Chesterfield & District

ANNUAL REPORT 2011 - 2012

Registered Charity No. 1022025 Age Concern Chesterfield & District 87 New Square CHESTERFIELD S40 1AH Tel: (01246) 273333 Fax: (01246) 520879 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.ageconcernchesterfield.org.uk

Help us to make the difference for older people

1 AGE CONCERN CHESTERFIELD & DISTRICT

Is a Voluntary Organisation working for older people, their families and carers, by providing information, services, support and by tackling issues that affect older people in

Chesterfield, North East Derbyshire and

Bolsover District Council Areas.

Age Concern Chesterfield & District

is an Associate Member of the

Age England Association.

2 AGE CONCERN CHESTERFIELD & DISTRICT 2011 - 2012

TRUSTEES/EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

John Duncan (Chair) Sheelagh Hanson (Hon. Secretary to December 2011) Ray Farnsworth (Hon. Treasurer) Sylvia Everitt Sue O’Donnell – co-opted December 2011 Geoffrey Speed Nancy Sturdy Merle Taylor – resigned August 2011

CARE LINE John Siddall – Chief Officer/Care Line Co-ordinator – 21 Hours

ADVOCACY, INFORMATION & ADVICE SERVICE

Sarah Picton - Advocacy Co-ordinator/Information & Advice Officer - 20 Hours

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR Janet Gough – 24 Hours

VOLUNTEERS Christine Berrow, Anne Carter, Carla Crawford, Anne Duncan, John Duncan, Sylvia Everitt, Ray Farnsworth, David Fitzpatrick, Martin Gough, Sheelagh Hanson, Greta Jones, Patricia Jones, Gillian King, Rita King, Mahes Kirby, Betty Lancaster, Michael Mason, Sylvia Mirfin, Audrey Shaw, Joanna Sinclair, Lesley Smith, Geoffrey Speed, Jeannette Speed, Nancy Sturdy, Merle Taylor, David Turner, Susan Wade, Kathleen Wells, Richard Wilkins.

3 CHAIR’S REPORT 2012

Welcome to our Annual Report, my first as Chair.

I have no doubt that most charity reports this year will open with the words “this has been a difficult year”, and Age Concern Chesterfield and District is no exception. Nevertheless, it is a year which has seen the scope of our services expand, and new ventures begin.

It is pleasing to be able to report an increasing demand for both our telephone Care Line and our Advocacy Services, of which more elsewhere in the report. Information and Advice is sought both by telephone and by personal callers, with a big increase in requests for benefits and financial advice. This is a sure indicator of the difficulties faced by many older people, as the Government seeks to reduce the benefits bill to the taxpayer. We continue our partnership with a local solicitor, Banner Jones, who provide free initial consultations in our offices every Tuesday morning.

New ventures included Christmas Lunch for twenty of our Care Line Service users, made possible by a grant from Age UK and Wilkinsons (and the very able assistance on the day of three of Wilkinsons staff), a sponsored walk along the length of Hadrian’s Wall, and the setting up of a Diversity in Practice Project. These last two events were undertaken by our ever enthusiastic Chief Officer, John Siddall.

We also took a stall on Medieval Market Day, and raised further funds with a tin collection outside Dobbies in Barlborough. Individually, these events do not bring in large sums, but taken together they go some way to reducing our deficit to manageable proportions, and we are grateful to those volunteers who either worked on the stall, or rattled a tin, for a good cause.

The Trustees were pleased to welcome Sue O’Donnell as a co-opted member, bringing a wealth of experience of working both in the Public and Voluntary sectors (and reducing the average age of the board of Trustees!). Regrettably, we also had to accept the resignation of Merle Taylor, another Trustee, for personal reasons.

I would like to express our thanks to Derbyshire County Council and Derbyshire County PCT for their continuing financial support, especially in such difficult times. As the financial cuts bite, so do the calls on our services increase. We are, as always, greatly indebted to our staff and volunteers for their dedication in coping with the charity’s increasing workload.

Finally, I am very pleased to report that Age Concern Chesterfield and District became a Charitable Company limited by Guarantee on 1 April 2012. The name is unchanged, but the new status gives more protection to Trustees, and should provide reassurance to Funders that we are a stable organisation.

John Duncan Chair of Trustees 1 May 2012 4 INFORMATION & ADVICE SERVICE

Age Concern Chesterfield and District deliver an Information and Advice Service on a wide variety of subjects including care at home, welfare benefits, paying for residential/nursing care, etc.

Customer contact is made in person at our office, by telephone or by e-mail. Information and Advice Services are supported by a wide variety of leaflets and factsheets which are frequently updated and distributed by Age UK.

Our partnership with Banner Jones solicitors continues. This provides access to free legal advice at our premises on Tuesday mornings between 10.30am and 11.30am, and is a service which is well used by older people and their families.

During this financial year the number of appointments made has increased. Many telephone enquiries have been referred to Banner Jones. As this service continues to be popular we advise making a 30 minute appointment rather than dropping in as this will avoid disappointment if appointments have already been booked.

T.O.P.S.(Tax for Older People’s Service) also use our facilities for appointments to assist their clients. Clients contact T.O.P.S. direct who then book our office facilities and give an hour appointment to each client.

Sarah Picton, previously Lacey, continues in the post of Information and Advice Co-ordinator.

Our service brochures have been distributed throughout the county, to both older people themselves, Social Services and other organisations supporting older people. This has assisted in raising awareness of our services. Following this distribution there has been an increase in requests for support from people in the South Normanton and Blackwell areas.

A good working relationship continues with Rosedale Financial Management who specialise in financial advice and services for those needing to pay for care services.

More volunteers have been recruited to assist with the Information and Advice Service. They are now able to answer the telephone and deal with personal callers.

Volunteers are also assisting with the development of a computerised directory of information which will enable them to search for information and successfully signpost callers to the relevant services.

An Information and Advice service point continues to be held at the library on a monthly basis which is attracting a fluctuating number of visitors. This has partly been due to the refurbishment of the library and the positioning of our desk which 5 unfortunately is no longer in a prominent position. This is to be reviewed in the coming months in order to decide whether this particular service will continue at this venue.

In 2012 we became a partner of Advice Derbyshire which operates as a single voice for advice providers across the County. This will enable us to work with other partner agencies to provide the relevant information and advice to our service users and also enable us to access resources and training to update our knowledge.

Considerations for the coming year are the possibility of developing a similar outreach service at the local hospitals and also contacting sheltered housing accommodation to offer talks about all the services we provide including our Information and Advice Service. The Information and Advice Co-ordinator has already visited a number of these complexes by request from the Wardens.

6 ADVOCACY SERVICE

This service assists older people to have a say in affairs that concern them, such as making decisions about future care, money matters, housing, welfare benefits, and other events affecting their lives. The service is independent of health or social care providers. The service provides impartial information and advice and practical help. In addition to home visits, other cases have been carried out by telephone. Advocacy work is undertaken by the Information and Advice officer. The work is very time-consuming within our limited time constraints, and in some cases extremely complex.

In addition to providing older people with information to enable them to make decisions, older people have been supported in meetings with Social Services regarding their care needs, in safeguarding meetings and best interests assessments.

In the past year, we have provided an Advocacy Service to approximately 25 people covering a wide range of issues.

Examples include Mr C, who was referred to us by the warden from his sheltered housing complex. It was regarding his benefit entitlement. A benefit check was undertaken and an application for Housing/Council Tax benefit was made.

Mr H was referred to us by his Social Worker upon his discharge from hospital. His health had deteriorated following a fall and he was discharged to a care home until decisions could be made about his future. He was assisted in dealing with his financial affairs and making decisions about his future housing and care needs.

Mrs P is in a care home and was referred by the Manager. She required support with making a will and sorting out legal and financial issues relating to her move into residential care.

Referrals to the Advocacy Service come from Social Services, family members and older people themselves. A proportion of these referrals can be resolved over the telephone whilst others may involve a one-off visit and others ongoing support.

A volunteer, Sue Wade, has now been recruited to assist with the Advocacy Service. This enables us to provide ongoing support to individuals where needed.

7 OLDER PEOPLE’S CLUBS

During the year under review, several clubs have found it necessary to close. In all cases where these clubs have closed the cause has been a loss of membership thus making it uneconomical to provide for a small number of older people.

On a brighter note, two such situations have been reversed where recruitment of new officers and trustees has preserved a club which may otherwise have closed.

A community group in the Loundsley Green area of Chesterfield have taken over the premises of a former Church Centre and introduced a “Young at Heart“ group. Contact with our office by this new social group provided an introduction to the County Small Grants Funding System to assist in financing the club.

Intervention with the Parish Council has assisted in the revival of facilities for older people in Apperknowle. The importance of this action was to preserve the building in the ownership of former trustees to ensure its use by older people.

A regular number of enquiries from the public have been dealt with, linking individuals to clubs.

It is worthy of note that there has been an increase in referrals from relatives of older people who have searched the Age Concern Chesterfield and District’s website in an attempt to obtain details of clubs listed therein.

Although many attempts have been made by officers to support financially the appointment of a project officer to work in this area, (highlighted in the conclusions of the exercise carried out in June 2010), non have been successful. 8 CHIEF OFFICER’S REPORT 2012

Massive change within the areas of Health and Social Care fields during the last year has proven to be a challenge for all charities, ourselves included. Against a background of increased costs, our income from local government and the Primary Care Trust has in real terms reduced. It would have been easy for our charity to reduce the service that we give to older people within our area, however, I am pleased to be able to report that we have remained positive and determined to enhance our range of existing services.

CARE LINE

The Care Line is a telephone befriending service provided to support Older People in the Chesterfield, Bolsover and North East Derbyshire areas. The calls are made on 4 days per week and service users are called up to 3 times per week. We made over 3500 calls last year. The number of service users is 48. On average each service user received 80 calls per year.

Referrals to the service have been made by Doctors, Nurses, Mental Welfare Organisations, Social Care Services or family. We then visit the person who has been referred, to assess their needs, discuss the Care Line Service, the number of calls required per week and to provide any other information which may be necessary.

Service users are mainly housebound, may be disabled, have no family nearby, recently bereaved or been recently discharged from hospital. During the calls we endeavour to lift the service user’s spirits and aim to reduce the risks associated with depression, as some service users do not speak to, or see anyone all day.

We have referred service users onto other services when necessary, i.e. to clubs and groups, the Handyperson Scheme, for fire checks, for benefits checks etc.

Last September my wife and I raised extra funds by completing a sponsored walk along the full 85 miles of Hadrian’s Wall from Newcastle on the East Coast to Bowness on Solway on the west coast. Our efforts provided much needed funds to facilitate an effective Winter Warmth Campaign. By working in conjunction with the North Derbyshire Home Improvement Agency and adopting a multi agency approach, funds raised from the walk have resulted in many of our Care Line service users receiving home safety visits and the installation of thermal alarms to warn them of the need to wrap up and increase their central heating output to avoid the adverse effects of the cold.

9 I am particularly pleased that I was able to secure from Age UK and Wilkinsons stores sufficient funds to pay for a Christmas Party for many of our socially isolated Care Line service users. This provided an excellent opportunity for our volunteers to meet with the people that they speak to each week. Thanks to the efforts of our volunteers and volunteers from Wilkinsons the party proved to be a big success.

We have conducted satisfaction surveys which have revealed that our volunteers have received overwhelming praise for improving the quality of life for our service users.

FUNDING MATTERS AND NEW DEVELOPMENTS

In order to continue to provide our services it is becoming increasingly necessary to develop further funding streams. With this in mind, and by working with others, we have managed to secure sufficient National Lottery Funding to help to develop a social enterprise based upon the provision of a specialist mystery shopping service to local shops and businesses. The service will focus upon the access difficulties experienced by elderly and disabled shoppers and create opportunities for businesses to improve the way they treat customers with extra needs.

During the last 12 months we have been successful in securing the assistance of extra volunteers to help with our work. The achievements of the last year have only been possible because of the dedication of our small staff team coupled with the excellent service and commitment provided by our team of dedicated volunteers.

VOLUNTEERS

This year our 28 volunteers donated 2450 hours of their time doing a variety of tasks. This is equivalent to a cash donation of £36,750 or 1.8 full time posts.

Each volunteer is thanked for the commitment that they make to provide our much needed services.

10 AGE CONCERN CHESTERFIELD & DISTRICT acknowledges, and is grateful for the financial support it has received from the following organisations:-

DERBYSHIRE COUNTY PRIMARY CARE TRUST

DERBYSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL (We could not operate without this combined funding)

AGE UK For a share of their Joint Income Generation

AGE UK/WILKINSONS For sponsoring a Christmas Lunch for Care Line Service Users

NATIONAL LOTTERY FUND For a donation for the Diversity in Practice Project

BANNER JONES – SOLICITORS For a donation towards the cost of the Older People’s Clubs Project

JOHN AND JEAN SIDDALL For their sponsored Charity Walk

SPRINGS HEALTH CENTRE - CLOWNE For a very generous donation ------

All our volunteers and friends who helped and contributed to the stall at the MEDIEVAL MARKET

and who helped to collect at DOBBIES, BARLBOROUGH ------

We also acknowledge the donations listed below and the many sundry contributions which have helped to subsidise the various services we provide:-

MRS M J McNULTY MRS SUE CHECKLEY MRS G M KING DONATION IN MEMORY OF MRS W M HAMMOND DONATION IN MEMORY OF MRS BETTY SHARPE DONATION IN MEMORY OF MRS M ATHERTON