Carers Rights Public Awareness and Consultation Event [Wednesday, September 8, 2010]

On this cold morning in York, a dedicated crowd of professionals within the care community of York gather to examine what some of the major challenges are for carers in the UK at present. With specific focus on (but not exclusive to) younger carers, the day kicks off on a positive note with the LINk‘s Chair Lesley Pratt introducing the smiling and eager Liz Langwade who opens by talking about her experiences at York Carers Centre where she works constantly to help the needs of children in school who are known to work up to 40-hours-per-week taking care of a family member or loved one, alongside their educational commitments.

Unleashing some stunning facts about the amount of unpaid carers first, Liz reveals that there are in the UK (over five million according to the 2001 census, and that’s the people who listed themselves as “carers”), before expanding on the fact that, often these people can be as young as eight-years-old and will often not even consider to label themselves as a carer because the person they are taking care of is so close. Other useful points mentioned include that one-in-three people are carers in the UK and that there are an estimated 18,000 young carers in the UK (people caring for those with a drug or alcohol abuse problem are not counted). When considering the categories for carers and looking at the aforementioned figures, it is interesting to take into account both intimate care (helping people to wash and bathe – 18 per cent), along with 82 per cent emotional. The latter option looks at the value of simply listening and talking to the person that one is caring for – this is obviously an incredibly important aspect of care, and should never be overlooked by anyone who might consider themselves within the carers bracket.

The highlight of Liz‘s talk came as she explored why carers are hidden in the UK and why they don’t speak up about their duties, as well as dealing with this concept she talks about above including the fact that most don’t even believe that they can be labelled as carers and that the importance of that role is neither recognised by family or friends often, or that there is support available for their needs at all. This is particularly true for the younger carers with around 75 per cent of them going unrecognised by their teachers in school who don’t realise that there is most likely a valid reason for them to be slightly late – the knock-on effect of this is that the student’s record is then (regardless of circumstance) marked by low attendance in school and as such, this will make it difficult for employers to take them on, and unfortunately carers allowance doesn’t become available until the person reaches 16-years-old, and often care can start way before that.

This obviously puts these young people in a very difficult position as they do not wish to leave their immediate family or relative in difficulty and if this does occur (say for example that person goes to university), there can often be residual guilt which carries forward into later life. Similarly, it can also be difficult for those who have the opportunity to proceed into education because they might often not take the chance out of guilt or the desire to not have a younger sibling take on the potentially epic responsibility. Often, if this is the case and the young person stays to care for their loved one, they will continue on to work in care for the rest of their lives, because that is all that they know.

Taking into account her previous comments, Liz examines the question, what it is that young carers want? So that the York LINk delegates can have a better understanding of their position…

Young carers ultimately want:

- To choose their profession

- Want to do fun things with friends

- Not to feel worried or guilty

Common issues facing young carers now include:

- Getting a level of understanding from extended family and teachers alike about their duties so that they may seek support.

- Confidence and self-esteem because they spend so much time at home and caring, they have no time for social experiences and interacting with other people.

- Getting on well in school because of attendance issues and bullying (carers can be discriminated against by fellow students because of their situation).

- Relationships with the parent or person in care as a result of the role reversal that takes place – who is the parent?

On a lighter note, Liz begins to discuss what the York Carers Centre can do for carers struggling with these difficulties in the city. She explains that the aim of the organisation is to offer as much support as possible by offering information and advice in one-on-one meetings, alongside the opportunity to take trips out and relax as much as possible. “It’s been made really easy to take the cares on trips this year because we have had funding from Children In Need“, she says. “It’s really good for the kids [around 60 are currently involved with the centre] that we work with because they can have that all-important break that they need, away from the person that they are caring for.” Liz carries on, referring to some really positive experiences that have come from providing an outlet to the kids including the Young Carers Festival in Southampton which occurs yearly, and last year attracted nearly 2,000 people. She concludes: “Just that break can do so much for the young carer and make a real difference to their life.”

Following Liz’s chat, the delegates witness a special DVD designed and produced by young carers in the city of York. The film is designed to make people on the outside of the care workers’ community realise just what a struggle it is for these young people to maintain their own lives while caring for someone else’s. The narrative works on a number of levels both illustrating the passion and drive of these children to achieve their own goals and be independent, but also their desire and dedication to their own individual roles as a young carer. The strength of character shown within these children and young adults is definitely appreciated here.

For more on the film and the people who created it, you can visit: youngcarersrevolution.blogspot.com.

The second speaker today is Helen Mackenzie who is a Care Advise Worker with the Carers Centre. She works hard to help find young carers (within the 16 – 25-year-old bracket) placements if they have not had the chance to make the most of education and the opportunities available. Expanding on what Liz refered to in her talk, Helen looks at how often caring for a relative or person close to you can mean difficulty balancing that life, with life at school – this of course, can cause major difficulties in later life. Alongside that, it is a well-know point that the level of care a person might need will increase as they get older and so, the carers duties will also amplify, leaving less time for personal enjoyment and family – these factors are key to a person’s personal development.

Helen‘s job involves two aspects, the first is helping carers into work, and the second involves supporting specifically young carers who are 16-25 to find placements, jobs or to find support and help if they are going travelling or to university after having cared for someone for so long. Helen says that while she finds the job incredibly rewarding, it can be a challenge to persuade younger family members to take on the roles when a young carer needs to go off to work or university to start their own life. “It is important for me to make sure that support network is in place for the carer and for us to make sure that there are people around that can share in their experiences.” One of the great things that makes Helen such an important resource is her knowledge of employment rights and the ability to request flexibility in the workplace if you are a carer. Her skills are inspired by the fact that figures show that 80 per cent of carers out of work are of working age. Before finishing, Helen attempts to offer some balance to the presentation and recognises that despite almost every carer’s desire to live indipendently of the person that they are caring for, it can be almost impossible if you are of working age and have family to take care of and to look after your relative, and family alongside maintaining a full-time job. “It can be a difficult balance“, she says. That aside, she is keen to push the fact that the Carers Centre exists specifically to support people with those types of needs. Speaking after her talk, Helen reflects on her role and what she enjoys most about the job. “As part of the Carers Centre I have two roles – one, to help those that are older that 25 to get into work, and one to support those under that age – I try to listen to their ideas and what they want to achieve  to see what kind of courses that I can direct people towards. It’s important for people to know that there is support available for them in their goals.”

With the absence of Lis Johnstone of CANDI (Children And Inclusion) who unfortunately could not attend the day’s event, but sent over her presentation. Instead, the LINk‘s own Annie Thompson stepped in to make sense of it. The subject that CANDI represents is specific to parent carers and those who are taking care of sons and daughters with specific disabilities. For most of her off-the-cuff chat, Annie relates to her own experiences with her son (who has epilepsy) and her own experiences managing the topics dealt with in the presentation including, how does the parent feel about the child? To expand, is there any resentment from either the child or the mother for example. CANDI‘s aim is to support parents who have disabled children and, to then enable those children and their family to have meaningful lives.  It is interesting to see how examples are used in this presentation to showcase how people react to certain disabilities and small factors that can mean a lot to parents and their children, including staring and misunderstanding the extent of someone’s disability (do they need disabled parking for example?), it is CANDI‘s roll to offer advice, support and training to help deal with both physical care in order to offer parents the much-needed support in a variety of areas. Annie (representing the organisation for the day…obviously), emphasises that it is their mission to answer people’s questions about, ‘What do we do?’ and ‘Where do we go for help?’ which is incredibly important to build that key element of trust.

From an outside perspective the world of benefits is frightening, even when there’s a possibility of them working in your favour. York Carers‘ Welfare Benefits Advisor Jill McMahon talks about her experiences in one of the most surprising and interesting talks of the day. Looking at the various different types of benefits available for those carers who require support, including attendance allowance. Other interesting points are raised including the fact that carers allowance cannot be paid to people who receive benefits for retirement. However, it is worth noting that if a couple are caring for each other’s needs then they are entitled to a range of benefits including housing and council tax.

“When I tell people that they are entitled to these benefits, then there have been some great instances where they have used the money to do great things“, Jill says. “Some people have brought themselves beds, or paid for a taxi into town so that they can treat themselves! It’s amazing what a difference this type of support can make to someone’s life.” Indeed, it is interesting to sit from an outside perspective and realise that benefits and receiving them doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s all about finding the right support networks and York Carers Centre certainly seems able to provide that level of support. “I will always try to talk to people as much as possible and help them”, she comments. “I am very keen for the carers that I deal with to get what they want and deserve – it’s not always easy but I try to deal with whatever issues that people have, be they health or financial.”

The great thing from our perspective about the Carers Centre is their ability to build relationship and it is to their credit that they have managed to build up such a credible database of organisations that are able to support both carers and young carers alike. “We work with Age Concern, The York Carers Forum and CANDI as well, to provide as much help as possible.” Helen explains that the Carers Centre is currently looking for new volunteers to support Jill in her role. “We will offer in-house training and we’d love to get more people involved.”

If anyone is interested, you can e-mail Jill here.

In the final talk of the day, York City Council‘s Bernadette James looks at carers assessments and how important it is for the carer to take time out to do them. “It’s a chance for these people to think about themselves for once“, she says. The council representative explains that it can be difficult for long-term carers to even recognise their responsibilities at first and that the biggest challenge is to make them appreciate the amount of work that they have done. “I have to ask things like, ‘so how do you care for them?’ and ‘How does it affect you?’” usually, the replies are, ‘Oh, my blood pressure’s a bit high and it has been for a while!” With this type of example, it’s essential for us to get someone in to help them to care because the carer needs to relax.” Bernadette moves on to explain that it’s very important for cares to know that it is okay for them to feel stressed and that it’s her job to make sure that people can have access to help before the caring role becomes too stressful and it then damages relationships with both family and friends. There are a number of things that Bernadette explains are incredibly important for carers to remember when coming to her.

She can:

- Check to see if you are / are not entitled to any benefits

- Help to offer support and advice

- Direct you to your GP so that he knows that you are a carer and so, any illnesses or problems could be associated with that

It’s very refreshing to hear Bernadette‘s take on her job and she comments on how fortunate she feels to be in the position that she is. “I am so privileged, because I realise how lucky I am not to be in the position to offer some help.” She also talks about the benefits of carers filling out an assessment form from (available from York Carers Forum) because it can act like a “self-health-check” for people so that they can check if they are resting enough and also if they qualify for the emotional support that she can provide.

The LINk is once again a platform for a variety of organisations to share their ideas.  Jackie Chapman of the LINK’s Steering Group and member of York Carers Forum, sums up the mood of the day by describing the role of the forum and LINk from her perspective. “We can ask the right questions because we are not responsible to the council or any PCT – now is a very positive time because a number of charities have come under the umbrella of the forum and so, we are doing well.” Another LINk representative Annie Thompson adds to the positive mood. She says: “Individuals can go to statutory services, but not everybody has that opportunity, so we want to provide a platform so that they can get their voices heard and people can say exactly what they need to.”

Thanks for reading,

Dom Smith

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If you have any questions or comments about the blog, please e-mail our reporter Dom Smith

York Pride 2010

York LINk were really pleased to be invited to have a stand at the annual York Pride event, held in Rowntree Park on Saturday 14th August. The event was part of an annual festival organised by York and district Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual and Transgender (LGBT) forum. It turned out to be a lovely warm, sunny day and the atmosphere was fantastic. Lots of people took a picnic to the park and enjoyed live music from local bands and artists. York LINk Steering Group members and staff really enjoyed meeting everyone and helping to promote diversity in the city.

York LINk’s Carers Rights Public Awareness and Consultation Event [September 8, 2010]

We’re having a Carers Rights Public Awareness and Consultation event on September 8 which is open to everyone. Please come and share your thoughts!

It’s going to be at Team Talk, and the event will run from 10am until 3.30pm. We really hope to see you there.

Summary…

Carers make a valuable contribution to the assessment and treatment of their loved ones. If you are, or have been a carer, come along to this event to find out about some of the services available to you.

Speakers from a number of different organisations will be talking about a variety of issues including:

- Young carers in education
- Employment issues for carers
- Welfare benefits for carers
- Carers assessments

By clicking below you can see the poster:

Carers PACE poster

…And the day’s agenda:

PACE programme

Again, we can’t emphasise enough that this event is open to all. There’s no need to book and you can just show up on the day and share your views with us!

For more information please visit our official website by clicking the logo below.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter!

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact our reporter Dom Smith.

York LINk’s newest Steering Group Member

I joined York LINk Steering Group 2 months ago as a volunteer. I represent the BME Community. What a wonderful lot of people, so dedicated, motivated and driven  to take on their just cause.

I don’t know whether I could ever be on the same par as any of them, but I will strive to contribute in a small way to make York NHS facilities one of the best in the country.

Rosie Monk-Steel

Hospital Discharge: Public Awareness and Consultation Event [Tuesday, July 13, 2010]

Today’s meeting began with an introduction from Lesley Pratt, Chair of York LINk, immediately the speaker voices her desire to address key issues on the subject of discharge and its importance in relation to both hospitals and patients. From an outside perspective this is an essential part of York’s medical service and it is interesting to observe discussions and differing perspectives on the subject and how the system is implemented on a regular basis within the city.

Following that Karen Partington and and Mandy McGale of York Hospital eagerly discuss their roles within planning as the Discharge Liason Team. Karen explains that most of the time the procedure runs smoothly in terms of coordinating admission and discharge data, but that it can be stressful as some patients will need to return to hospital following a release if problems persist or, if  a condition gets worse. As part of this reassuring chat the first presenter emphasises that discharge is planned as close to admission as possible and the hospital will always take into account a number of key factors including social circumstances and referrals from other hospitals. Again, from this writer’s perspective it seems that the discharge team’s aim with this talk is to restore the community’s faith in the established policies. This idea is re-inforced as Karen continues to talk about what factors can cause a delay to discharge including patients with complex problems (the figures are 80 per cent normal to 20 per cent complex), and describes how any delays are reported directly to PCTs (Primary Care Trusts) so that issues can be worked out and there can be a continuous flow of patients passing through hospital feeling the benefits of effective discharge planning (which includes receiving post-stay medication within 28 days along with written confirmation).

An interesting point in the first presentation arrives as both speakers address the needs of staff in the discharge process and how they feel about their role. It is interesting to examine how carers don’t feel that their knowledge is used to its full potential and that staff can feel that their expertise should be used more appropriately and also that information needs to be distributed quicker. Again, the importance of today’s meeting is seen here as both delegates and speakers feel comfortable enough to talk together about discussing the positives and negatives of discharge.

Mandy moves the talk forward by discussing “when things go wrong” and reveals some interesting figures that detailed only 12 people filed complaints between April 2009 and March 2010 against the discharge service at York Hospital, in response the organisation has implemented an electronic discharge notification system which stores all information relating to discharge properly alongside employing pharmacy technicians (who go around the ward checking on the status of patients) and, three acute physicians specialising in care for the elderly community. On a similar note, the speakers discuss the impact of the discharge lounge in the hospital (which incorporates refreshments and seating space for people waiting to go home after their stay. The need for this was originally established as a result of people who are ready to leave feeling “in the way” on hospital wards. The majority of feedback is very positive and delegates readily applaud the efforts of York Hospital on this matter.

Following up with a discussion on help from voluntary services, Sally Hutchinson, Chief Officer of Age Concern York, expands on how important it is to work with the elderly community throughout the discharge process, and elaborates on the fact that the organisation in York will be 40-years-old next year. It may also be useful for readers to know that Age Concern is now located on the third floor of the hospital. One of the most interesting parts of this talk was the mention of the Net Neighbourhood Scheme which enables the service user to buy their shopping online – the aim of this is to support them in getting rid of their anxiety after release from hospital.

Other great developments according to Nicky Openshaw, Hospital Services Manager with Age Concern, include the organisation achieving funding recently which has enabled them to employ a carer to support them through all stages of care and in staying out of hospital. Innovative tailored measures that are being taken to achieve this include National Fall Awareness Day in association with the Falls Prevention Service and also Ready for Winter Day which will aim to support the elderly community in the coming cold months. During the talk it is also emphasised that there is a strong sense of duty that defines the organisation and in discussing the current AC offices (located between wards 35 – 37 of the hospital) it is mentioned that there is a real community element and that people are welcome to come and “knock on the door” any time if there’s need for any type of support.

Following on, Sam Haward, Head of Service Development for NHS North Yorkshire speaks in detail about the integrated care project and the intention to develop and implement a model for commenting on the health and social care service so that there can be a maximum level of patient care and also independence. The NHS has been working with York City Council and the North Yorkshire County Council to improve services. The aims for NHS North Yorkshire in terms of care development are geared toward collaboration between PCTs and the voluntary sector. Sam says: “The two are not as connected as they should be – it’s always been the intention to bring everything together, but we’ve not cracked it.”

A key part of the talk comes as the speaker highlights the importance of intermediate care for patients once they get home, and he maintains that is something that is lacking in that area and that there needs to be a system in place to support patients once they have been discharged from hospital. Sam also elaborates on how a Community Response Team have now been put into place to fill in any gaps within the service. “The time is right now to deal with these issues”, he says. “There are 70 to 80 people in hospital right now that don’t need to be there, but we need to make sure the right systems are in place to make sure that they are cared for once they leave.”

Following the presentation, Mandy McGale of York Hospital’s Discharge Liason Team discussed the unit’s biggest challenges on a day-to-day basis. She said: “The biggest challenge for us is dealing with the current financial situation at the moment but events like this are great because we can work with other networks and services to emphasise the need for improvements to be made.”

Jane Perger of York LINk also comments on the value of events like this and how valuable they are in making an impact. She says: “I think that this event is a great idea because the people in charge of these services can get feedback and the opinions from those that are impacted the most by them – it’s not always positive but these topics need to be discussed. Jane also comments on possible ways that the service could be improved in the future. She adds: “It would be an idea to perhaps re-introduce convalescent homes into the city to deal with this fundamental issue of intermediate care because originally they enabled patients to leave hospital but enjoy a little bit more support before getting back to normal life and that would be a great way to support the hospitals themselves because it would free beds.”

To comment on organising social care in relation to discharge Michael Melvin from the City of York Social Services gets straight to the point with his “get it right first time, every time” idea. He explains that while there are some definite challenges at the moment regarding health and social care resources, efforts need to be made to use what is available and raise discharge standards. Michael explains that measures have been taken to create a full assessment of a patient’s health and social care needs and he assures the delegates that the council have been heavily involved in the planning process for discharge even before admission begins. It was also discussed how important it is for patients themselves to be involved in the process from the very beginning with the full range of information in letter form and contacts (including detail on the costs of nursing care post-discharge) being provided to those who need it.

One of the most important developments to come from Michael‘s discussion is his reference to the re-enablement service which means that care will be provided for six weeks after discharge – the aim of this particular service is again, to help patients become more independent after receiving support from a variety of hospital resources including telecare (based around self-security in the home which includes a smoke, flood and fall detector), respite care and also residential aid.

To summarise, the day has been a success in terms of its impact and resonance upon the discharge  procedures in place at York Hospital and it’s provided a showcase for the viewpoints of essential organisations including the city’s council and also Age Concern. What makes these LINk events so relevant though, is that they have become a platform for service users also to convey any criticisms. Allison Jones, a former patient at York Hospital who was discharged after major surgery and sent home days later via a bus comments: “For me, York Hospital ‘dropped the ball’ and the perfect world that is sometimes projected by representatives is not always the way things actually are.” She adds: “I will be having meetings to resolve my issue, and I will be coming to more of these meetings in the future to put people on the spot.”

Sam Haward offers his thoughts on the meeting of minds today. He says: “For me it’s obvious that our community works better when it’s bought together and it’s difficult at the moment to explain what processes work in theory and how those translate on a practical level, but we shall see once we deliver the intergrated health care model.”

It is also interesting to hear the thoughts of Alan Rose, Chairman of York Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. He comments: “Getting the public intergrated in matters like this is important.” The LINk is that network within the local healthcare community that so many agencies and organisations are now involved with.

For more information visit the official website by clicking the image below.

Dom Smith

If you have any questions or comments about the blog, please e-mail our reporter Dom Smith.

Carers’ Rights and the LINk!

Carers’ Rights are on the York LINk work plan for 2010-11.  We are holding a Public Awareness and Consultation Event on this subject on Wednesday, September 8 at Team Talk, Rougier Street. Please come and share your views on this ever relevant topic!

We’ve always had great debates when we have discussed this before and there is a real opportunity for the LINk to make things happen this time around as a result of your participation! Don’t forget that it is completely free for you to attend and open to all!

For further details on this event and how you can get involved, or to tell us about your experiences, please call York LINk on 01904 621631, or e-mail: participate@yorklink.org.uk.

Thanks and keep in touch,

If you have any questions or comments about the blog, please e-mail our reporter Dom Smith.

Public Awareness and Consultation Event in July!

York LINk are holding a Public Awareness and Consultation Event about discharge from hospital on Tuesday, July 13 at the Priory Street Centre from 10am-3pm.

Selected speakers will be talking about the hospital discharge process and the support services that are available.  You can have your say about what works well and what doesn’t! This event is free of charge and open to all.

For further details on the event and how you can get involved, or to tell us about your experiences, please call York LINk on 01904 621631, or e-mail: participate@yorklink.org.uk.

Join us on Twitter!

Just to let our readers know, we have now joined Twitter, so come and follow us there.

Click the image below:

 

Also don’t forget to look at our website and our Facebook for up and coming events and links.

York LINk Involvement Network Meeting (April 28, 2010) – Combating Social Exclusion

The York LINk Annual Conference and General Meeting is geared toward bringing together the most accessible and forward-thinking health, social and community services in York. The central theme for 2010′s event was without question creating a network of people with the same aim of combating social exclusion within York, taking into account social care and health services for patients, the elderly, people of different faiths and sexual preferences. In this report we will be taking you through some of the points raised and offering key quotes from people at the heart of York’s services.

The conference

The event kicked-off with an introduction from Jeremy Jones, the CEO of York’s Arc Light (which currently houses 46 “rough sleepers”) and Tim Carroll, the Resettlement Services Manager at the City of York Council. These talks gave an interesting insight into some of the positive work that Arc Light in-particular is working toward with regard to eliminating homelessness in York completely by 2020. Similarly, Tim Carroll’s speech focussed on the importance of the council’s resettlement strategy which now sees up to 400 homeless people in accommodation every night. Both speakers enthusiastically communicated that the key to their success has been collaboration and communication between statutory and voluntary services and that York’s co-ordinated multi-agency response to homelessness (which involves workshops and training provided by The Salvation Army, the Peasholme Resettlement Centre and others), has been modelled at a national level in an effort to help the re-integration of service users into society and employment. Arc Light’s Jeremy Jones commented, “We are extremely passionate about our service and it’s great to be able to work with other resources in York like the council and LINk – we don’t want any barriers between us and member of the community in York.”

Including homeless people

York Hospital‘s Patient Advice and Liaison Officer, Suzanne Burnett commented on how the LINk supports communication between a number of health and support services in the city. She said: “Through this event and as a result of listening to the speakers we are looking to network and build our relationship with a variety of contacts – our aim is to be able to direct patients who need support in different areas and guide them.”

Chairman of NHS North Yorkshire and York, Kevin McAleese chaired the York LINk AGM. Before the AGM business took place he presented  some hard facts about funding and emphasised that despite being the largest Primary Care Trust (PCT) in the UK they receive the 17th lowest amount of funding. As a result his talk focused on the “perfect storm of demand against resource” that York is currently facing and the need for all parts of the voluntary and community sector to combine their training to provide alternative forms of care and support.

Following his speech, Kevin spoke on the great atmosphere the LINk is able to create on a yearly basis by bringing different organisations together. He explained: “There’s such a good feeling in these meetings, and I hope that York LINk is around for many years yet. We need to do as much as possible to keep it alive.” He continued, “With the LINk, everyone in York’s community can have a voice and together we will be able to create better services for the people.”

Networking

York LINk Steering Group member Jackie Chapman (representing New Earswick) made some strong points following Kevin’s words which highlighted the need for care providers to get in touch with local voluntary organisations with an aim to provide up-to-date key training in how to take care of those in need of support who have a neurological condition. Jackie looked positively on the support that the LINk had offered recently when the York Neurological Group had been trying to get a neurological health passport used at local hospitals – a pilot is currently being looked at (funded by the LINk) and this would mean that in the future (because neurological conditions are not always obvious), patients (and their carer) would have a passport unique to them.

Another LINk Steering Group member, Jane Perger highlighted the importance of the AGM. “It’s very easy to forget what we have been able to do at the LINk and how we can communicate to a variety of different people and age groups. We have been able to take part in a number of roadshows which see us taking up stalls at universities like York St. Johns – the idea is that we will go anywhere to speak to people about any issue that they may have with their local health and social care services.” She added: “We don’t influence their opinions; we just pass on comments that reflect any issues people may have.”

The Development Officer at York CVS, Sian Balsom also commented on the importance of the LINk and its role. “The LINk is at the centre of social inclusion and they are always trying to support a variety of health and social care-focussed organisations by getting people involved in volunteering and also helping them to improve their services – they have done a lot of positive work, and I hope that they can continue to do so in the future.”

The next speaker was Shazia Khan of Faith Matters, who commented on religion in relation to faith and healthcare. During her presentation, she made some interesting points about how patients of different faiths and cultural backgrounds may require a diverse range of requirements when they are treated within a medical facility or, they may have an alternative opinion on a variety of issues including abortion, safe sex and significant items like clothing and jewellery. Shazia spoke about how members of staff and organisations within the medical and voluntary sectors should not discriminate or assume that they understand specific religious requirements because each person may follow their religion and faith differently. Following her talk Shazia voiced her desire to get involved with organisations in York. “I’d love to do more work with the LINk and it has been great for me to meet people from different organisations at this meeting because now I am looking for more opportunities to offer consultancy in equality and diversity – these issues are important and the LINk can really help.”

Including people of different faiths

Next in-line to talk about social inclusion was Peter Blackburn of Yorkshire MESMAC, an organisation that represents the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender community in the region and helps them form community groups and deal with a variety of topics including HIV, mental and physical health issues and discrimination.  Peter’s speech was both entertaining and informative and he was able to provide some interesting figures (did you know that there are less than five gay clubs and pubs in York?), alongside information about how MESMAC has been able to work with police, the prison service, and PCTs in the region to help them better understand gay practices and offer support and advice where possible.

Peter enthusiastically referred to his experiences with the LINk in the past and how getting involved has helped his project and its growth. He said: “It’s incredibly important that organisations are included in partnership like ourselves and the LINk because they are able to sign-post people to the work we are doing – those who are in this sector are all passionate about the same things, so it’s only natural that we should work together.”

Including people of different sexual orientation

The day’s final speaker was Sue Mann of Age UK who spoke about how members of the elderly community are living longer (one-in-five people in the UK are now at state pension age, and one-in four people can expect to live to 100-years-old). As a result, Sue’s talk focussed on how community groups must work harder to improve quality of life and ensure that elderly people are included and engaged as much as possible. Sue explained that age-focussed services must adopt an approach that looks at essential areas including preparation (making sure basic needs are catered for), language (speech is at a level appropriate to the person) and persistence when considering the needs of the elderly community so that communication is available at every level and care workers can remain open to a variety of issues. The speaker continued on to say that it is important for organisations like the LINk to promote Age UK. The group can offer simple support (like providing wheelchairs and hearing aids for those with certain difficulties) as well as sourcing volunteers who will then be able to learn valuable life-skills that will benefit both the volunteer and the service user.

In summary, the conference was informative and interesting and it helped to link together York’s health and social care elite. Relationships were formed and the atmosphere throughout helped to inspire and evoke each of the delegates to support those speaking and their cause. York LINk is an integral tool within the city’s community and a gateway between the people and the organisations that are working so hard to support their needs.

What the delegates said:

- “I found the whole day very informative and useful. Also a great networking opportunity”

- “Very interesting and informative speakers. Thank you. Very impressive work carried out by LINk”

- “The lady next to me said she had not intended to stay all day bit it had been ‘so interesting.’ There was some networking going on which is what it is all about”

- “Good allocation and varied interest of speakers today. Maybe more subjects to expediate a larger number of interests the LINk organisation is involved with could have been included”

- “York LINk has grown into a really useful and practical service, so keep up the good work”

- “Very interesting conference to attend. I think conferences like these would benefit social work students like myself. Maybe a bit more information should be given to universities”

For more information please visit: www.yorklink.org.uk or call: 01904 621631

A view from the front

Images: York LINk
If you have any questions or comments about the blog, please e-mail our reporter Dom Smith.

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We’ll be putting up our report from the latest LINk AGM which will be happening tomorrow!