Page | 1 SIGNAL for Bracknell Forest Carers AUTUMN 2018 Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter SIGNAL provides information, advice and support to adult unpaid carers who live in Bracknell Forest. Bracknell Forest Council gives SIGNAL the money to run the service. To be an adult unpaid carer you must: Be over the age of 18 Provide a friend or family member with help and support because of their illness or disability Not get paid for providing this help What is help and support? This could be help to do shopping, housework, providing transport or even just visiting a person and having a chat. It is important you know about people and groups that can help you stay healthy and happy when you are a carer. Support for young carers (people under 18) and parent carers of disabled children are supported by other services. If you need to contact them SIGNAL can provide you with their telephone numbers.
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SIGNAL for Bracknell Forest Carers AUTUMN 2018
Welcome to the Autumn Newsletter
SIGNAL provides information, advice and support to adult unpaid
carers who live in Bracknell Forest.
Bracknell Forest Council gives SIGNAL the money to run the service.
To be an adult unpaid carer you must:
Be over the age of 18
Provide a friend or family member with help and support because
of their illness or disability
Not get paid for providing this help
What is help and support?
This could be help to do shopping, housework, providing transport or
even just visiting a person and having a chat.
It is important you know about people and groups that can help you
stay healthy and happy when you are a carer.
Support for young carers (people under 18) and parent carers of
disabled children are supported by other services. If you need to
contact them SIGNAL can provide you with their telephone numbers.
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SIGNAL for Bracknell Forest Carers AUTUMN 2018
Carers Lunch
Coming to the carers lunch can:
Give you a break from caring
Help you meet other carers
Give you the chance to talk to SIGNAL staff
Give you information
The next carers lunch is on Friday 5th October 2018.
It starts at 12 noon and finishes at 2.30pm.
It is at Easthampstead Baptist Church.
An invitation has been sent with this newsletter. Please reply by
Wednesday 19th September 2018.
Social Events
People have told us how much they enjoy our social events. They also like that they can bring a
guest. This can be the person they care for or someone else.
Tesco’s ‘Bags for Help’ have given us some money to help pay for the events.
The next event will be on Carers Rights Day – November the 30th. We will send out invitations
nearer the time.
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World Alzheimer’s Month
To raise awareness of dementia, September is World Alzheimer’s month.
The dementia advisor is organising some drop in sessions at GP surgeries where you can find
out more about dementia and groups that run activities and offer support.
September the 9th is National Dementia Carers Day. SIGNAL will be sharing information to help
carers of people living with dementia on social media on that day.
Would you like to be a Dementia Friend? If so, SIGNAL can arrange for you to attend an
awareness session. Please contact us for more information.
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NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
NHS Continuing Healthcare is also called CHC.
It is a package of care that some people receive as a result of a
disability, accident or illness. Package means an agreement of the care and support that person
needs. Every person is different so every ‘package’ is different. CHC care is funded by the NHS. The person receiving the care does
not have to pay for the care. This is different to social care where people have a financial assessment and may be asked to pay some or all of the costs.
CHC is available for anyone over the age of 18 who has been
assessed as having a primary health need.
? ? ? There is not a clear definition or description of what is meant by primary health need.
Social services / social care can provide some health services in the
care they provide but not when there are primary health needs.
Understanding CHC can be difficult to understand and apply for. To find out more about CHC you can visit the East Berkshire Clinical
Domiciliary care is care and support you receive at home. In May 2017, to continue to meet people’s needs Bracknell Forest
council decided to do things differently and selected five home care providers to work with
The 5 providers are:
Care 1st Ltd
Loving Angel Care Ltd
Oxford House Community Care
Q Care Ltd
Watershed Care Services Ltd Healthwatch Bracknell Forest will be checking to see how people
who use these providers feel they are doing and if they think the changes have improved the care people receive.
Carers views are also very important. If you, or the person you care for, receives support from one of
these companies, would like to share your experiences and are happy for us to share your contact details with Healthwatch Bracknell Forest, please let us know.
The Ark Trust provides SIGNAL and Healthwatch Bracknell Forest
but needs you to agree for Healthwatch to contact you direct.
Community Outreach
Our mobile information bus is at Tesco Martins Heron on the 3rd
Monday of every month 9am – 4pm. It has a private office and a lift.
Drop in to see us!
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SIGNAL for Bracknell Forest Carers AUTUMN 2018
Polite Notice….
Carers Lunches and social events are FREE. But…..
£££ it does cost SIGNAL money to provide them.
If you have said you are coming to a lunch or event and then you
can’t, please let us know. Someone else might be able to go instead.
Some people have asked if they can make a donation for the
lunches and events. We do not want anyone to feel they have to make a donation so we
are looking at ways people can make anonymous donations to support SIGNAL.
List of groups and useful numbers
With this newsletter we have sent you an updated list of groups that may be useful to you.
If you know of any other groups you think should be on the list,
please let us know.
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Let’s talk about………
Being able to drive and having a car can make life easier for carers. It is important, especially as you get older, that you make sure you
are legally entitled* and safe to drive. * allowed Legal entitlement to drive You must have a valid driving licence for the type of vehicle you are
driving / riding.
You must meet the minimum eyesight rules.
You must not have any medical conditions that are notifiable* to the
DVLA but that you have not told them about. * must tell them about You must not be aware of any medical conditions that might make
you unsafe to drive.
If you are a learner driver you must have the correct provisional
licence, display L plates and be accompanied by a qualified driver (unless you ride a motorbike).
To drive different types of vehicles (buses, lorries etc.), you need to
have the correct licence. You can check this online at: https://www.gov.uk/vehicles-can-drive
To see if you can drive in the UK on a non-GB licence you can also check online at:
https://www.gov.uk/driving-nongb-licence Driving licences expire / run out when you are 70 years old. This
means you have to renew your licence. You do not have to take another test.
You will then have to renew your licence every 3 years. If you do not renew your licence at 70 and then every 3 years you
will not legally be allowed to drive and your motor insurance will also be invalid.
The DVLA will send you a letter and form before your 70th birthday
so you can renew your licence but you can also do it online at: https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence-at-70
There are higher medical and eyesight standards for driving larger vehicles. Eye sight You must be able to read, with glasses or contact lenses if necessary,
a car number plate from 20 metres or 67 feet away. You must also meet minimum standards for visual acuity (clearness) and field of vision. These can be tested by an optician.
Medical conditions It is your responsibility to make sure you are fit to drive and to let the
DVLA know of any medical conditions that affect your driving. You can be fined £1000 if you do not let the DVLA know and, if you are involved in an accident, you may be prosecuted.
Medical conditions (continued) Having certain medical conditions means you must notify or tell the
DVLA about them. For other medical condition you only have to tell the DVLA if they are
likely to affect driving or in certain circumstances. For a list of these different conditions, which is updated regularly,
visit: https://www.gov.uk/health-conditions-and-driving For more advice and information you should speak to your doctor
and / or you doctor. You must give up your licence if: Your doctor tells you to stop driving for 3 months or more Or You do not meet the required standards for driving because of your
medical condition. Driving with a physical disability Cars can be adapted for some physical disabilities. There is a scheme where some mobility allowances can be used to
pay to lease (hire) an adapted car, scooter or powered wheelchair. For more information visit: https://www.motability.co.uk/
Carers Rock! During Carers Week, to raise awareness, we took part in the
Kindness (Hidden) Rocks project; where people paint rocks and hide them in local parks and community locations.
Our social media posts and photos have reached thousands of
people with many people sharing them and reading information about carers. A great success!
Medication It is illegal to drive with legal drugs in your body if it impairs your
driving. Legal drugs are those prescribed to you or those you buy over the
counter at pharmacies and shops. Impairs means it affects your driving in a bad or negative way. Please talk to your doctor if you are concerned. Concerned about your driving? If you are worried about your driving there are organisations that can
assess (test) your driving and these are confidential. Please ask SIGNAL for more information. There is also an online assessment tool for the mature driver at: http://www.saferroads.org/flourish/
Working with iHasco, we can now provide the following training
online or at our offices.
Assessing Mental Capacity
Moving and Handling People
Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults
We work with the British Red Cross to provide First Aid training
for carers.
If you are interested in any training, please contact the SIGNAL office.
Training provided by other organisations
The Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) run Carers Understanding of Dementia
courses, Contact the Course Administrator on 01344 823220 (CMHT number).
Bracknell Opening Learning Centre provide many different community learning courses. Contact them on 01344 354220 for more information.
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Mental Health Forum
A place to talk about mental health issues. It is for anyone concerned about these issues, including carers.
It is an independent forum run by Healthwatch Bracknell Forest and
paid for by the Community Mental Health Team. The forum is held at Easthampstead Baptist church between
11.30am – 2.00pm on the following Thursdays: 11th October 2018 29th November 2018 24th January 2019 28th March 2019 A free lunch is provided so you must let Healthwatch know if you
are coming at least 10 days before. Please let them know if you have any access or dietary
Flu Vaccinations As a carer you are entitled to a free flu vaccination. Most GP surgeries start offering vaccinations from October and
many offer special clinics and drop-ins. Contact your GP surgery for more information.
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Grants for Carer Breaks from SIGNAL
SIGNAL has funding from Berkshire Community Foundation to help carers get a break from caring. This could be an actual break (holiday) or a regular activity or something else. The choice is yours. The maximum amount of money each carer can apply for is £300. The easiest way to apply is to telephone us and answer a few questions or we can send you out an application form. The closing date to apply is the 21st September 2018. Other help you may be able to get Is there a piece of equipment that would help the person you care
for or help you to care for them?
Are you in financial need?
SIGNAL can now search the NCVO database of funders (people who give
money) who make grants to individuals
SIGNAL can also help you with the paperwork if you apply to a funder.
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Healthwatch Bracknell Forest
Carers often have a lot of
valuable experience about
local health and social care
services. If you, or the person
you care for, have any feedback
– good or bad – on services
please let Healthwatch
Bracknell Forest know – 01344
266911
Healthwatch Bracknell Forest
are also looking for local
volunteers for “Enter and
View” visits; opportunities to
visit services and talk to
patients and clients.
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Community Activities & Events There are a number of websites you can visit to find out about groups and activities in Bracknell Forest and other useful information. If you do not have internet access please contact the SIGNAL office and we can look for you. Bracknell Forest Help Yourself
Connecting you to information and support to stay independent and well. This includes a link to a community map with details of groups and activities.
Bracknell Library Service
Much more than places to borrow books and DVDs, our local libraries now offer sessions for all ages and activities range from carers coffee mornings to interactive story telling.
Involve
The local community and voluntary sector umbrella organisation who have details of local volunteering opportunities. They also run a Befriending service.
Parks and Countryside (events)
Events held in the parks and countryside in Bracknell Forest. Includes walks, talks, interactive events and even outdoor cinema.
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Useful contacts
Adult Social Care, Bracknell Forest Council – 01344 351500
This will redirect to Emergency Out of Hours Service outside of office hours.
