Community Care Magazine No60 for Elderly and Disabled

For Care News and Updates, Subscribe to 'Able Newsflash' First Name Email Address Your email address will not be shared with anyone else. Backissues...

JULY-AUGUST 2008

Immediate Care Plans

An Immediate Care Plan is for people who are at the point of needing care. The plan will provide a guaranteed income for life in exchange for a lump sum investment to pay for either care at home or in a residential care setting. The policy will pay out until care is no longer needed.

Only specialist financial advisors are allowed to sell Immediate Care Plans.

To find one in your area and to receive further information contact the organisation Symponia Ltd, telephone 01789 774595 or email to: info@symponia.co.uk

Dangerous Pavements

In 2007, 2.5 million older people tripped over a pavement. Figures released by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists in January 2008 found that 24% of pavements in the UK are unfit for use.

Help the Aged are still running their campaign to get all local authorities to commit to repairing dangerous pavements.

Help the Aged want everyone who is aware of a dangerous pavement to report it to their council.

Then advise Help the Aged of the details who will follow your complaint up to see if the repairs to the pavement have been completed.

Help the Aged in England is at: 207-221 Pentonville Road, London N1 9UZ.

Help the Aged in Wales is at: 12 Cathedral Road, Cardiff. CF11 9LJ.

Help the Aged in Scotland is at: 11, Granton Sq, Edinburgh. EH5 1HX.

Help the Aged in Northern Ireland is at: Ascot House, Shaftesbury Sq, Belfast. BT2 7DB

In 2008...

• We have bigger houses and smaller families.
• More conveniences but less time.
• More knowledge but less judgement.
• More experts but more problems.
• More medicine but less of us are healthy.
• We have been all the way to the moon but now have trouble crossing the road to meet a new neighbour.

Since the last Gazette we have received a request to send copies of the Gazette to Oklahoma. This is in addition to the one we already send to New York State.

Driving – Can you pass the eyesight test?

The police are allowed to stop a driver and test their eyesight if they have reason to suspect that the driver cannot meet the legal standards required for driving.

There is a potential fine of £1000 for driving with uncorrected defective vision as an offence will have been committed. Drivers should be able to read a number plate from a distance of 20.5 metres which is about 5 car lengths.

If a driver is asked to do this and cannot meet the standard not only has an offence been committed but their insurance may be invalidated.

Readers Tips

1. If not using your walking stick, lean it against a wall upside down. The rubber ferule will mean it will not slip and the handle weight gives some stability.

2. Always fasten a duvet cover before putting it in the washing machine. It makes it easier to hang on the line and to iron.

What is Park Mark? This is an award given by the Police to car parks that have achieved the standards of the Safer Parking Scheme. The Scheme is meant to reduce crime and the fear of crime in car parks.

Car parks that have been awarded the Park Mark have been:

• Assessed by the Police.
• Have measures in place that deter criminal activity.
• Made a safer environment for people and their vehicles.
• Have been seen to be properly managed and maintained.
• Checked for appropriate levels of surveillance, lighting, signage and cleanliness.

When leaving a car parked never leave items on display, never leave a window or sun roof open and always lock the door even if you are in a garage and only going to pay for petrol.

The RSPCA

The RSPCA was founded in 1824 and was the first national animal protection society in the world.

At this time animals were regarded as little more than commodities, supplying food, transport and sport.

The first job of the Society was to try and change this attitude and indifference to animal cruelty.

In 1832 the 181 convictions for cruelty that the Society achieved made a telling impact on public opinion and it was in 1840 that Queen Victoria allowed the Society to have the “royal” in front of its name.

In England and Wales today there are 172 branches of the RSPCA and it receives no state aid or lottery funding. The annual running costs of the Society are £82million received from voluntary contributions or legacies.

Earthquakes

The largest earthquake recorded in the UK happened approximately 75 miles north east of Gt. Yarmouth in the North Sea. The date was 7th June 1931. It measured 6.1 and was felt across Britain, in eastern Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, and parts of Germany, France, Norway and Denmark.

Plastic Bags

It is estimated that we use over 10 billion plastics bags a year, each individual using on average 167 per year.

Only one in every two hundred bags is recycled and some plastic bags can take several hundred years to break down in landfill.

To reduce your use of plastic bags try the following:

1. Keep empty reusable shopping bags in your car, office or by your back door/front door.
2. Keep a small reusable bag folded up in your handbag for unforeseen purchases.
3. When ordering groceries on line, tick the “no bags” box.
4. Ask the shops you use if you can be provided with a cardboard box or, as many now do, buy their own reusable bags.
5. Take your old plastic bags to your local shops or market stalls for recycling.

In our office we are extremely lucky that Jim Green’s wife sends us in cakes on a regular basis. By the end of the day they have usually vanished.

As we know the recipes are tried and tested we will share them with you over the coming months.

Able Scones

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10-12 minutes

Ingredients:

• 8ozs (180g) Self raising flour
• 2 ozs (60g) Caster Sugar
• 2 ozs (60g) Sultanas
• Milk to mix

Place flour in mixing bowl
Rub in margarine
Add sugar, sultanas and mix
Add milk and mix to a dough
Roll out on a floured board to ½ inch thick
Cut out using a circular pastry cutter (2½ inch – 6cm)
Place cut outs on a greased baking tray
Bake in over on the top shelf (Gas mark 7, 425F, 220C) for 10 – 12 minutes (Golden brown)
Place scones on cooling tray – when cold place in cake box.Eat within 2 days.

Alternative:

If preferred delete the sugar and sultanas and add 2-3ozs of grated cheeses instead.

Prevent a Fire

This is a time of barbeques and loose clothing, so make sure that when you are cooking that your clothes are not flowing onto the hot coals. Keep any kitchen towels and other cloths away from the barbeque as well.

Late evening you may light your table with candles. Beware, more than five fires a day are started by candles. So keep candles away from draughts and curtains. Make sure each candle is fixed and cannot fall over. Scented candles that you can buy without a dish should be placed in a suitable metal or glass container that can withstand the heat of the liquid as the candle releases its scent.

Night lights and tea lights can melt plastic surfaces including the top of the TV. and the sides of plastic baths.

Never lean across a candle and never have two candles within four inches of each other, never place lighted candles under shelves for effect.

Always put a candle out before moving them.

How True

Time may be a great healer but it’s a lousy beautician.

The easiest way to find something lost around the house is to buy a replacement.

Safety in the Sun

Particular groups of people are at risk when in the sun. These groups include:

• Older people.
• Babies and young children.
• People with mental health problems.
• People on certain medication.
• People with a serious chronic condition, particularly breathing or heart problems.
• People who already have a high temperature from an infection.
• People who use alcohol or illicit drugs.
• People with mobility problems.
• People who are physically active, like manual workers and sportsmen and women.

Mostly it’s a matter of common sense. Listen to your local weather forecast and be aware that if a heat wave is forecast, try and plan your day in a way that allows you to stay out of the heat.

If you can, avoid going out in the hottest part of the day (11am – 3pm).

If you can’t avoid strenuous outdoor activity, like sport, DIY, or gardening, keep it for cooler parts of the day, like early morning.

If you must go out, stay in the shade. Wear a hat and light, loose-fitting clothes, preferably cotton. If you will be outside for some time, take plenty of water with you.

Stay inside, in the coolest rooms in your home, as much as possible.

Close the curtains in rooms that get a lot of sun. Keep windows closed while the room is cooler than it is outside. Open them when the temperature inside rises, and at night for ventilation. If you are worried about security then only open windows on the first floor and above.

Take cool showers or baths, and splash yourself several times a day with cold water, particularly your face and the back of your neck.

Drink regularly even if you do not feel thirsty – water or fruit juice are best. Try to avoid alcohol, tea and coffee. They make dehydration worse. Eat as you normally would. Try to eat more cold food, particularly salads and fruit, which contain water.

Contact your doctor, a pharmacist or NHS Direct if you are worried about your health during a heat wave. Watch for cramp in the arms, legs or stomach, feelings of mild confusion, weakness or problems sleeping. If you have any of these symptoms, rest for several hours, keep cool and drink water or fruit juice. If the symptoms get worse or do not go away, seek medical advice.
(Taken from a Dept. of Health leaflet)

Thanks

Thanks to carers Lesley Mayhew, Helen Clark, Ann Hibbert, Caroline Coombs and Sally Moyo as requested by clients they cared for.

Remember...

...it is better to know us and not need us than need us and not know us.

For a copy of our current brochure please ring 01603 764567 or email to Ablemg@aol.com.

Free Offer...

If you have enjoyed reading this magazine and you do not already receive a personal copy, please ring 01603 764567 give us your name and address and we will be happy to post one to you every two months free of charge.

	Enter your search termsSubmit search form
	Web www.uk-care.com