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Information on the move

A new phenomena has been spotted on the roads in rural South Hams. No, it's not the Dartmoor Beast in fancy dress, but an information bus specifically for carers. The Ivybridge and South Hams Branch of Carers National Association, who run the Drop-in Information Centre in Ivybridge, have extended their service by hiring a bus to take out to four different sites in rotation.

"Our Branch has realised for some time just how difficult it is for rural carers. The lack of public transport makes it impossible for them to use our Drop-in Centre", says the Chair of the Branch, Mavis Russell. "Our Information Bus will be manned by carers and former carers themselves who understand the problems carers face. They will be able to give information about the help available from the Benefits Agency and Social Services, as well as details of any appropriate voluntary agencies. Just talking to someone who has been in the same situation can be an enormous help".

The bus will be out from 6 - 7 on Thursday evenings. You will find it on the following dates in these car parks:
26 Nov - Modbury Health Centre, Poundwell Meadow, Modbury
3 Dec - Yealm Medical Centre, Market St, Yealmpton
10 Dec - South Brent Health Centre, Plymouth Rd, South Brent
17 Dec - Dillons, Parsonage Rd, Newton Ferrers.

It is hoped this service will be resumed in the spring once further funding has been found. For more details, please contact Mavis on (01752) 690278.

New Group for Torquay

Over the past few months, a long-awaited new group for carers living in Torquay has been established. Originally started for patients at one particular Doctor's Surgery, more recently it has been encouraging carers registered with any of the Torquay Surgeries to go along.

It meets at 2pm, usually on the first Monday of each month, at Croft Hall Medical Practice, Croft Rd, Torquay. On 7 December a trainer from Torbay Hospital is going to talk to the group about moving and lifting people being cared for at home.

If you are interested in going you can just turn up, or call Viv Dodwell, GP Carers' Worker, for more details (01803 527606).

Answers to common questions:
"What do I do when my child is due to leave school?"

If your child has a disability or special need, the transition period around school-leaving age can be a difficult and stressful time for the whole family. There is now an information pack available to help give a starting point for gathering information and making plans.

Originally designed for Wiltshire, it is now available in a national format. Contact ASK, Wyndhams, St Joseph's Place, Devizes, Wiltshire (tel 0345 585072). It is free for individual families.

A peep over the fence...

A new Carers' Strategy Group in Plymouth are taking a fresh look at what services are available for carers in their new authority. They have used the original Carers' Strategy for South & West Devon (called Taking the Measure) as their basis for forming an Action Plan for the city. The main areas being worked on are:
Training for professionals,
Social Services' Assessments of carers'
An Employers Policy for carers,
Information and advice,
Joint planning and consultation.

Helpline for Alzheimer's

The Alzheimer's Disease Society runs a Helpline for anybody worried about someone who is confused and forgetful. Open from 8am to 6pm, Mon - Fri, support and advice can be found on all forms of dementia.

The service is staffed by trained advisers. Also, if you have a question specifically about benefits or legal matters, you can ask to speak to their welfare rights adviser; if you want to find out more about scientific issues, they have a medical and scientific adviser on hand to help.

Tel (0845) 300 0336 (calls charged at the local rate)

Introducing...the DOVE Project

Providing Day Opportunities and Vocational Experience, this project is a fully accredited, community based, day programme for adults with a learning disability. Consequently, it provides families with valuable respite.

It offers people the opportunity to develop a sense of self-respect, individual worth, and the ability to co-operate and work with others. It does this by creating an environment for clients to develop vocational skills in activities which may be new to them. There are also group activities to encourage personal and social development.

Activities include office and IT training, numeracy and literacy, industrial and craft training, and gardening. These take place in five separate facilities Mon - Fri, 9:30 - 4:30. For further details please contact Geoff Fisher or John Hamblin, Project Managers, at Highland House, 1 Highland St, Ivybridge (tel 01752 896883).

The New NHS

Earlier this year, the Government announced radical changes to the way the Health Service is going to be run. In the past, the Health Authorities (eg South & West Devon Health Authority) have distributed the money to Doctor's Surgeries, etc, but from next April, the GPs in each District will form their own Primary Care Group to eventually hold their own budgets for Primary Care. This means that Torbay, Teignbridge and the South Hams will each have its own Board of Management comprised of mainly GPs, but also representatives of nurses, Social Services and the general public.

They will have to meet the targets of the new Health Improvement Programme, which has a wider view of health than just 'making people better'. Carers and voluntary groups have already made their voices heard about this, because when the Health Service looks after the carers, it helps to prevent them from getting ill themselves.

If you would like to learn more about what is happening in your area, then give us a call. There are newsletters available, and reports from different events that have taken place.

Move for Kingsbridge group

The support group for parents of children with special needs living in Kingsbridge has re-launched itself. It now meets at Tressillian (next to the Toy Library) on Wednesdays, 10 - 12 (fortnightly starting 22 October).

Any new parents are welcome to go along. You can contact Beryl Perrin on (01803) 863665 if you want further information about this group.

Who got funding this summer?

In the final round of the Consortium's Development Fund, the following groups were successful in their applications:

'Bridge-the-Gap' Patient Group, Paignton - Ł500 to support their work in identifying carers in their Surgery.
'Friends of St Lukes' Patient Group, Brixham - Ł250 towards providing services to carers in St Lukes Practice.
Torbay Action Group for the Disabled - Ł500 to help in their campaigning work.
Supporters of Teign Estuary Patients - Ł1,200 to identify and support carers.
Newton Carenet - Ł1,500 as a contribution to the new voluntary services being offered by this group.
Dartmouth Caring - Ł200 to pay for a course in Befriending.
Ivybridge & South Hams Branch of Carers National Association - Ł250 towards the cost of their Drop-in Centre.
South Hams Young Carers' Initiative - Ł500 for running costs.
Littleoaks Holiday Funscheme, Teignbridge - Ł1,500 as a contribution towards running costs.

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