership are focusing on;



To improve information about the number of adults with autism in Wiltshire



To increase the awareness and understanding of autism in Wiltshire



To develop a clear and equal way for people to find out if they have autism (getting a diagnosis)



To improve ways for adults with autism to use the services and support they need to live independently within the community.



To support adults with autism into work



Read the first part of the strategy 1mb Automatically imported picture.



We would like to ask you about what the ‘Wiltshire Autism Partnership’ intend to do.



This is to understand if they have missed anything or need to make any changes.



This information will also help the Wiltshire Autism Partnership to plan how they will make these priorities happen for people with autism.



There are 3 questionnaires. Please click on a link below to complete the questionnaire which is relevant to you.
A questionnaire for people with autism
Easy read questionnaire for people with autism 865kb
A questionnaire for carers and family members
A questionnaire for professionals



If there are any questions that you cannot or do not want to answer, please leave them blank and move onto the next question.



Please Note: The term ‘Autism’ has been used to reflect the full spectrum, including aspergers and high functioning autism.

The consultation ends on 31 January 2012
If you have any further questions or difficulties completing these forms, please phone 01225 718559 and we can talk about the best way to support you with this. You can also email DCSDisabilities@wiltshire.gov.uk

EVENT: Involving Parents & Carers in SEN Provision

Friday 18th November 10am - 2.00pm at Corn Exchange, Market Place, DEVIZES SN10 2HS

Are you a Parent or do you care for a child or young person who has a Statement of SEN or is on School Action or School Action Plus?

Navigating the ‘SEN system’ can be very daunting for parents and carers. In May this year, parents and carers told us they wanted:

 The opportunity to have direct access to those involved in Special Educational Needs (SEN)
 To have a better understanding of who does what and who is responsible for provision of services
 To express their views and feedback their experiences

This FREE event aims to provide information and guidance on roles and responsibilities within SEN at all stages of the Code of Practice. Professionals on hand will include Headteachers, a SENCO, an SEN Governor, key Local Authority Officers and other representatives.

We also have 2 fantastic speakers lined up; Cathy Hunte, Development Officer for South and South West England from Contact A Family and Anna Walker, the Regional Representative of the National Network of Parent Carer Forums who will be talking to us about an SEN and Disability Information Project and the national perspective of working in partnership with parents and carers.

BOOKING IS ESSENTIAL!
CLICK HERE to go to the online booking form
or call on 01672 569300

Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Parents and Carers can claim for childcare and travelling expenses, inc parking

(If you need help with transport or childcare, let us know as we may be able to assist)

Fitness for dementia sufferers in Melksham

A fitness club for people with memory problems has started in Melksham.

Movement for the Mind is a group run by Wiltshire charity Alzheimer’s Support, with funding from Melksham Rotary Club and the Melksham Area Board.

It provides physical activities for people with dementia and their carers.

The charity’s development manager, Stephany Bardzil, said: “There is growing research evidence that physical exercise is beneficial in preventing and mitigating the effects of dementia. Our club will build on that.”

Sessions will be different each month, with exercise, dance, walks and Tai Chi.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Elderly struggling to cope with social care cuts

A crisis in social care funding since the coalition government came to power has left many elderly people in greater hardship, struggling with higher charges and less specialist support.

Government figures show that councils' annual budgets for help for the over-65s have fallen by £1.3bn since 2010, with cuts hitting nursing homes and support for the most vulnerable.

Full Article on Guardian

Help carers to better look after their own health, GPs advised

GPs need to take a more proactive approach with patients who are carers, because they are at increased risk of psychological and physical ill health, says the Royal College of General Practitioners.

The College has published a guide today to help family doctors more effectively spot and manage these patients who make up one in 10 GP visits. Carers are at particular risk of ill health as a result of their caring duties, but often neglect their own wellbeing, says the College.

Full Article on OnMedica

DLA Workshops: Wessex Autistic Society

What is DLA?
Disability Living Allowance (DLA) is a tax-free, non-means-tested benefit for disabled children and adults to help with extra costs they may have because they are disabled. It is not based on disability but the needs arising from it.

How can we help?
We run regular, free DLA workshops to help parents/carers complete the Under 16 form for someone with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aims of the workshop are:
 To decide whether you wish to make an application for DLA

 To understand what DLA is, rates payable and how to apply

 To feel confident to complete the DLA application process

 To know where to get further assistance and support

If you are an adult with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, or you wish to make a claim on behalf of an adult, we can still assist you with the DLA form but the workshops will not be suitable.

We can also provide information by telephone or email to support people with making a claim.

Where are the workshops?
Carer Support Wiltshire have kindly agreed that we can use their premises in New Street, Salisbury.

When are the workshops?
Friday 25 November 2011 10-1pm
Friday 27 January 2012 10-1pm
Friday 23 March 2012 10-1pm

For more information, dates and to book a place….
Contact the Information and Advice Team on 01305 213135 or email advice@twas.org.uk

PCTs facing more appeals against continuing care decisions

The NHS faced more appeals against decisions to deny people continuing healthcare funding last year and a greater proportion were successful, Community Care research shows.

The number of appeals rose by 9% from 2009-10 to 2010-11 while the proportion of successful completed challenges rose from 33% to 40%, a freedom of information survey of 49 primary care trusts or PCT clusters found.

Full Article on Community Care

Children and teenagers to benefit from successful adult mental health therapy

The Government is investing £32 million in psychological therapies, including talking therapies, for children and young people with mental health problems, Care Services Minister Paul Burstow will announce today.

One in ten children aged 5-16 years has a clinically diagnosable mental health problem. At any one time, more than a million children will have a diagnosable mental health disorder and mental illness in childhood and adolescence costs up to £59,000 per child every year.

Full Press Release on Department of Health

HealthWatch will give NHS patients a powerful local voice

With the health and social care bill going through the final phases of scrutiny in the House of Lords, one of the key areas which has been overlooked by the media is how the new NHS will be accountable for the changing nature of social care. The recent events in Mid Staffs and Winterbourne View, and the report by the Care Quality Commission on elderly abuse in hospitals, further highlights need for both the NHS and the independent sector needs to be accountable.

Andrew Lansley's NHS bill will establish a new consumer champion for health and adult social care in England: HealthWatch will launch in October 2012.

Full Article on Guardian Blog

Disability: The difficulties of the Hardest Hit

Disabled people, their carers, friends and family, are protesting against proposed changes to vital benefits and services in 14 places around the UK. But what difficulties do they face?

Organisers expected thousands to take part, but said many more would do so if they were physically able.

It is the second protest action from the Hardest Hit coalition, made up of over 40 charities from the Disability Benefits Consortium, plus members of the grassroots umbrella organisation UK Disabled People's Council.

Full Article on BBC News

Lansley: NHS cash has stabilised eligibility thresholds with NHS cash

Councils have stabilised eligibility thresholds and put in place services to cut hospital admissions with money transferred from the NHS this year, health secretary Andrew Lansley said today.

Speaking today at the National Children and Adult Services conference, he said the bulk of the £648m due to transfer this year had gone into developing services that promoted independence and quality of life, and in keeping people at home.

Full Article on Community Care

A third of disabled children missing out on holiday childcare

One in three parents of disabled children received no holiday childcare during summer 2011, according to a survey conducted by KIDS in partnership with Mencap.

The survey of 1,192 parents from across England also found that one in 10 disabled children were refused a place in a nursery because of their impairments.

The lack of affordable, appropriate childcare was cited as a major reason that 43% of parents surveyed were unemployed.

Full Article on Community Care

Scope says disabled people 'could lose vital benefits'

Many disabled people risk losing essential payments under planned benefits changes, a charity has warned.

Scope says the proposed test of claimants' need is flawed for focusing on the disability but ignoring relevant factors like housing and transport.

Thousands could be left with little or no financial support, Scope warns.

Full Article on BBC News

Councils don't know how to identify carers, says charity chief

Many councils are failing to support carers effectively because they do not know how to find them, outgoing Carers UK chief executive Imelda Redmond has warned.

Redmond, who is due to join Marie Curie Cancer Care as director of policy and public affairs, told the National Children and Adult Services Conference that authorities were "stuck in a model that was not fit for purpose" that assumed most carers did not work and were in need of support groups.

Full Article on Community Care

Mental Health and Equality

Do you think Avon & Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership (AWP: the NHS organisation that provides many mental health services in Swindon) are fair and equal? The Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to take into account nine „protected characteristics‟ of age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, marriage and civil partnership and pregnancy and maternity. 

To see how they are doing AWP will be measuring themselves against a set of indicators to identify how they currently rate and where they can improve. And they need your help. If you consider yourself to be a part of one of the groups above (and lets face it: most of us fit into at least one!) and would like to comment on your experiences then why not go along to meetings in November? 

They have planned two meetings on Monday 14 November 10am - 2pm (venue to be confirmed - sandwich lunch provided) and then a follow-up meeting on Monday 28 November 10am - 12noon, Conference Room, Jenner House, Chippenham. If you would like to go please let the LINk support team know as soon as possible (contact details below).

LINk office contact

James Brown (Engagement Officer)

Swindon Local Involvement Network (LINk)

Wat Tyler House, Beckhampton Street

Swindon, SN1 2GH

Tel. 01793 497777 Email. enquiries@swindonlink.org

Tips for staying safe and warm this Winter

UNISON Welfare - winter fuel payments

UNISON Welfare are offering one off payments of £50 to help low paid members (single members earning less than £18,000 a year and couples earnings less than £23,000 total) the opportunity to claim for payment of £50 per household to help with fuel payments this year.
Applicants must not have more than £3,000 in savings.
For more information click this link to download a flyer -
click here

Fuel costs – reduced rates for low income or vulnerable customers The Warm Home Discount Scheme will give an automatic £120 rebate on electricity bills for this winter and the next three winters to those who qualify under the scheme.To qualify people need to be in receipt of the guarantee credit of Pension Credit on 11 September 2011. The Department for Work and Pensions will try to make sure you get this discount automatically, but should you miss out you will have to ask for the discount from your electricity supplier. Some electricity customers who don't get the guarantee part of Pension Credit may also get the discount, but it will be up to your supplier to decide who qualifies. read more about the scheme

Information on how to save energy and in turn lower your fuel payments is available on Wiltshire CAB's website.

The Warm & Well Scheme
The Warm and Well scheme began its work in October 2001, working throughout Gloucestershire and South Gloucestershire to ensure as many people as possible are kept warm each winter, by making home owners and privately renting tenants homes more comfortable to live in and fuel efficient. The Warm and Well scheme is also now available to residents in Wiltshire
All homeowners and privately renting tenants in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire are entitled to at least a partial grant towards insulation. All grants are subject to availability and survey, which is completely free and no obligation. All surveys and work are carried out by the accredited installer, Domestic & General Insulation Ltd.
There are grants available for:

• Cavity wall insulation
• Loft insulation

In certain Local Authority areas there are grants for A-rated boilers and central heating systems. The 'Do I qualify?' section shows what measures are available in different areas and what the qualifying criteria is.
Warm and Well is managed by Severn Wye Energy Agency on behalf of the Local Authorities in Gloucestershire, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We work together with the insulation company, Domestic and General Ltd, to provide information on home insulation, energy efficiency and how to claim a grant towards energy efficiency measures. For more information contact the Energy Saving Trust advice centre and ask about Warm & Well on 0800 512 012.

Help With Heating Your Home
What are Cold Weather Payments and Winter Fuel Payments? Find out if you qualify, and how to claim, on DirectGov's information page.

Self-help for how to drive in snowy conditions
Wiltshire Council has prepared some tips and safety information for preparing and coping in snow. Please remember to only make journeys if completely necessary when conditions get bad.

Carers & Winter Fuel Bills: 9 in 10 Carers worried about impending Winter Fuel Bills

A new survey commissioned by Turn2us, part of the national charity Elizabeth Finn Care, reveals the worrying situation faced by the UK’s six million carers as winter approaches. Two thirds (66%) of carers surveyed struggled to pay their bills last winter and over nine in ten (92%) have concerns about being able to pay increasingly high energy bills this year. Moreover, two fifths (42%) faced debt as a result of last years costs, with 1 in 5 (21%) incurring over £600 owed as a direct result of covering fuel bills.

The high cost of heating a home, and keeping the household clean and fed, means many must take drastic measures.  Shockingly, over a quarter (29%) of carers surveyed were unable to turn on their heating last winter for 14 days or more, with one quarter (25%) attempting to cut costs by heating only in one room of their house and two fifths (42%) wearing extra clothes to bed in order to keep fuel costs down.

Full Press Release on Turn2Us

How to personalise social and health care by integrating services

There's nothing new about the aspiration of integrated health and social care services. But with hopes fading of any early implementation of the Dilnot commission's plan for reform of social care funding, the focus is shifting to integration as the means not only to deliver better, more personalised care to people, but also to make better use of resources already in the system.

The integration drum is being banged loudest, and with most effect, by Stephen Dorrell, chair of the Commons health select committee and a former Conservative health secretary. While the present holder of that post, Andrew Lansley, remains preoccupied with his controversial English NHS reforms – social care accounted for just 27 words in his 1,900-word address to the recent Tory conference – Dorrell is on an altogether different trajectory. The real policy challenge, he says, is to understand that it is only through integration of services that the needs of the 15 million people living with long-term health conditions can be met.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Revealed: how NHS cuts are really affecting the young, old and infirm

Birth centres are closing, patients are being denied pain-relieving drugs and leaflets advising parents how to prevent cot death have been scrapped because of NHS cuts which are increasingly restricting services to patients, evidence gathered by the Guardian reveals.

The NHS's £20bn savings drive also means new mothers receive fewer visits from health visitors, support for problem drinkers is being reduced and families are no longer being given an NHS advice book on bringing up their baby.

Full Article on Guardian Society

£20bn NHS cuts are hitting patients, Guardian investigation reveals

The prime minister, David Cameron, his health secretary, Andrew Lansley, and the NHS's most senior figures have all stressed that the government's drive to make £20bn of efficiency savings in England by 2015 should not prompt hospitals and primary care trusts to cut services provided to patients. Instead, they say, the money should be saved through reducing bureaucracy, ending waste, adopting innovative ways of working and restructuring services.

Yet the growing evidence from the NHS is that its frontline is being cut, and that NHS organisations are doing what they were told not to do – interpreting efficiency savings as budget and service cuts. While restricting treatments of limited clinical value – such as operations to remove unsightly skin – is uncontroversial, reducing patients' access to drugs, district nurses, health visitors or forms of surgery they need to end their pain arouses huge concern.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Direct Payments not reaching mental health service users

People with mental health problems are being denied the benefits of direct payments because of a lack of staff knowledge and inadequate information from councils, a Rethink Mental Illness report has warned.

One hundred per cent of direct payment users surveyed by Rethink recently said that having a cash payment to fund their care needs had had a positive benefit on their lives. However, direct payment take-up rates for the client group remain low.

Full Article on Community Care

EVENT: New Beginnings for Female Carers

New Beginnings is a day to help female carers discover their potential, to give them insight into their current skill level and help map a pathway to betterment in employment, confidence and education/training.

The event is for carers who are female, over 19, who are interested in moving their lives forward in various ways such as volunteering, going into employment, training or going to college. It will be fun and interactive and participants will go away with an individual learning plan to help them move forward in a direction that is achievable and best suits their needs and aspirations.

It is a day where they can find out their current skill levels, look at where they would like to be in the future and gain specialist information and guidance as to the steps they need to take to achieve their aims.

Date: 10 November 2011

Time: 0930 (for a 1000am) start and 3.00 pm finish

Location: Centurion Hotel, Midsomer Norton, BA3 4BD

Refreshments and lunch will be provided.

Please let us know any dietary requirements/if you need help with transport or care cover.

Please contact BANES Carers Centre if you want to book a place or you want further information, on 01761 431388 (priority booking will be given to BANES Carers first)

EVENT: Focus On Stroke

At the Devizes Sports Club, London Road, Devizes.

On Wednesday 2^nd November 10.30am – 3.30pm

Registration from 10.00am

This event will provide a focus on stroke in Wiltshire for patients, carers, health and social care professionals, and the voluntary sector.

There will be presentations from health and social care, voluntary organisations and stroke survivors, together with an opportunity for all those present to contribute to the development of stroke care in Wiltshire.

Parking is free.

Lunch and refreshments provided.

Please advise us by Friday 21^st October if you wish to attend by calling 01722 329053 or emailing emma.heard@stroke.org.uk

Sharp rise in NHS patients waiting more than 18 weeks for care

The number of patients waiting more than the recommended maximum of 18 weeks to be treated by the NHS has soared by almost half since last year, official data shows.

A total of 28,635 patients in England who were treated in an NHS hospital during August had been waiting more than 18 weeks, compared with 19,355 in the same month in 2010 – a rise of 48%.

The figures, released by the Department of Health, confirm that despite repeated ministerial pledges that the NHS would stick to waiting time targets despite growing financial pressure, the number of people having to wait beyond the department's own recommended maximum time is rising.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Summary Care Record to benefit millions of patients with long term conditions, say patient groups

A year on from a Ministerial review that confirmed the importance of  Summary Care Records in supporting urgent and emergency care, patient groups are advocating its use to improve care for the millions of people with long term conditions they represent.

The Muscular Dystrophy Campaign recently recommended that their patients consider adding important information about their conditions to their Summary Care Record to improve their experience of hospital care. Mencap, Asthma UK, Diabetes UK and the British Lung Foundation are also now looking to raise awareness among their members about how the record could benefit patients when they are being treated by doctors and nurses in an emergency who may unfamiliar with their particular condition.    
                                                                                                                                                                                                               
The Summary Care Record is a secure, electronic patient record which is currently being introduced in England. Last October’s review, commissioned by Health Minister Simon Burns, restricted the record to carrying basic information about medications, allergies and bad reactions to drugs. So for example, patients with asthma would no longer need to be asked to repeat their medical history while struggling to breathe. Patients can however speak to their GP about adding extra information they may want the NHS to know about them in an emergency to their Summary Care Record.

Full Article on Department of Health

Where's the support for autistic young people?

When Virginia Bovell realised there were no schools offering the intensive support that doctors said her three-year-old autistic son needed back in 1997, she got together with four other families and set up a specialist school offering intensive, autism-specific teaching.

Fourteen years later Treehouse, the school they created in north London, is recognised internationally as a model for how children with autism should be taught.

But Bovell has recently found herself confronted with a new challenge.

Her son Danny, now 18, is on the brink of leaving school and she has been searching for a suitable place for him to continue his education. Dismayed at the quality of what's on offer for children with autism after school, once again she has joined forces with other parents to campaign for radical improvement.

Full Article on Guardian

Community First: Oil Buying Syndicate

CF Oil, Community First’s new venture that saves you money!

CF Oil is a new social enterprise that will reduce the cost of your domestic heating oil each time you place an order.

All you need to do to take advantage of the scheme is to pay an annual membership fee, which will cover as many oil orders as you need during the course of the year.

Membership costs £20 per year and you normally save more than your memberships costs in your first order!

The more people who get together to buy oil the greater negotiating power of the group.  It helps shift power away from the supplier and back to the customer.

The scheme normally works through a volunteer local co-ordinator but CF Oil will act as the co-ordinator until one is appointed.  Local Co-ordinators have FREE membership of the scheme.

If you would like to save money on the cost of your heating oil, please join our CF Oil & see how easy it is.

If you would like further information on being a member or a Local Co-ordinator please contact our CF Oil administrator Jess emery on 01380 732809 oil@communityfirst.org.uk or visit our website www.communityfirst.org.uk

£20m backing to tackle mental health

The Department of Health and Comic Relief unite efforts to fund £20 million to the Time to Change campaign to fight the stigma against mental health.

Mental health charities Mind and Rethink who run the Time to Change campaign, will receive funding for the next three and a half years to run a new programme set to continue raising awareness and supporting people with mental health conditions.

Full Article on Backchat - The Afiya Trust

South West Veterans Mental Health Service launched

A new service offering mental health support for ex-military personnel in the South West has been launched.
The South West Veterans Mental Health Service has been set up by Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership Trust (AWP) and charity Combat Stress.

Full Article on BBC News