Perth & Kinross Spring Newsletter May 2012 Page 2: Foreword Welcome to the first edition of our local newsletter! I hope that you all Introducing our enjoy it. Team The work of WRVS in Perthshire is like a closely guarded secret even Page 3-5: amongst our own! With this newsletter we hope to start to address this Introducing Our along with improving our communication to you, our volunteers. In this Services issue we will highlight the work that our team of 688 volunteers carry out Service Update throughout Perthshire. Since I joined in May last year I have been struck by this gap in knowledge amongst some of our volunteers. Also many people Page 6-7: I speak to out-with the organisation are unaware of all that we do or how Spotlight on valuable our work is. Why is this? Internally, I am sure, because of the old Emergency Response Recovery and department led structure of the organisation. Now, with our new Hub Resilience Service structure, we are integrating our services locally and other volunteering opportunities are opening up for those that want it. Perth was chosen as Page 8: one of only four sites in the UK to spearhead this new structure and plans Investing in to widen this out throughout Scotland are well on the way. From your Volunteers point of view I am sure that you are too busy doing what you do to have V Enable 2012 time to tell people about it – could be! We need your help not only to do the voluntary work but to promote the work that you do. Many people Page 9: throughout Perthshire have benefitted and we need to spread the word Scams and increase awareness to help us continue to grow services locally. Page 10 The introduction of this newsletter came from speaking to volunteers at Disabled Parking our open meetings in January where it was recognised that we had to put Update mechanisms in place to improve communications locally. As requested we Carse Gowrie Shop and Drop Service will continue with small, local meetings and details of our next meetings are enclosed. I would welcome contributions to the next newsletter, Page 11: Interesting news connected to older people, events in your area they Local Resource should know about etc. One thing I would Database love to do and I am sure others would Events Listing appreciate is a look back at the origins of our services locally and how they have developed. Page 12: Many of our volunteers have been with WRVS Thank you probably for more years than they would care Survey to remember, if this interests you, please get in touch. Any suggestions or feedback are more than welcome. Joan Maclean, Locality Manager Introducing Our Team Barbara Macphee joined as an administrator in 2008 but with the increased demand on our services her role has evolved to Office Co-ordinator overseeing our ever expanding social transport network and our IT systems. She is your first port of call for anything office related, the lady in the know! She supports our team of 5 volunteers who dedicate time weekly to helping out with many projects. Barbara came to us with years of IT office experience and keeps us all in line!. Full time, available 08:30-16:30 (Fri 08:30-15:00) May Smith, Service Co-ordinator is our longest serving member of staff. May started many years’ ago as a meals on wheels volunteer and since joining the team has helped co-ordinate most of our services at some point. She now takes charge of our Good Neighbours and Home from Hospital Services, Lunch Clubs & Social Clubs. Available 9:00-15:00 Caroline Scott , Assistant Services Co-ordinator also joined us as a volunteer in Jan 2011 quickly moving on to a post with us and now runs the Transport to Day Care Service, Books on Wheels and Telephone Support Service. Like all our staff Caroline comes to us with varied experience including being a boat captain in the Virgin Islands! Available Mon, Wed, Fri: 08:30-12.30 and Tues and Thurs 08:30-15:00 Sylvia Tasker , Service Co-ordinator has worked for us at Perth Royal Infirmary since 2007 managing the cafeteria, shop, welcome desk and trolley services and runs a very busy ship. Volunteers tell us they work harder there some days than they did in their paid jobs! Many of our volunteers have worked there for oodles of years so don’t let that put you off! Pauline Richardson is our Assistant Services Co-ordinator at PRI helping Sylvia to run services as above. Pauline does a lot of work with our younger volunteers, supporting them through their Duke of Edinburgh award and covers the weekend. Available: Mon, Tues, Fri: 14:30-18:30 and Sat: 13:00-17:30 Sun: 14:00-15:30 Elizabeth (Liz) Drummond, PRI Administrator is our gad-about! As well as helping to keep the ball rolling at PRI, she helps out at the office, focusing on recruitment of volunteers. Available office: Mon & Tues 09:00-16:30, Wed-Fri at PRI 11:00-18:30 Welcome desk volunteers required – 9-12pm, 1-4.30pm shifts usually monthly Cafeteria/shop – Tues afternoon fortnightly, 3 hours and flexible hours for reserves (shifts are always 3.5 hours) Trolley volunteers for Saturday and Sunday am Joan Maclean, Locality Manager – “I joined the team in May last year, with a background in Catering Operations Management (private and public) and Social Work Management. It’s been a pleasure to be involved.” New appointment: June Malcolm . We are delighted to announce that June joined our team in January this year as Assistant Services Co-ordinator at Perth Royal Infirmary primarily assisting Pauline to run services at the weekend. June has recently started up our trolley service at the weekend with the support of our young Duke of Edinburgh volunteers. This addition to our services is much appreciated by both patients and staff on wards. We would encourage any of our volunteers who have grandchildren looking for work experience to suggest PRI to them as all who come to us report a positive experience with some continuing to volunteer after achieving their award. Official office opening hours are 09:00-15:00 Monday to Friday 2 Perth & Kinross Introducing Our Services/Service Update All of our community services have the aim of supporting older people in the community, making sure they are safe and well and that they do not become socially isolated. Services now available to older people throughout Perth and Kinross include: Good Neighbours service : It aims to reduce isolation, build Volunteers always required as confidence and enable clients where possible to get out and about referral volumes vary but we and participate in community events. A volunteer will pop in for a currently have outstanding chat and a cup of tea or you can arrange to go out together to the referrals in Blairgowrie, Bridge shops, the library, a coffee shop, to the loch shore, wherever! of Earn, Abernethy, Aberfeldy, Referrals may be due to age, illness or disability. When family and Crieff, Comrie, Invergowrie, St friends live too far away to help, WRVS Good Neighbours provide Madoes, Perth and Scone – essential support and company. time commitment varies and Other requests include - shopping, respite for carers, trips to often there is a degree of bank/PO, prescription collection, reading newspapers/letters, filling in flexibility but normally around forms, This is not a definitive list and we always try and two hours per week. accommodate our older people as much as we possibly can. Where we are not the best people to support we will signpost to appropriate services. Our volunteer outcome co-ordinators are doing great work in the community and are the first introduction to WRVS for new referrals helping to define and access appropriate services for them. If you are interested in this role please contact us. We would particularly like to hear from anyone in the Carse of Gowrie area. Home from Hospital, part of our good neighbours service where older people coming out of hospital are given up to 6 weeks of free, short term support to help them settle in back home and with the aim of preventing re-admission into hospital and any delay in discharge. It enables them to return home with confidence. Typical support given by volunteers is shopping, prescription collection and transport to appointments. Just having someone in that initial period after discharge helps them to regain their confidence and independence until they can manage themselves. order and then carry out the shopping on behalf of people who are unable to do for themselves. Shop Drop service is a new service currently only run- We require volunteers in Errol/ ning in the Carse of Gowrie but with volunteer support Inchture area approximately four we hope to open it out to other areas. Volunteers either hours per rota day – input can be collect or take a telephone shopping order and then weekly, fortnightly, monthly as part of carry out the shopping on behalf of people who are unable to do for themselves. Please see article later on. a rota system or reserve only Telephone and nutritional support: this gives We would like to develop this service into a short to medium term support for older people telephone befriending service either this who need help adapting to the council’s frozen could be long term or short term or to meals service, building confidence through support someone recently discharged from support and encouragement until service users are hospital able to manage on their own.