Grayshott Support Network

Notes of the Launch of the Grayshott Support Network

which was held on 29 April 2010 at the Fox and Pelican

Present:

• Cllr Ferris Cowper – East Hants District Council
• Mark Surtees and Glen Garrod – Hampshire County Council
• May Sloan, Brian Austin – Grayshott Community Care Group
• PCSO Jim Leggat – Hampshire Police
• Sheila Windus, Gina Gordon Mclean, Sheila Daniel and Diana Osborn – Grayshott Carers Support Group
• Revd Moray Thomas, Judy Lee, Carolyn Elton, Elizabeth Hardy, Angela Haine, Gill Pain, Liz Tippett, Anna Lubelska-Robins, Fred Robins and Jean Colvin – St Luke’s Church
• Liz Hind, Jacqui Prendiville, Jenny Hill – Grayshott Day Centre
• Sue Browning, Helen Jones – Grayshott Surgery 
• Minaz and Mumtaz Lalani and Cheryl Blanchard – Wychwood Residential Care Home
• Nikki Bonner – East Hants Advocacy Service and Bordon and Liphook Charity
• Carl Tantum – Bordon and Liphook Charity
• Matthew Parris , Lorraine Arthur – Greenbanks Group
• Claire Whittaker – Alzheimer’s Society * Kirsty Stratton – East Hampshire
• CAB  Brian Labram – St Joseph’s Church and Grayshott Parish Council

Apologies:

• Zoe Cox and Marguerite from Green Gables Nursing Home
• Revd Elizabeth Knifton from the Acorn Christian Healing Centre in Whitehill

Councillor Ferris Cowper opened the meeting by welcoming everyone including the representatives of local voluntary organisations. He thanked Anna Lubelska-Robins of St Luke’s Church for her initiative in bringing forward the proposal to form the Grayshott Support Network. He said it would give us the opportunity to identify what ‘gaps, lapses and overlaps’ existed in voluntary, private and public sector services and to progress the ‘2-doors down’ campaign – looking out for your next door neighbours and those living two doors down. The objective was to promote more intensive self -help.

Anna Lubelska-Robins (chairing the meeting) thanked St Luke’s Church and Phil Bates for generously covering the cost of lunch. She explained that one of the main aims of the Grayshott Support Network was to celebrate and thank the ‘unsung heros’- the local volunteers who give so much of their time and kindness to help others in the area. She said that although this session of the Network would focus on the needs of the elderly, the Network would cover all sorts of different needs in the future. Anna said that another important aim of the Network was to share information about who is doing what, so we can make better use of all the services that do exist, as well as working together to meet unmet need.

Mark Surtees, Service Manager for East Hampshire from Hampshire County Council’s Adult Services, gave a presentation on the work and priorities of Hampshire County Council’s Adult Services department, covering:

• Adult Services Priorities for 2010/11.
• Hampshire ‘big ticket’ items for NHS and Adult Services department.
• The Hampshire Model of service assessment and delivery.
• Staff teams.
• Service user demography by care type.
• The ‘Universal Offer.’
• Self-directed services.
• Free crisis care.
• User involvement.
• Carers.
• Developing the care market to support individual choice.
• Payments to other organisations.
• Intelligent commissioning.

 Points made in the discussion about Mark’s presentation included:

• Jean Colvin asked whether Surrey CC provided similar services. Mark Surtees confirmed that central government regulations and guidelines meant that it was likely that Surrey’s services would be similar to Hampshire’s.
• Councillor Cowper referred to the difficulties arising from Grayshott straddling the county boundary.
• Anna mentioned the waiting list for Occupational Therapy services.
• Elizabeth Hardy asked which organisation provided domiciliary care services in Hampshire - Mark Surtees confirmed that domiciliary carers services are not provided by the Council but are provided by organisations funded by the Council under contract.
• Liz Hinds asked about income levels in relation to assessments. Mark Surtees said that all older people in need, are eligible for an assessment but that the amount they would then be required to pay towards any care they needed, would depend on their income.
• Carl Tantum asked how substance misuse was dealt with by Hampshire. Mark Surtees said that it was by a separate unit.
• Kirsty Stratton stated that many CAB clients want simple services like cleaning and asked how might volunteers be encouraged to undertake cleaning. Mark Surtees replied that this was a major issue with many people unable to do housework. Some grants being made to Age Concern and there were other voluntary and community sector initiatives for small amounts of housework. Anna pointed out that this was a sensitive area touching on the pride and dignity of people. Loneliness was also a major issue. St Luke’s Church is to attempt to stimulate more volunteers coming forward. Mark Surtees said that the Community Initative Team should be kept informed.
• Angela Haine commented that often parish visitors were the only people some residents saw for a week. There was a clear need for more volunteers.
• Councillor Cowper commented that from the statistics provided, the Adult Care Services caseload seemed comparatively low. Councillor Cowper asked whether it is the policy to direct people to local voluntary organisations. Mark Surtees replied that there were a number of different strands with a great deal of community service information being available but that Hampshire is a big county. The team in the districts hold a good deal of local information but that more is being acquired. Councillor Cowper asked whether it would make sense for district teams to join these meetings. Mark Surtees confirmed that that would be a very good idea.
• Jacquie Prenderville pointed out that local doctors were overloaded; there was a need to direct depressed/lonely people to a local voluntary service.

Anna introduced Claire Whittaker of the Alzheimer’s Society. (Anna related the very positive experience she and her family had experienced when visiting the Alzheimer’s Society’s Haslemere centre with her father, who suffered from the illness.) Claire Whittaker explained that although the Haslemere Centre was located in the Waverley Council area within Surrey it could be used by people in the Grayshott area if they need it. The Haslemere Centre is open Monday to Friday, from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm for people with Alzheimer’s. the local society also provides outreach workers , information, advice and support including emotional support for carers. There is a monthly supper at the centre for families affected by Alzheimer’s. There are two support groups and two drop-in sessions catering for different age ranges. Escorted transport is provided.

Liz Hind talked about Grayshott Day Centre. She explained that the constitution calls for the provision of a centre for the mental and physical needs of the infirm elderly. Members often arrive looking dejected but leave laughing. Mostly they are lonely in conversation with little friendly chatting in their daily lives. The centre provdes this. Transport is provided by three volunteer drivers using East Hampshire Community Transport bus. There is a weekly 20p raffle with food prizes. Liz said that she felt that the users’ ability to play Scrabble expertly, proves that there is nothing wrong with their cognitive abilities – they just have physical ‘complaints’. Sally Crocock cooks the lunch. A £4 charge is made which covers lunch and door-to-door transport . The day centre always checks to find out why people have not attended. Money was always a problem but Headley Voluntary Care, Business in Grayshott (BiG) and the local golf club had been reliable supporters. The annual day trip was liked very much by the users. Last year it was to Worthing and this year a Chichester canal trip is planned. Total cost for the day trip would be around £500.00 There good news today: two new fireside chairs had been presented by Carl Tantum of the Bordon and Liphook Charity, to replace the two out on permanent loan to people in the community who need them.

Mathew Parris of Greenbanks Care Group talked about the company’s services. The company has a care contract with Hampshire County Council. Greenbanks is one of many support organisations. Care work support visits to people’s own homes are provided, ranging in time from a few minutes to 24-hour cover. Personal and domestic support is provided for people over 18 years old ie for adults. The aim is to recruit committed, reliable carers. All are trained to national standards. Matthew said that Greenbanks would be happy to provide training to people from the Grayshott Support network at their Liphook training centre.

Sheila Windus talked about the Grayshott Carers Support Group (also called the Post Office Friends). She said how much she owed to the group which had helped her to get out and about - she is a full time carer for her elderly mother. The formation of the group had literally changed her life. She warmly encouraged other carers to join the group which meets every Wednesday afternoon between 2pm and 4pm in the Grayshott Post Office café, on Crossways road.

In the discussion that followed some of the points made included:

• Carl Tantum said that he had been a Grayshott Day Centre driver at one time. However, the worrying news was that East Hampshire Community Transport was now to close in September 2010. There was now an urgent need to consider ways of saving the service. Everyone was shocked to hear this news.

Councillor Ferris Cowper said that Headley Voluntary Care must be invited to the next meeting of the Grayshott Support Network. He thought it would be good to have networking meetings two or three times per year. The Greenbanks’ training offer was a good idea. An agenda to cover ‘gaps, lapses and overlaps’ was now required. He commented that assessment cases were frustrating ie people waiting a long time to be assessed. This was an area for good work for the future. Generally, for volunteers enjoyment was the main reward. The ‘2-doors-down’ idea had arisen from the snow period. The County Council had been good at responding to snow – a JCB with a narrow bucket had been provided. Will Lanham-New, Graham Taylor and other four-wheel drive owners had come to the aid of house bound residents. Gordon Sanderson was now coordinating the EGG - Emergency in Grayshott Group which would aim to get help to isolated people in future snow storms or similar emergencies! The ‘2-doors-down’ scheme would allow for four people to watch over vulnerable people. People in need often don’t say they need help. Ferris talked about an elderly lady in Grayshott not claiming the benefits she was entitled to. He had explained to her that there was every reason why she should claim and especially that she could spend that money locally, thus supporting the local shops! . ‘Two-doors-down’ scheme can link with Community Safety and Neighbourhood Watch. PCSO Jim Leggat agreed that this would be a good preventative action. It was pointed out that Whitmore Vale had very isolated properties and the scheme would need to take such roads into account.

Suggestions for the Grayshott Support Network written on post-it notes during lunchtime:

• It would be good to get older people together for meals in each other’s homes in small gro
• ups.  Bordon and Liphook Charity can offer financial assistance to Grayshott residents, if they are on low incomes or in financial need or despair, tel. 01420 477787.
• There is a Befriending Scheme which could help the 2-doors-down initiative which will be a great way of identifying older people who we may not even know exist! The Befriendling scheme is based in Petersfield, but we want to roll it out in East Hampshire. The contact is Nikki Bonner, tel. 01730 233345.
•  The Hampshire Bobby Trust re-secures the homes of the elderly, disabled and vulnerable, free of charge, following a break-in and this is done within 48 hours. Contact the Bobby Trust Coordinator, at Gosport Police Station, tel. 023 9289 9056.

Contact: Anna Lubelska-Robins
Email: annalubelska@f2s.com
Tel. 01428 717090