Disability Network Your Voice Your Connections www.shropshire-disability.net

Free, but donations welcome! Your Voice September/October 2016

We do not tolerate hate crime, neither should you. [email protected]

Registered Charity No 1148256 A Message of thanks from the High Sheriff of Shropshire to all our Volunteers. Last month SDN Volunteer Jenny Dickenson, together with Ruby our Chair had a lovely afternoon at RAF Cosford guests of the High Sheriff of Shropshire who held a tea party -”Celebrating Volunteering in Shropshire” We were all welcomed by Christine Holmes, High Sheriff & had photographs taken with her before meeting other guests. A surprise performance by RAF Cosford Military Wives starting with the song “Stronger Together”. This really set the scene because volunteers need to stick together, support each other as without you, we would not be able to carry out any of our work. We were treated to refreshments including delicious cakes. Jenny Dickenson said “It was a really nice afternoon, thank you for asking me. I met & talked to other volunteers from various organisations. Some organisations I had never heard of or did not know what they did, I found it not only relaxing but also informative”

Pictured right: Ruby SDN Chairperson, Jenny Dickenson with Ann Shaw, Jess Hiles & Jo Allmond from Safe Place Shropshire. Christine had had a video made specially for this celebration, which included a message from the Lord Lieutenant of Shropshire Sir Algernon Heber-Percy. The High Sheriff gave a very powerful message & asked that we share her message of thanks to all who volunteer for us. SDN hopes to get a copy of the video to share on our website. She said “It simply does not matter why you volunteer, it just matters that you do & I thank you for that”. Christine continued “Volunteers have existed since time immemorial & have always provided valuable help & services. But we are moving into a new era of volunteers increasingly providing core & essential services” Christine has asked that we share her message of thanks with all who volunteer for us saying “Thank you to everyone who attended the celebration of volunteering today. I could only invite a small cross section of the excellence of volunteers in Shropshire so I ask you to take back the message of thanks and support to all who did not attend” Shropshire Disability Network AGM & Quarterly Meeting:

Thank you to all who came to our AGM on 29th September. It was good to see several of our members from Telford join us as well as Shrewsbury, Whitchurch & surrounding areas. We shared with you information of our work during the past 12 months to 31st May 2016. We have engaged with many other organisations, attended a lot of events & have had a very busy 12 months. At the request of members living in Oswestry, we have started regular Coffee Mornings. Our Awareness days continue at the Princess Royal Hospital.

Ruby our Chairperson acknowledged the work of all our volunteers, both those on the Management Committee as well as those who help us at bucket collections, fundraising, signposting work, maintaining our website & ensuring it is updated. She said “When it comes to preparing for this meeting it is astonishing how much we achieve each year & that is all down to those who volunteer. We may be a small charity but we are doing huge things & making a difference to the people in Shropshire & beyond who have a disability.”

Below is one of our slides showing how information we provide on our website has increased since 2008 SDN Web Site

After the business was complete, accounts accepted, having thanked thanked Russell Price SDN Secretary & Paul Siroky Management Committee Member who are both standing down from their roles. We appointed Ann Shaw as our new Secretary. No other new members were appointed to the Management Committee. Ruby said “We are still understrength, in the next 12 months we need to strengthen this Committee & build on the number of volunteers who provide valuable support to SDN” See about Volunteering later in this newsletter.

Certificates of Appreciation were given to Russell Price & Jenny Dickenson. SDN will be recognising our Volunteers in this way more regularly in future.

Fiona Smith from Swimming After Surgery gave us a very informative talk. This has been videoed & we hope to share it with you in due course. News from around the county:

Several of our towns now have regular dementia friendly screenings. Both Wem & Ludlow have taken up the opportunity to be participating in A Life More Ordinary (ALMO), a new project that aims to make cinema accessible for people with dementia. SDN have been informed of Wem, Shrewsbury & Ludlow showing films for people suffering from Dementia. Dementia friendly screenings are specifically tailored to meet the needs of customers with dementia. This will include a lower sound level, improved and clearer way signing and specially trained volunteers on hand to assist. There will also be an interval at each showing with tea/coffee and biscuits on offer. Some places offer staff support to the Carer, while at the event.

Dementia Friendly Screenings now take place at:

Wem: Wem Town Hall, High Street, Wem, Shropshire, SY4 5DG Next screening is “Carry on Screaming on Monday 31st October at 1.30 pm. Call 01939 238 279 for details & a programme.

Ludlow: Ludlow Assembly Rooms, 1 Mill St, Ludlow SY8 1AZ Next one is on Tuesday 25th October at 2 pm & will be “Singin in the Rain”. Call 01584 878141 for more information.

Shrewsbury: Old Market Hall Cinema, The Square, Shrewsbury SY1 1LH Finding Dory will be shown at 11 am on Thursday 27th October. For more details call 01743 281281

Shrewsbury: The Hive Shrewsbury, 5 Belmont, Shrewsbury SY1 1TE Next screening is “Westside Story” on Wednesday 23rd November at 3 pm. For more details of this & future screenings call 01743 234970

Sight Loss Opportunity Groups

Meetings are held in Shrewsbury, Ludlow and Oswestry every month. These meetings enable people to come together, meet others with Sight Loss & make new friends. They do a variety of activities ie hear from speakers, go rowing, trips & have walks.

There is a monthly cycling session at Sundorne Sports Village. Cycling sessions usually takes place on the third Wednesday of each month 10.30 am to 11.30 am. For details of all activities call Rachel Whitney on 01743 342163 for programme details & further information. News from around the county Continued:

Shropshire ME Group Conference takes place on Wednesday 18th October at Bayston Hill Memorial Hall, Lyth Hill Rd, Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury SY3 0DR The AGM is at 6.30 pm, at 7 pm the hour long documentary “The Forgotten Plague” by award winning producer, Nicole Castillo and Ryan Prior will be shown. There will be refreshments. Donations welcome. For further information call 078757 276 221

Macular Degeneration Support Group Gadget Guys Event takes place on Monday 24th October 10 am -4 pm at St Nicholas Church Hall, United Reform Church, Coleham Head, Shrewsbury SY3 7BJ. This drop in event enable you to “Touch, Feel, Try” various gadgets, small & large. You cannot buy at this event but people will be able to give advice on where you can purchase the item.

NHS Future Fit Programme-Pop Up Stands

With a Consultation due to start in December these dates giving you opportunity to put your view forward, find out how you can be involved & pick up information.

Dr Julian Povey, Chairman of Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group said: “We want people to be as well informed as possible about the programme. We understand the positive advantages that NHS Future Fit van provide with the creation of a new Emergency Department & two urgent Care Centres, each able to see up to 80% of those who currently go to A & E in Telford & Shrewsbury.”

The pop-up stands will be at: (More events will be held in Mid Wales)

Monday 10th October, 10 am-2 pm –Ludlow Market, Ludlow SY8 1AY

Wednesday 12th October, 10 am-2 pm –Bridgnorth Library, Listley Street, WV16 4AW

Monday 17th October, 10 am-2 pm –Bishops Castle Town Hall, High Street, SY9 5BG

Tuesday 18th October, 9 am-5 pm –Charles Darwin Centre (ground floor near to car park entrance) Shrewsbury SY1 2BW

Wednesday 19th October, 10 am-2 pm –Festival Drayton Centre, Market Drayton, TF9 3AX

Thursday 20th October, 10 am-2 pm –The Centre, Oak Street, Oswestry, SY11 1LW

Friday 21st October, 9 am-1 pm –Whitchurch Civic Centre, High Street, SY13 1AX National News: (taken from BBC News)

ESA benefit payments-RE-tests would be axed for Chronically ill claimants. News broke at the beginning of October. Read on to find out more:

It is good news for many of you! Tens of thousands of people claiming the main benefit for long-term sickness will no longer face repeated medical assessments to keep their payments. Work and Pensions Secretary Damian Green said it was pointless to re-test recipients of Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) with severe conditions and no prospect of getting better. More than two million people receive ESA, which is worth up to £109 a week. The move has been welcomed by charities supporting those with severe illness. Michelle Mitchell, head of the MS Society, described it as a "victory for common sense".

Shadow work and pensions secretary Debbie Abrahams said it was "a welcome U-turn" by the government, but "the devil was in the detail". "What about mental health conditions, conditions that are fluctuating, conditions that may not necessarily have a physical manifestation?" she said.

'Unnecessary stress' Applicants for ESA have to undergo a work capability assessment to find out if they are eligible and they are re-tested to ensure their condition has not changed. Some are re- tested every three months and others up to two years later. Under the government's change, those who are deemed unfit for work and with conditions that will not improve will no longer face re-testing.

Illnesses such as severe Huntington's, autism or a congenital heart condition are among those that are likely to qualify for continuous payments without reassessment. The criteria will be drawn up with health professionals. Mr Green said a "key part" of making sure those who were unable to work received "full and proper support" included "sweeping away any unnecessary stress and bureaucracy."

Currently, those in the "work-related activity group" - deemed unable to work at the moment but capable of making some effort to find employment- receive up to £102.15 a week in ESA payments.

Those in the "support group" - deemed unable to work and not obliged to do anything to improve their chances of finding work- receive up to £109.30 a week.

However, ministers remain committed to a cut to be introduced next April in the amount of money that some new recipients of ESA will receive.

If you would like a full copy of the article, please contact us. For those with IT access, they can read it here http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-37526324

SDN says “Our members may feel that these changes don’t go far enough & it will have an adverse impact on new claimants quality of life. We suggest lobbying your local MP’s. Make a Date in your Diary Now!

Christmas Card Charity Shop opens on

Friday 21st October at St Mary’s Church, St Mary's Place, Dogpole, Shrewsbury SY1 1EF. We will be selling our cards again this year so please call in between 10 am & 4 pm Monday-Saturday. Cards cost £3.99 for 10 If you want to support us this Christmas but cannot get into Shrewsbury, contact us & we will do our best to get cards to you.

Wednesday 26th October, we have our Coffee Morning at Oswestry. Come along to The Centre anytime between 10 am & 12 noon. We will have our Cards to sell & various information for you to take. This is an opportunity not just for the people of Oswestry but for all our members to get together & get to know each other better.

Advance Notices:

Friday 18th November, we have our Awareness Day at the Princess Royal Hospital. This is our last one for 2016 so please come along & support us if you can. We are able to sell a few things & raise essential funding. We will be there 10 am to 4 pm.

Saturday 3rd December and Sunday 4th December. Courtesy of Alan Ward Furniture Shrewsbury we are talking part in their Christmas Market. 10 am -4 pm.

Thursday 8th December SDN Meeting at AFC Telford. 10.30 am for 11 am start. More details coming soon!! How would you like to win a Hamper this Christmas?

Suggested by a member at our September meeting, we have decided that at our December meeting we would like to have some hampers to give as raffle prizes.

We are looking for donations of food (ie Coffee, Tea, Soup, Tins of Tuna or Salmon) & other nice goodies we all like at Christmas.

We don’t have to give food hampers only, we could have hampers suitable for ladies & gentlemen. May be you have gift packs that you have put in a draw or cupboard & won’t use or you have an item that for whatever reason you have not used. Please consider donating them to us.

For more information please call SDN on 07780 852 229 or email [email protected]

You can leave items at any of our events ie Oswestry 26th October or PRH on 18th November or contact us and we will arrange with you how to pass on your donations.

Thank you in anticipation that we can have some lovely prizes & make our December meeting extra special for the lucky winners. Lobbying Your Local MP’s

Here are the contact details of your local MP’s. We share them here as you may wish to communicate with them in regards to local the local situation of A & E’s and other services at Princess Royal Hospital & Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Philip Dunne-Ludlow [email protected] 020 7219 2388 -Shrewsbury & Atcham [email protected] 020 7219 6249 -North Shropshire 020 7219 5185 Mark Pritchard-The Wrekin [email protected] 020 7219 8494 Lucy Allan-Telford 020 7219 4815 [email protected]

All MP’s can be contacted at this address:

Please remember to mark the envelope with the name your local MP.

House of Commons LONDON SW1A 0AA

Shropshire Disability Network has recently been contacted regarding places & services that may have funding reduced or withdrawn altogether from Shropshire CCG.

We do not wish to alarm any of you but it appears that no service is safe. If you would like a full list of services where funding maybe withdrawn or reduced, please contact us & we will send you a copy. 07780 852 229 [email protected] or info@shropshire- disability.net

Ruby Hartshorn Chair of SDN has been in communication with Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group to raise concerns of how this will impact on members and vulnerable, elderly, as well as people with disabilities in Shropshire. It will also impact on family carers & others.

They include:

 PATH House, a mental health ‘crisis house’ in Ludlow, providing a community based alternative to hospital.

 The Movement Centre, based at Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Hospital, providing intensive therapy for children with cerebral palsy. Enable, an employment service designed to support people with mental health problems towards engaging in employment.

 The Moving and Handling service. This provides assessment, support and training to people with mobility difficulties and/or their carers.

 Pain management services – facing a very uncertain future, with GPs likely to provide most of this care in the future.  START beds – 3 residential beds in Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Bridgnorth, for intermediate care.

 Oak House, offering specialist assessment and intervention for people who have profound intellectual and multiple disabilities, physical and/or sensory disability and/or visual impairment.

As a result of a meeting held by Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Board meeting on August 10th, Dr Julian Povey, Chair Shropshire CCG responded to the concerns Ruby raised.

Dr Julian Povey wrote:

“It’s important to point out that no decision was made to decommission or disinvest in any of the above services at the meeting. The Governing Body agreed for more detailed work to take place into services, this includes gaining feedback from patients and public on the services. Naturally, this includes continuing to have open and honest conversations with all of our providers as well as our GP Membership.

Our first priority is to ensure that the CCG continues to commission services that meet the demands of the patients of Shropshire, whilst also delivering value for money. Living within our means does not have to mean compromising on patient care, but it does mean that things need to be done differently.

I hope that this letter provides you with reassurance that no decisions have been made about disinvestment or decommissioning in any services as of yet, and that the CCG will go through a full and thorough process before any final decisions are made, in public, by the CCG Governing Body.

So what else can SDN do and what can you do?

1. We recognise not all our members have IT access, and that is why we have given telephone numbers & an address so that you can lobby your MP. 2. SDN will try to put news items on our website but that is little help to those who don’t have or can’t get access at home. You could visit your local library where staff will help you access our website www.shropshire-disability.net 3. If you are a member of SDN and access our website & know of members who have no IT access, please consider sharing information with your friends. 4. For Members we have a Members Forum, why not go on-line & start a dialogue on these local issues http://shropshire-disability.net/members-area Our Members area is so under used but there for you. 5. We can take your concerns to the relevant bodies if you ask us to. It is the “Voice” that counts & what are we trying to do? Give a “Voice” to disabled people & carers in Shropshire. Shropshire Disability Network is a local charity that has become the place for

information on disability throughout Shropshire.

At SDN we are all volunteers, we get ill like everyone else. Volunteers need time outr for all kinds of reasons. We are a growing organisation, helping many people each year so we need extra help. Some of our volunteers need support or job share or would like a bit of help. So we are asking you-

Do you have an interest in disability issues? Do you have skills that you are willing to share with us? Can you write articles for our newsletter ‘Your Voice’? Can you spare time to help with charity collections? Are you able to help staff a stall at events in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin? Are you a people person who likes to go to events, talking to people, them about us & able to sign up new member. If so our Deputy Membership Secretary role may interest you. May be you are a Fundraiser, & enjoy arranging events & encouraging people to help, if so we would like to hear from you. Whatever you can do, we would love to hear from you.

We are looking for volunteers who are prepared to support our Management Committee at events and other activities. Could you be a Caring Champion at our quarterly meetings, ensuring those who cannot get refreshments that easily are looked after? We have so many opportunities, by volunteering for us you would get so much satisfaction & find it very rewarding by meeting new people and you would be valued by all at our Charity. If you have any time to dedicate to us you will be helping us provide an effective network for people with disabilities that ultimately represents their views.

May be you want to volunteer but are unsure what you are looking for. Please contact us. Whether an hour a week or 20 a month or at occasional events, please call us on our mobile 07780 852 229 or email [email protected] & we can have a dialogue with no obligation.

Disclaimer: SDN seeks to provide a forum for information and all points of view on matters affecting people with disability, their families and carers. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those held by SDN or anyone connected with it. SDN and this newsletter do not endorse commercial products or services; any mentioned here are for information only. If you have a problem with any of the content, please contact the editor at [email protected]