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Community Care Magazine No58 for Elderly and DisabledMARCH-APRIL 2008 999 – Do you know what an emergency is? An increasing number of people are calling 999 when the purpose of their call is not for emergency reasons. Local police forces are re-emphasising again that people should only use the 999 number if: A crime is happening now or Examples of situations which are not considered emergencies (and the 999 number should not be used) are: where you find what possible stolen property is; you return from holiday and find your home has been burgled; your car is vandalised; or there is a gang of noisy teenagers outside of your home. For situations such as above, call your local police station number in the telephone book, for any police assistance you may need. Staying Put "Staying Put" is a generalized title for many charities throughout the country who understand that many older people whilst wanting to stay in their own home cannot deal with repairs, adaptations, building jobs required on their home, etc. Such schemes exist to help people with routine maintenance, the repair and improvement of their homes. The services can include help such as assessing any adaptations that a person may be considering, giving information about reputable tradesmen, giving advice on grant applications and if applicable helping with the application and supervising any work in progress, etc. To find out if there is a "Staying Put" charity in any area contact the local Age Concern or a local council office. Re-using Your Old Envelopes? Recycling old envelopes is an environmentally friendly thing to do but just crossing out your own address before sending it on to another person can make you look a little bit of a cheapskate. However, you can if you wish for £2.00 buy Friends of the Earth’s pad of 50 envelopes re-use labels which are printed on 100% consumer waste. The labels explain why you are using them and so spread the message. You can order some by phoning 020 7490 1555. Dormant Bank and Building Society Accounts Bill The above Bill will allow money which has been lying dormant in banks and building societies to be used for reinvestment in the community. The distribution of the money will be by the Lottery Fund for projects nationwide. Dormant, in the terms of the Bill has been defined as one where there has been no customer initiated activity for fifteen years. Estimates are that there is between £250m-£350m in banks and a further £150m in building societies. Chocolate Chip Muffins (makes 16 small muffins) Ingredients: 2 Eggs Method: Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas mark 6, 400°F) and line a muffin tray with paper muffin cases. Place the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, sugars and milk in a large mixing bowl and beat together. In another bowl place the flour, salt and baking powder and mix thoroughly. Chop the chocolate into small pieces, and stir into the flour mixture. Pour in the liquid, and mix together until just blended. Fill each case to just below the top with the muffin mixture. Bake the muffins for 20-25 minutes. They are cooked when a skewer inserted into one and then removed comes out clean. (This recipe came from: http://www.recipesforfree.co.uk) 100 Plus The number of people in England and Wales who have received their hundredth birthday has reached a record high. The Office for National Statistics advises that there are now 9000 centenarians which is a 90 fold increase since 1911. It is expected that this number will continue to rise. It is thought that the reason for the number of people who are attaining their hundredth birthday is down to improvements in health, housing, nutrition and sanitation. Travel and Disability Buses : All public transport buses will have to be accessible to disabled people by 2017. The present regulations only apply to new buses. Trains : The access for disabled people regulations only cover new trains. Currently, there has been no date given when all trains must comply with access for people with a disability. Taxis : Licensed taxis, are by law, required to carry, free of charge a guide dog, a hearing dog or an assistance dog which accompanies a person with a physical disability or epilepsy. It is expected that the regulations will soon be applied to private hire vehicles such as minicabs. Useful Gift... Wedding, birthday, new home, retirement, children leaving for university, these are all celebratory days we may give gifts for. Although the choice of gifts available to purchase has never been larger, it is sometimes difficult to think of something that is not trivial and expensive. One idea that is practical, useful and not expensive is a gift of a First Aid book and a First Aid kit. They can be purchased as pocket size or in a larger format. The British Red Cross sell a variety from their website at: http://www.redcross.org.uk or you can telephone an order on 08448930089. Thrive Thrive is a gardening charity which can show any person with a disability how to enjoy some aspect of a garden. Thrive is for people who love to garden but because of a disability or age find it difficult. The charity has volunteers who can give gardening advice, information and support. Whatever the size of your garden they can advise on how to change your garden in minor ways to enable you to still enjoy it and keep it manageable for you. The charity also offers gardening weekends for visually impaired people and has a publication titled: "Creating Gardening Independence" which you can obtain online at htp://www.thrive.org.uk or by calling 01189885688. There is much more that Thrive can offer based on their experience over thirty years and they are happy to pass on their knowledge. Scams The Office of Fair Trading advises that every year millions of people lose money to scams that come by phone or post. Fake lotteries, prize draw wins, bogus psychic predictions and "miracle" health cures. Do not become a victim. The following advice, if followed should make sure you don’t!
The Office of Fair Trading have an A4 size sheet with the above information printed and a picture on the reverse side of "Patricia" who lost £10,000 to prize draw scams. If you would like a copy/copies of this sheet give them a call on 08003893158 to order. The WRVS In 2007 the WRVS emergency services had 6,600 active volunteers and had 500 teams across England, Scotland and Wales. They helped people in 374 emergency situations covering fires, floods, unexploded bombs and major accidents including terrorist attacks. Free British Telecom Directory Enquiry Services In order to use this service British Telecommunications requires a form to be filled in which requires confirmation of a persons disability by another person, e.g. carer, warden, home help, other care professional, etc. Once accepted the disabled person qualifies for exemption from paying directory enquiry charges. To obtain the BT Free Directory Enquiry Service Application form ring 0800-919195. Notification of the outcome of a person’s application will be sent by BT within 28 days. Employing Your own Carer Many people who are older or have a disability are being given Direct Payments in order that they can buy in care of their choice. Many people choose to go to a care agency other people decide to employ a carer directly themselves. If you employ a carer directly, you will take on certain responsibilities as an employer regardless of whether you employ someone for a few hours a week or fulltime. The issues that have to be taken into account as an employer are factors such as: tax and national insurance. You must also pay the National Minimum Wage and be aware that an employee has certain entitlements such as rest breaks, a maximum number of working hours in any week, holiday pay and possibly sick pay. You also need to consider Employers Liability Insurance and Public Liability Insurance. If you employ a carer for one month or more you must give them a written statement of the terms and conditions of their employment within two months of them starting work for you. This statement must include details about pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement, sick pay arrangements, notice periods and information about disciplinary and grievance procedures. It is possible for you to get help with the above but for initial information go to the government website of Directgov. This can be found at: www.direct.gov.uk and type in "disabled people" And Finally... Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? Balderdash – a rapidly receding hairline. For a copy of our current brochure giving details of how you can stay in your own home rather than moving into residential accommodation, please ring 01603 764567 for further information or click here to order a brochure. If you would like to receive a free, regular copy of this Gazette and you are not already signed in, give us a call on 01603 764567 and we will be happy to send you one each publication. Each Thursday we publish an email Newsflash which you can read on your PC. It gives details about the Care Industry across a wide range of subjects. This is a free publication and to subscribe fill out the form at either the top or bottom of this page. is the online version of Able Community Care's Gazette. Want a printed copy of our current Gazette? Click Here To Request a Printed Gazette... with experienced live-in Carers gives peace of mind and has been our nationwide priority since 1980. Alternatively, we can post you our current brochure. Click Here to Request a Printed Brochure... Click Here to Join us as a Carer... We're always happy to answer your questions Click Here to Ask a Question... Telephone: 01603 764567 (office hours: 9am-4pm GMT) Fax: 01603 761655 Able Community Care The Old Parish Rooms Whitlingham Lane Trowse, Norwich NR14 8TZ United Kingdom
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