DISTRICT OLDER PEOPLES FORUM PUBLIC MEETING 29TH AUGUST 2018 At Colgate Village Hall

1. PRESENT Martin BRUTON MB HDOPF Chairman Arthur READER AR HDOPF Vice Chairman Martin TOOMEY MT HDOPF Secretary David SEARLE DS Horsham Town Community Partnership John LEE J L Scooter Training Zoe HARRIS ZH My Care Matters Chris CRIBB CC Neighbours Network Rosemary BURTON RB Southwater Neighbours Network Godfrey NEWMAN GN and Denne Neighbourhood Councillor Brian COOPER BC REMAP Liz BURT LBt Horsham District Council Lilian BOLD LBo Clinical Commissioning Group Horsham & Mid Diana BROOKING DB Faygate Gaby ALDRICH GA AgeUK Village Agent Pravin PATEL PP Faygate Jill CHAYTOR JC Parish Council Ann GAFFNEY AG Nuthurst Parish Council Elaine SAYERS ES Saxonweald Derek DRAKE DD 4Sight Vision Support Jane ASTON J A 4Sight Vision Support Marlene RIECKER AC Ascot Care Michael JARVIS MJ Horsham Forest Jackie READER J R Horsham Tara BEESLEY TB 4Sight Vision Support Richard FOOTE RF 4Sight Vision Support Sally CURTIS SC AgeUk Horsham District

1(2) APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

Alf Goodchild

2. NOTES OF THE LAST MEETING: SOUTHWATER 6TH DECEMBER 2017

Are on the Website: horshamdistrictolderpeoplesforum.btck.co.uk

3. CHAIRMAN'S REPORT Activity since last meeting a) Committee Meeting 1st August Leo Jago : Older Persons Action Group has joined the Committee Discussion re Older Drivers: increasing concern at casualties. : negative effect on individual when driving stopped

1 Review of Hospital insights; Services Brochure; Community schemes Next Public Meetings preparation. b) Work on Pilot Project with Horsham Town Community Partnership : Mobility Scooter Training c) Older Vulnerable Persons Group: discussion with HDC Community Development Officer Claire Shepherd re future and bringing projects to Forum Meetings. d) Next Public Meetings

16th November 2018 : 1030 am at Council Offices, Parkside, Horsham. MP Question Time with Jeremy Quin MP. Questions in advance please : [email protected]

4th December 2018. 1030am at Ashington Centre, Foster Lane, Ashington RH20 3PG Guest speaker invited on Adult Social Care in Horsham District (as part of )

4. TREASURER'S REPORT

Balance of Current Account to date: £720 in credit

5. SCOOTER TRAINING PROJECT REPORT : HTCMP: DAVID SEARLE Presentation to HDOPF 29th August 2018 Our first Safety and Skills session was held on 9th May. 3 attended, 2 were experienced drivers and one a complete novice. They all agreed that they had learnt a lot and enjoyed the two-hour session. Since then 16 more have attended with varying degrees of skills. Some use their own scooters others borrow one of our scooters which Clearwell Mobility provide. This gives those without a scooter the opportunity to try one out and see if they feel confident to drive and perhaps purchase their own scooter or hire from Shopmobility.

The Community Wardens contacted us and ask if we would deliver the course in their area for 2 local residents which we agreed. We also managed to persuade the 2 Wardens to join the course. The local residents were very impressed with the course and one has signed his wife up for the next course when we are in their area. The Wardens enjoyed the course and now have a better understanding of the hazards facing scooter drivers. They agreed to take some of our leaflets and hand them out in their area and have spoken to their manager in HDC and suggested that all Community Wardens take the course.

We have given presentations to residents in Clarence Court the new McCarthy and Stone home along the Brighton Road and Highwood Mill the new Saxon Weld home at . 8 residents at Clarence Court have signed up and we start their training this afternoon. We are still waiting to hear from Highwood Mill but with their scooters stores filled with 25 scooters I am sure we will be getting a call soon. We have been invited by Henfield, Action for Older People to give a presentation to their committee in September and this may be another opportunity. The numbers are increasing and by the time our 6 month trial finishes we will have achieved our predicted numbers of 40.

The 7 Trainers held a "Lessons Learnt Workshop" last week and we all agreed that after November when the initial trial finishes we will continue for a further 6 months or until the £400 remaining from our funding lasts. We are looking for additional funding.

Some of the things we are finding out from the experienced drivers are: • they did not know how to disengage the motor to enable the scooter to free wheel. This is important when you breakdown or want to park in a restricted area.

2 • were unaware that there was a speed control button on the tiller that limits the speed when driving on the footpath. • were unaware that Class 3 Scooters that can be driven on the roads need to be registered with the DVLA. • Did not know that the tiller and seat could be adjusted to suit the driver or that the seat swiveled around to make getting on and off easier.

Approx 50% of those that have attend the course with their own scooters did not have insurance. We explained the pit falls of not having an insurance and give them a list of companies that provide cover at a reasonable cost. In addition we were able to accommodate and loan a scooter to a person that had lost the use of one arm. After the session they felt confident and now plan to purchase a scooter. We gave them some advice and tips about choosing the right type of scooter for their needs. Finally if you are aware of any organisation that would benefit from attending our course and would like us to give a presentation please contact us. Rural Parish Councils may not have many scooter users due to the type of roads in their area. However this could be the opportunity for local residents to try out a scooter and feel confident to loan a scooter from Shopmobility either in Horsham or when visiting other towns. Provided there are suitable facilities we are happy to provide the session in your village.

Comment ; Questions and Answers Additional funding ? Funds have come from Rotary Club; Police; WSCC. Approaches suggested are to Tesco's/other token schemes, Local Cooperative Stores; Viridor; HDOPF. Southwater / Horsham travel . [CC,RB] It should be possible for scooter users in Southwater to use Shopmobility scooters in Horsham having travelled there 'on foot' by bus. Training can assist by familiarizing users with different models of scooter. Horsham training area Claire Shepherd has enabled the scheme to use the Park Barn and as training area the Park Tennis Court. Public street training consists of a drive from the Park site to Horsham Station and back. Scheme areas extension Generally intend to keep to the District but other areas in West Sussex are possible. BURGESS HILL: Clearway who supply our scooters are based there. : Neighbour.

6. GUEST SPEAKERS

6(1) 4 SIGHT VISION SUPPORT (WEST SUSSEX): Tara Beesley : Outreach Worker

4 SIGHT is a Charity offering free membership to anyone affected by or with an interest in sight loss. Its purpose is the promotion of the welfare of blind and partially sighted people in its area. West Sussex has one of the highest numbers of age-related eye disease in the country. There are 30 thousand people affected by a visual impairment in its area. The charity supports the independence of 5 thousand people annually. At hospital eye clinics: Sight Care Advisors: we have a trained nurse at both the Southlands and St Richards Hospital eye clinics offering expert and emotional support and reference to other sources of help at home after hospital treatment. 3 In Sussex Area Vision Support Centres at Bognor Regis, Shoreham by Sea, Midhurst are open to be visited. Centres display aids to living with low vision including magnification: optical magnifiers, large keyboards for telephone, typewriter, tv remotes, tv spectacles;. electronic aids in magnification. lighting: (older persons sight requires 4 x light of a sixteen-year-old), anti-glare, gadgets: talking watches, needle threaders, non-slip mats; translators of text to sound, and gadgets signaling liquid levels, Equipment is for sale at cost and with second-hand trading. Outreach Workers Four cover the county, manage the centres and dispense advice and training in drop-in sessions, low vision assessments and sight awareness training at the centres or at arranged sites. Low vision assessment: often begins with needing to learn how to choose and use an optical magnifier to the best effect in maximizing remaining vision. Full assessment can lead to referring to sight clinic and opticians' services. Low sight aids: available with advice and training on their use at the centres. Social Support: Local clubs with events Lunch Groups } Handicrafts groups } Outreach Workers at Centres Monthly. Technical groups } Home visits } Horseriding {Crawley) Website Information : www.4sight.org.uk Information packages available.

Comment; Questions and Answers

DS: Queen Elizabeth Foundation Carshalton supplies 'sim specs' (simulation spectacles) which are designed to simulate different eye conditions in training carers to understand how best to assist. LBo: A survey could provide some useful questions for feedback to the Clinical Commissioning Group. SC: Age Concern liaise with 4Sight in making referrals to WSCC Rehabilitation Service. RF: 4sight are also able to help with Guide dog experience. AG/GN Difficulties continue with everyday hazards such as steps (Horsham Carfax), A boards and even boards warning of wet surfaces.

6(2) REMAP: Custom made equipment for people with disabilities. Brian Cooper: Chairman Surrey Panel Background The purpose in each case is for inventive design and making skills of a provider to give to the disabled person a modification to their surroundings or equipment which will enable them to have an often transforming independence. Remap has grown from the initial idea in 1964, with an individual case, to its present average of 3500 cases per year with 900 volunteer providers. 4 Organisation It has been Nationally organised for 54 years. Headquarters is in Kent with two full time and two part time officers. Volunteers over the country number 900 who are engineers, technicians, craftspeople and health professionals such as Occupational Therapists. They have their own workshops or have access through cooperative working to such facilities. 73 Local Panels of the Volunteers over the country gather the cases which are referred to them locally and do the work. The Panels local to Horsham are in Brighton and Surrey. The local Panel: is a group of Volunteers who work in each case by allocating a Project manager to find the case solution and to see it carried out. Other groups can be consulted and their facilities used. Case examples: a selection • a multiplicity of adaptations for the use of artificial limbs: work with Hedley Court. Single handed controls for wheelchairs LED headlights for wheelchairs and scooters Adaptation of showers for legless Adaptation of bicycles for leg amputees. A contraption for throwing the discus – 2012 Paralympics • enabling an epileptic mother to push a pram: a dead man's handle fitted to brake the pram. • a feeding bag for a motor-neurone disease sufferer. • a contraption for a wheelchair-bound person to practice his photography. • a contraption to separate a small boy's knees. • adaption of taps for thalidomide disabled. • a device enabling a wheelchair polio suffering mother to have her triplets in her arms. Costs and charges: Volunteers give their services. Running costs for materials, wear and tear of equipment and travel are funded by other charities with whom we work and by our own fundraising. The service is given free.

Comment; Questions and Answers • Surrey Remap contact: Chairman: [email protected]

• Catalogue – Online and Remap video.

6(3) MY CARE MATTERS: Zoe Harris. Has 8 years’ experience. Communication of personal needs and preferences in healthcare situations.

Background Problem: communication of a patient's personal information to carers over a period of care. A husband with dementia walks in to a Respite care environment. Care workers are told initially • he only drinks black tea – offering him white tea upsets him entirely • he has a propensity for tipping up his chair whilst sitting. Care workers who offer him tea and who watch for general safety are not told. Result: husband is upset to the degree that at the end of the session he has to use a wheelchair. 5 Care home management Care plans Can be 100 pages long but cannot convey immediate information relevant to a bedside/chairside visit. Solution : similar but different to the medical information board on the end of a hospital bed.

Care charts : Display of Information on Personal needs and Preferences. In hospital: on the wall behind the bed or thereabouts for carers and visiors to be able to view In care home: inside back of the door. The Profile prepared by patient/relatives/carers/visitors/cleaners whomsoever is in conversation with the patient or failing patient participation relatives/visitors/carers using the Care Chart Proforma. Personal needs and preferences Such as preferred drink, mobility issues, problems such as phobias and hygiene needs. Personality 'This is Me' History of family and occupation, significant dates, preferred interests – music/drama/ reading /local news/social gossip. Confidentiality Is a restraint to ensure that the information is conveyed to visitors and carers and not generally displayed other than as above. ______NEXT PUBLIC MEETINGS [1] QUESTION TIME WITH JEREMY QUINN MP FRIDAY 16th NOV 2018. HDC/WSCC COUNCIL OFFICES [2] WSCC ADULT CARE+ OLDER DIVERS + POST OFFICE OR BANK : TUESDAY 4TH DEC 18 ; ASHINGTON VILLAGE HALL.

The meeting closed at 1pm

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