Mental health drop-in to reopen in Melksham

A Melksham-based mental health charity will be reopening its doors next Wednesday, less than a year after it was forced to close.

Wiltshire Mind closed its Melksham drop-in centre last year when it lost a major council contract, and was only saved from bankruptcy by a £50,000 donation by an anonymous Wiltshire Times reader.

Now, after fundraising from the community, the three-hour drop in group will run every week at the St Anthony of Padua Church on West End from 1pm to 4pm, offering advice and support. For further details call 01225 706532.

Article from Wiltshire Times

Carers walk the cancer journey with patients but need more support

When Fiona O'Kelly's widowed mum was diagnosed with leukaemia two years ago, her life changed overnight. "It's like our roles suddenly flipped," she recalls. "Mum used to help me look after my two boys but now I look after her. She was independent up to then but her cancer and the treatment have left her frail and affected her memory.

"There are times when I think I can't cope but I know staying in her own home and being cared for by family is the best thing for Mum."

O'Kelly, whose sons are 10 and 16, negotiated a year off work following the diagnosis, and has since dropped her hours from four to two days a week. Her husband has also changed his working hours to minimise childcare costs.

Full Article on Guardian Society

Protecting older people with a disability from living in poverty

Attendance allowance (AA) is a weekly cash payment to older people with disabilities by the Department for Work and Pensions, worth between £59 and £73. It is a contribution to the extra costs of living with a disability and rarely, if ever, receives any discussion in policy debate. This is odd given the scale of the AA – it is paid to around 1.5 million older people in the UK at a cost of around £5bn each year.

To bolster the evidence base on AA and explore how we can make better use of it, the Strategic Society Centre and Independent Age recently published some new research and policy analysis.

Full Article on Guardian Social Care Network

Help shape the future of healthcare

PEOPLE are being given a chance to help shape healthcare services at a meeting of the newly formed Wiltshire Clinical Commissioning Group.

GPs and commissioning staff will explain how healthcare in Wiltshire could look in the future and invite people to join in discussions about developing the services.

The Salisbury event takes place on Thursday, July 18 from 10am to 12.30pm at the Guildhall.

To attend email the communications department at Wiltshire CCG at communications.wiltshireccg@nhs.net or call 01380 736010 by Wednesday, July 10 for an attendance form to reserve a place.

Article from Salisbury Journal

INFO: Summer Holiday Swim Therapy Sessions

Summer holidays are approaching and, thanks to the generous support of the Norie Trust and the Bramble Charitable Trust, Bath Swim Therapy are able to run Holiday Swim Therapy sessions from July 22nd to August 8th - this may be before the holiday start for some but different counties have different start dates!

They will run on

·         Mondays, Wednesdays & Thursdays 10.00 - 1.00 in the hydrotherapy pool at Three Ways School, Odd Down, Bath BA2 5RF and

·         Tuesdays 1.30 - 4.00 in the Learner Pool at Longwell Green Leisure Centre, BS15 9LA

These sessions are open to any family with a disabled or special needs child or young person (0 - 25yrs) who would benefit from hydrotherapy or specialist swimming instruction in a small warm water pool during the summer holidays. Each session gives them a 20 min individual time with the physiotherapist to focus on hydrotherapy or learning to swim or a combination or both.  They are also an opportunity for parents/carers to learn how to work with their children in the water and become more confident when taking them swimming

Other members of the family are also welcome (provided there is room in the pool) but siblings will need to be accompanied by an additional adult unless they are confident swimmers. Alternatively, families can just book to come for a swim without any therapy time if, because of the level of their child's disability, they need the fully accessible facilities .

The cost this year will be £5 per session but we are able to offer concessions if this amount is difficult. There is no additional charge at Longwell Green

For more information, visit http://www.bathswimtherapy.org.uk/holidayswimtherapy/index.html

Mural showcases 1,400 years of caring

A mural representing 1,400 years of care by Wiltshire residents will go on tour around the county this month.

Each of the 100 hands in the artwork represents someone from the area who gives up their time, unpaid, to care for others.

The hands are embroidered with the number of years they have been a carer, including one 76-year-old woman who has dedicated herself to looking after other people since she was nine.

Full Article on Gazette & Herald

Discounts for carers on the new O2 Health Help at Hand product mobile care service

Carers Trust has recently launched a partnership with O2 Health, one of the UK's largest providers of mobile care services. The partnership forms part of Carer's Trust's aim to improve support, services and recognition for anyone living with the challenges of caring.

Carers can get exclusive discounts on the new help at hand service by visiting the Carers enterprises website www.carersenterprises.org

Help at Hand is ideally suited to carer who want to support the person they care for to live as independently as possible, or for people with long term or temporary care needs who wish to be more independent, like Helen who has dyspraxia and often suffers with falls, or Sharon a mum with epilepsy or Stella who is recovering from a stroke As Helen says, "its like a little piece of freedom in my pocket."

Find out more about how the product works and whether it might help you at www.carersenterprises.org