Community Care Magazine No44 for Elderly and Disabled

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NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2005

Can you help someone before Christmas?

13% of elderly people in the UK are unable to shop without help.

2.9 million people in the UK have osteoporosis in their hands sometimes making it hard for them to write cards or wrap presents.

If you know of an elderly person who may appreciate a little help before Christmas, call round and offer to help. It won't take long!

Power Cuts

Winter brings power cuts and a risk to our health and safety if we are not prepared or know how to cope. The following tips may be helpful in such a circumstance:

• Power cuts will leave you without lighting so have a torch or candles and matches in places where you know how to find them.

• If you know there is going to be a power cut take anything you want to consume out of the freezer before the electricity is switched off.

• If the freezer has a fast freeze mode, turn it on about an hour before the cut. Fill any empty space within the freezer, e.g. use small cardboard boxes or newspaper. Then do not open again.

• Normally frozen food in a freezer will stay frozen for about 12 hours in an upright freezer and about 24 hours in a chest freezer. For additional help, wrap the freezer in a blanket/cardboard for extra insulation.

• The heating may well be off so have access to blankets and warm clothes and put them on before you get cold.

• Sitting still will make you feel even colder. Therefore move around to keep warm.

• If the power is still off when you go to bed, put an extra blanket on the bed, put on a pair of socks, a jumper and a hat if you have one. Normally your body cools as you sleep and without heat you will be even colder.

• If you know a power cut is coming, boil water and put in thermos flasks for hot drinks. If you do not have a thermos flask, perhaps you should buy a couple to keep for such an emergency.

Over the years we have had several enquiries as to whether we know of any organisation that is able to sell second hand disabled equipment. At varying times we have been able to help by directing the enquirer to relatively local contacts.

However, we have decided for a few months at least to devote a little part of the Gazette to disabled equipment that people wish to sell on.

We will not have seen this equipment and give no guarantee as to its suitability, value for money or current state of condition.

If you are interested in the equipment, contact the seller and consider whether you should seek advice before purchase.

The first items are:

"TGA Wheelchair power pack (makes pushing a wheelchair so much easier) £500.00 (new £645.00)"

"Keep Able Wheelchair telescopic ramps with carry bag, hardly used £150.00 (new £217.00)."

There have been several changes in the office since the last Gazette and here are the following details.

Saundra Heapy, Office Manager and Sara Heapy, Administration have moved on to pastures new as has Rachael Wilson, Care Manager.

New staff members who have joined the team are Judith Tye, Office Manager, Chris Cook, Care Manager and Ruth Divey, Care Manager.

A further Administration person will be joining the team shortly.

In the South West of the country and for South Wales we have appointed a Business Development and Compliance Manager, Mandy Gülatar. Mandy has been with the company for the last ten years and we congratulate her on the appointment.

Next of Kin

One of the associated problems with any disaster, as in the London bombings is that the statutory and voluntary services do not always know how to contact casualties' next of kin as they have no idea who they are.

A new campaign ICE (in case of emergency) has been launched by the East Anglian Ambulance Service to enable ambulance men and hospital staff to contact your next of kin quickly.

Quite simply, you store the word "I C E" in your mobile phone address book and against it the number of the person you would want to be contacted "in case of emergency". If you wish to name more than one person you simply put ICE1, ICE2, ICE3, etc.

Mel's Achievement

We are pleased to let everyone know that Mel won a gold medal in the World Archery Championships in Italy last month.

Again many thanks to all who contributed to her purchase of the new wheelchair. An amazing £8,000+ was raised.

Christmas Ghosts

Brigg in Lincolnshire - one Christmas Eve an elderly lady left her home to beg for money to buy her Christmas lunch. However, in the snow she froze to death. Her ghost is sometimes seen on December 24th asking for directions back to her home.

Bath in Somerset - an actress in the 1880's killed herself in her hotel after she discovered her husband had killed her secret lover. Before killing herself she had appeared at the theatre in Bath in a grey feather dress. On 25th December she appears at the hotel still wearing the same dress.

Keep drinking the water!

Articles on health abound in our newspapers and magazines and a recurring message is to keep drinking water, as much as eight glasses a day. But do you know why?

An adults total body weight is comprised of between 50% to 70% of water.

Water is lost from the body through urine and sweat and must therefore be replaced on a regular basis or otherwise our survival time is limited.

If you do not drink enough you will suffer from dehydration causing symptoms such as headaches, tiredness, loss of concentration, constipation and eventually may suffer from kidney stones.

The body can get its water from drinks, food and as a by-product of chemical reactions in the body.

The main ingredient of all drinks is water. For example carbonated drinks contain about 65% water, a glass of squash 86% and a fruit juice around 90%.

The British Dietetic Association advises that the equivalent of 6/7 glasses of water a day should come direct from drinks. Further water can come from eating fresh fruit and vegetables.

Plan your drinks throughout the day starting with a glass of water when you wake and be aware that before you go to bed you need to drink at least another seven drinks throughout the day.

Christmas in the 1930's - A Reader's Recollections

• In the weeks before, stirring the Christmas pudding.
• On Christmas Eve hanging one of Fathers thick woolly socks at the foot of the bed.
• The cold house before the fires were lit on Christmas day.
• The Christmas morning church service.
• Lunch had home made lemonade, half a glass per child, plus turkey and bread sauce.
• The Christmas pudding brought in with holly sticking out of the top with a struggling blue flame.
• The sixpence or a silver ring in our portion of pudding.
• Licking the last of the brandy butter off the plate (licking the plate would not have been tolerated at any other time!)
• Five o'clock - clean, hair brushed, in my best dress and wearing my bronze dancing shoes with the thin elastic cross over listening to the grown ups getting things ready inside the front room.
• At last the door was opened and there stood the Christmas tree with lighted candles clipped on to all the branches. Red, yellow, pink, blue and green candles. Grownups standing by with bits of wet sponge on bamboo sticks in case they needed to douse any branches that started to burn.
• Little heaps of parcels with our names on them.
• Then the electricity was turned on and we were allowed to open our presents. A grownup standing by, noting what we had received from whom, ready for the Thank You letters to be written before New Year's Day.

This is a bid to improve the standards of cleanliness in hospitals. There are 3,000 matrons in post who have the authority to lead change.

There are ten commitments:

1. Keeping the NHS clean is everybody's responsibility.
2. The patient environment will be well maintained, clean and safe.
3. Matrons will establish a cleanliness culture across their units.
4. Cleaning staff will be recognised for the important work they do.
5. Specific rules and responsibilities for cleaning will clear.
6. Cleaning routines will be clear, agreed and well-publicised.
7. Patients will have a part to play in monitoring and reporting on standards of cleanliness.
8. All staff working in healthcare will receive education in infection control.
9. Nurses and infection control teams will be involved in drawing up cleaning contracts and matrons have authority and power to withhold payment.
10. Sufficient funding will be dedicated to keeping hospitals clean.

Wednesday 14th Dec - Standard parcels
Saturday 17th Dec - Second Class
Tuesday 20th Dec - First Class
Thursday 22nd Dec - Special Delivery

International Dates

Friday 9th Dec - South and Central America, Caribbean, Africa, Middle East, New Zealand and Australia.

Monday 12th Dec - Japan, USA, Canada and Eastern Europe.

Wednesday 14th Dec - Western Europe.

Do you remember - The Hula Hoop?

In 1957 a chance conversation about Australian children playing with hoops made out of bamboo which they twirled about their waists launched the fad of the Hula Hoop.

Phillips Petroleum had recently invented a lightweight, durable plastic and this was ideal for the manufacture of the hoops.

The other part of the name "hula" was a reference to the dancers of Hawaii that people using the hoop seemed to emulate.

The Hula Hoop sold over 125 million within a few months but were banned by two countries.

Japan thought that the motion of keeping the hoop up and circling might promote improprieties and the Soviet Union thought that it represented American culture and was therefore not to be encouraged.

The Hula Hoop did wonders for the waistline and they are still available today in children's toy shops.

999 but no Mobile Signal?

If you are in an area where you have no mobile signal, such as in a tunnel, but you urgently need to dial 999 what can you do?

To solve this problem phone companies have signed up to a method that will solve the problem.

If you need 999 in an area of no signal dial 112. This will divert to a satellite signal and put you in touch with a 999 Call Centre.

There is also the added advantage that as you are connected to a satellite service it automatically gives them a trace as to where you are.

A Smile for Christmas

What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmas? ..... ... Sandy Claus!

What did Adam say on the day before Christmas?.........It's Christmas, Eve!

Which reindeer needs to mind his manners most?.......Rude olph!

How does Santa Claus take photos?.....With his North Pole-aroid!

And finally ....

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all our readers.

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