INFO: Welfare Reform / Changes to Benefits - EASY READ version

The guide explains some of the most significant changes and explains what people can expect to happen over the next few years.  It was written with the people supported by United Response in mind, but we are keen to make it available to other organisations, support workers and individuals to use if they think it would be helpful. We consider it important that easy read materials should be widely disseminated and not held onto in a proprietary way.

You can find the guide here (or click on the image to the right) – we are very happy for anyone to use it to guide their own education efforts. However, we should stress at this stage that as well as being a document created with our own specific stakeholders in mind it is an easy read guide, which means that some details have been simplified and others omitted in order to make it as accessible as possible.

Taken from United Response who produced the guide 

EVENT: AWP - Seeking your views: South Wiltshire

Date: 09 April 2013 at 2:00PM - 7:00PM
Location: The Quaker Meeting House, Salisbury

AWP is holding two meetings for South Wiltshire open to all those with an interest in the work of the Trust…

These will update on a range of topics including progress being made in establishing local service delivery management. The meetings will also outline changes in the way the Trust is going to monitor the quality of its services and discuss the proposed changes to our strategic objectives, vision and values.
There will be a session at 2-4pm or at 5-7pm to choose from, and will take place at The Quaker Meeting House, 51 Wilton Road, Salisbury SP2 7EP.

Other topics are likely to be added to the agenda nearer the time and we will also take the opportunity to update on progress in becoming a Foundation Trust.

To reserve a place please call the Foundation Trust membership office on 0800 694 9990 or complete thebooking form on their website specifying which meeting you wish to attend.

COMPETITION: Hoffman Foundation - Prize Competition and Exhibition 2013

After a break of one year the Hoffmann Foundation for Autism is back with its Prize Competition and Exhibition.  

The Hoffmann Foundation for Autism was founded by Alice Hoffmann de Visme OBE exactly 60 years ago in 1953 as the Noah’s Ark Trust, a school for children that contemporary statutory services had failed. The Trust grew and now has four residential homes, a supported living service, a day service, an art and craft service and its own psychology department providing a full range of support for adults with autistic spectrum conditions.

Since 2010 we have held an open competition and exhibition with cash prizes. The exhibition and competition have been very successful and attracted many entries from all over the UK. Our next exhibition will be run from October to December 2013 and we are inviting entries from now onward. All ages are welcome but only drawings, paintings, photographs, montage and collage, photo-copied and photo-shopped work (CAD) is permitted (in other words 2D in any media) this is because we can’t cope with sculpture at the moment. You will have to bring or mail your work here well before the opening date but in any case please contact me for our info pack and entry form Tel. 0208 8818 638 or E-Mail: art@hfa.org.uk . Or you can download an entry form and other details from our web-site www.hoffmannfoundation.org.uk  

Wiltshire Council to run autism campaign

Wiltshire Council will be running an autism awareness campaign next week.

The roadshow will offer an opportunity to find out more about the condition and also access diagnostic services for adults.

The council van will be outside Salisbury Library on Tuesday, County Hall in Trowbridge on Wednesday, The Bear Hotel in Devizes on Thursday and on Chippenham town bridge on Friday with all events running between 10am and 2pm.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

Wiltshire to launch new drugs and alcohol advisory service

From Monday, all drug and alcohol services in Wiltshire will be brought together into a new community-based, integrated, county-wide drug and alcohol treatment service.

The new service will provide a number of ‘one stop shops’ in the region for drug and alcohol support, which it is claimed will enhance accessibility for service users across the county.

The new integrated Wiltshire Substance Misuse Service will be provided by leading health and social care organisation, Turning Point, which has been working in the fields of substance misuse, mental health and learning disability for almost 50 years.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

All change in Swindon and Wiltshire's NHS services as GPs take charge

THE STRUCTURE of the NHS will change dramatically from Monday when GPs will be handed the responsibility of planning and buying health services.

The latest shake up in the NHS, which will see GPs lead Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), was announced in 2010 soon after the coalition Government came into power.

The aim was to reduce the number of managers and administrators in NHS organisations and use the expertise of front line clinicians in shaping health services. 

Full Article on This is Wiltshire

Help for Wiltshire people affected by benefit and tax credit changes

Help and support to those affected by changes to the benefit and tax credit systems is being offered by Wiltshire Council.

The new rules introduced by the Welfare Reform Act, which start to come into force from April 1, mean that council tax benefit will be replaced by a new council tax reduction (CTR) scheme.

Additionally some people who claim housing benefit will see a cut in the amount they receive if they are considered under the new rules to have too many bedrooms.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

Welfare cuts will cost disabled people £28bn over five years

Thousands of disabled people will be hit by up to six different welfare cuts, with the very worst off potentially losing up to £23,000 each over five years, research shows.

The effect of the changes, the bulk of which kick in after 1 April, will be to plunge tens of thousands of disabled people deeper into poverty, says a study that captures the multiple impacts of social security reforms for the first time.

The research, carried out for the Guardian, estimates that by 2017-18 about 3.7 million disabled people will collectively lose £28bn as a result of the reforms. Individuals will be hit by one of seven combinations of welfare cuts and small numbers could lose more than £20,000 each.

Full Article on Guardian 

Chippenham couple forced to move away because of bedroom tax

Chippenham couple Alan and Samantha Jones have been forced to move out of the area because of the new bedroom tax.

Because of the new underoccupancy charge, introduced on April 1, if a tenant has a spare bedroom their housing benefit will be cut by 14 per cent every week and they will have to pay the extra money to cover the rent themselves.

It means Mr and Mrs Jackson, who are entitled to housing benefit from Wiltshire Council, would have to pay an extra £30 a week to stay in their two-bedroom home in Charter Road.

Full Article on Wiltshire Times

Looking for a last minute break?

The Carers Support Centre in Bristol's holidays are designed for carers and their families to have an affordable break. They are for carers, either alone or with the person they care for. They offer disabled accessible accommodation in our caravans in Torbay and the Cotswolds.

They currently have late availability in their 2 bedroom wheelchair accessible vans and in their 3 bedroom vans (not wheelchair accessible).

Book a holiday now for the 1^st and 2^nd weeks of April and get 10% off!

Discounted prices are as follows:

Torbay

3 or 4 night break - £290

7 night break - £387

Cotswolds

3 or 4 night break - £239

7 night break - £342

To book call them on: 0117 965 2365

or email them at: info@carersholidays.org.uk

or visit them on line at: www.carersholidays.org.uk

INFO: Short Breaks Bulletin Easter 2013

The Short Breaks Bulletin is a guide put together by Wiltshire Parent Carer Council.

The Short Breaks Bulletin is your guide to what’s on for children & young adults with special educational needs and/or disabilities aged 0-25yrs during school holiday periods.

Sports activities, street dance, bridging projects, stable days, egg hunts and much, much more are all available in Wiltshire this Easter. Dig out those hats and scarves!

Download your copy here now. 

Warning over 'struggling GP system'

Patients in England do not feel safe relying on GP out-of-hours care and are struggling to get access to doctors during normal hours, a leading patient group is warning.

The Patients Association said the government needed an urgent review of the "complex and convoluted" system.

Its report said if the problems persisted, the service would lose the trust of the public completely.

Full Article on BBC News

Budget 2013: What it means for Carers

In addition to downgrading forecasts for economic growth, the Chancellor announced a number of tax changes including some tax cuts, additional cuts to public spending, support with childcare vouchers, and the bringing forward of significant policies including State Pension reform and a cap on the costs of care. This briefing is a short summary of the major areas of the ways in which the March 2013 Budget will affect carers and their families.

Download the information on CarersUK

Budget 2013: The Key Points You Need to Know

George Osborne's Budget lasted 54 minutes and contained a raft of measures as well as data about the state of the economy. Here is a handy guide.

View the Key Points on Sky News

Care costs cap 'will cause disputes'

Introducing a cap on elderly care costs could leave councils open to a "deluge of disputes and legal challenges", MPs and peers are warning. 

Ministers are proposing capping the amount people have to pay as part of a shake-up of the system in England.

It will be up to councils to assess how much individuals are spending.

But the parliamentary group set up to scrutinise the changes warned tensions were likely to arise.

Full Article on BBC News

NHS failing people with learning disabilities, says report

People with learning disabilities are dying on average 16 years earlier than they should, because the NHS does not properly investigate and treat their physical complaints, an inquiry has found.

A confidential inquiry into deaths in the south-west, carried out by Bristol University academics and funded by the Department of Health, has revealed stark inequalities and recommends the creation of a review body to investigate and monitor learning disability deaths across the UK.

The charity Mencap estimates from the review findings that more than 1,200 children and adults die every year because they are not getting proper NHS care. More than a third (37%) are not getting the healthcare they should.

Full Article on Guardian Society

NHS could charge fee to call out doctor

The proposals are being outlined as a way of tackling the financial hole in the accounts of the Health Service.

The moves sparked outrage with claims they amount to a patients’ tax and undermine the “free at point of use” principle of the NHS.

There are also fears that ill patients will be discouraged from seeking treatment.

The NHS Confederation, which represents all Health Service trusts, outlined the proposals as a way of generating extra funds.

Full Article on Telegraph

Helena Herklots: Carers often can't spare their 'spare' bedroom

How many of us take for granted a sound night's sleep? And how many wouldn't be able to get through the day without it?

Tracey's husband's serious health conditions mean he needs to sleep on a hospital bed surrounded by noisy medical equipment that fills their bedroom. Dave's wife has cerebral palsy and spasms uncontrollably throughout the night, waking him constantly. Karen cares for her partner, a former serviceman, who has post-traumatic stress disorder and suffers night terrors.

Full blogpost on Huffington Post

TRAINING: Epilepsy/Seizure Training - Monday 18th March - Corn Exchange Devizes - 10:30am - 1pm

For:          Parents and carers of children & young people with SEN/Disabilities

What:       FREE  training which will be delivered by  Young Epilepsy

The training will comprise:

• the process of diagnosis
• treatment planning; the aims and options
• managing a seizure

Spaces are limited to 30. 

For more information and to book a place online, follow this link

http://wiltshireparentcarercouncil.co.uk/en/Eplilepsy_-_Devizes_-_2013/03/18_-_1?form=1

or telephone us on 01672 569 300

Disabled exempted from 'bedroom tax'

Parents with severely disabled children who are unable to share a room with their siblings are to be exempt from the Government’s under-occupation penalty, or so-called bedroom tax.


Ministers will publish guidance to local authorities today which will allow them to exclude families with disabled children from the reduction in benefits for having a spare room, which is due to come into effect next month.

The cost of the allowance will be paid for centrally and not from the discretionary fund which is available to local authorities.

Full Article on Daily Express

Health and care system 'struggling with dementia'

The health and care system in England is "struggling" to look after people with dementia, according to the regulator. 

The Care Quality Commission said both hospitals and care homes were failing in key areas as the number with the condition rose as people lived longer.

It found dementia patients in hospital were more likely to face longer stays, be readmitted and die there.
Meanwhile, care homes were not doing enough to keep patients well, it added.

Full Article on BBC News

Many feel cheated by new welfare reform

If you’re young, old, sick, disabled or unemployed, the State benefits you receive will soon be changing.

But despite the UK Government's claims that these changes will result in a fairer system which will get more people back to work, new research suggests the cost to claimants in Wales could eventually reach a billion pounds a year.

Full Article on ITV News

Carer crisis: Councils cutting vital grants for those looking after sick and disabled relatives

A cruel new wave of council cuts is axing vital grants to people who care for their disabled relatives.

Respite payments, which let full-time carers take an occasional break, are a lifeline for thousands of people who look after vulnerable loved ones.

Some use the money to pay for home visits from professional carers or to take their family members to respite centres near their homes.

Others rely on them to fund short breaks which give them some relief from the 24-hour job of caring.

Full Article on Mirror

More than 2 million people give up work to care for relatives

More than 2 million people in the UK have given up work to care for disabled, sick or elderly relatives and loved ones, according to a survey.

More than one in five of the adult population, or 22%, have seen their work affected by caring responsibilities, with an estimated 2.3 million leaving jobs to care for a loved one, an online poll for the charity Carers UK has revealed.

Almost 3 million people have reduced their working hours to cope with caring responsibilities, the survey of 2,073 adults, conducted last month, showed.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Viewpoint: CCGS key as people with dementia need more services in their own homes

As a report this week from Alzheimer’s Society sets out starkly, there are 800,000 people with dementia – a figure that will pass one million in the next decade. Of these, over 300,000 – more than the population of Cardiff – live in a care home. Their experience of life ‘in care’ varies too widely, with only one in four family members believing quality of life in care is good, and many reports of dementia patients living ‘unstimulating’ lives. The report also highlights that far too often patients actually deteriorate when they enter care, so it is unsurprising that 70% of people fear going into residential care in the future.

Full Viewpoint on GP Online