Registered Charity No 1148256

September 2013

Free: donations welcome!

... at the SDN AGM and quarterlyMembers’ Meeting on Wednesday11 September.

Excellent speakers will keep youentertained and on the edge of thatcomfy chair wanting to ask ques-tions. And the Anual Meeting willgive you a chance to tell thecommittee how they must try to dobetter next year!

So come along to the conferenceroom at Mears Shropshire HomeServices, Hartley Business Centre,Monkmoor Road, Shrewsbury.

Refreshments from 10.30, start at11.00 and all finished by 1.00pm.

Our three speakers, who will inspireas well as inform, are Radio Shrop-shire’s Jim Hawkins, who is also adab hand with a camera - andphotography will be his subject onthe day. Linda Cox, DevelopmentManager of Shrewsbury Dial-A-Rideand Chief Officer at the CommunityBased Transport Board, will talkabout her work, what help is avail-able and how the various transportschemes work. Haydn Jenkins, whoholds many motoring qualifications

and is proprietor of Alpha Automaticdriving school, will talk about drivingand disability. You may think yourdriving days are over, but Haydnmight surprise you.

There may be some exciting newsabout our new-look website and, asusual, we will have our great raffle.

We always make space for those-who would like to book a table orbring along an information stand.Email info@shropshire-disability.netor call 01743 340832 for details orto book.

Pull up a chair and get comfy....

The door is closingon day care centresTwo years from now there will not be any day carecentres in Shropshire. That is the reality whichunderlies the mountain of words that have beenwritten or spoken about the future of the service.

Shropshire Council claims the transformation of dayservices is a critical part of the overall adult social careagenda and that it has ‘been underway for many yearswith many people having benefited from a modernservice’. The approach to transforming day services ‘hasbeen used successfully within Shropshire, managing theinherent stress associated with such a change processinvolving vulnerable people, their carers and staff.’

The council argues that the changes on which it isembarking will be both better for individuals and alsosave it money. While the full financial implications of thetotal process are an unknown at present, the councilsays savings in three key areas - building use, transportand staffing - will be something like £1.6 million.

‘This convincingly shows both the success of sensitiveengagement and planning with continued page 2

Also in this issue...SDN’s volunteer bonanza - p3

‘Bleak reality’ behind adult care numbers - p4

Paralympic sport just keeps on coming - p5

Exoskeletons for people - p6

Councils told to protect social care - p7

Saving lives on pedestrian crossings - p8

Doctor tells why he blew whistle on Atos - p9

Why too much air can be a problem - p10

Camera helps visually impaired ‘see’ - p11

Hall of Fame for blind footballer - p12

Austerity+disability=poverty - p13

Page X and directory - p14 and 15

Living with a stump - p16

AND MUCH, MUCH MORE

2

vulnerable people, many of whomhave complex communication needsas well as identifying suitable andmore positive outcomes,’ writes theDirector of Adult Services, StephenChandler, in a report to councillors.

He says there are a number of ‘com-mercially focused’ daytime servicesand the concept of combining com-mercial activities with appropriatelevels of support ‘is one that peoplefelt was important to continue in thefuture but the sustainability of suchservices is only possible if they areable to attract individuals who wantto attend such resources and theyare able to secure income.’

The council accepts that it has achallenge on its hands to ‘convinceexisting users of services and theirfamilies that the alternative to a …programme of activities that focusessolely on a day centre are credibleand possible.’ There are a number ofexamples where this has happened,the report claims.

While acknowledging the serious im-pact that the changes will mean forstaff and carers, the report saysthere be will be opportunities forpeople to undertake new roles, butthey will have to be ‘much more flexi-ble and confident’ than in the past.

Fewer staff will be required overall,with the council envisaging a 30-

40% reduction. This, it says, is ‘inline with the council’s experience oftransforming other services and thecouncil’s overall staffing plan.’

Footnote: Stephen Chandler’slengthy report is one of 10 docu-ments attached to the agenda for themeeting which made the final deci-sion. Of necessity, we can only re-port in a highly selective way from all

of that and we apologise both to ourreaders and the council for anydistortions or errors that result.

To read everything go to theShropshire Council site.

This is the direct link:

http://shropshire.gov.uk/committee.nsf/0/A0C40AA1BAAD716C80257B9D003D3B49?opendocument

Day care centres - why closure loomscontinued

VCSA urges membersto speak their mindsIn response to the Shropshire Council announcement, the board of thecounty’s Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly urged its members tosend in their views so they could be collated and a broad picture obtainedin time for a board meeting on 15 August.

Although that initial deadline has passed emails can still be sent to theVCSA at VCSAssembly@shrosphire.gov.uk. In addition to board members,comments will also be considered by some of the Assembly’s Forums onInterest - particularly the Shropshire Older People’s Assembly and the PanDisability Forum. ‘Many of you play a vital role in working to support service users of allages and working to provide health and social care services,’ said theVCSA.

It was important that the VCSA as a whole should accurately reflectmembers’ views ‘so that representatives can more effectively communi-cate with, and work in partnership with, Shropshire Council and otherpartners. The financial pressures facing local authorities are widelyrecognised and it is now more important than ever to work across sectorsto explore realistic and viable alternatives that will ensure users ofservices receive the support they need.’

The decision to close two Shrews-bury day centres - Hartley’s andSabrina Court - was taken behindclosed doors, with public and pressbarred from the meeting.

To call this undemocratic andcowardly is an understatement, butthere was a glimmer of hope when apublic meeting - of Shropshire Coun-cil’s Health and Adult Care ScrutinyCommittee - reviewed the decision.But guess what? It thought closingfour day centres (the two in Shrews-

bury and two in Oswestry) was ab-solutely right. Quite a few carers whoturned up to hear councillors goingabout the business of running thecounty with care and compasssionwere of a different mind, as cries of‘disgusting’, ‘what a load of rubbish’and ‘outrageous’ bore witness.

Members from two political partiessought a cross-party commission onthe future of adult day care, but wereoutvoted. There was much argumentabout how fair the consultation

process leading to the decision hadbeen, and whether it was longenough. But more important is thequestion: Would it have mattered abrass farthing if there had been twiceas much consultation?

You have to suspect that the deci-sion to close the day centres hadbeen made before the process of‘consulting’ even began, and that ithas everything to do with cost cuttingand not a lot to do with those forwhom day centres were a godsend.

YourVoice view: We don’t often run editorials, but the editor is so angry about this

whole shabby business of day centre closures that he wants to say so loudly!

3

Diabetes UK is looking forpeople in Shropshire to joinin a project aimed atimproving the care receivedby people with diabetes.

A study by the charity showsjust 47% of diabetes suffer-ers in Shropshire are gettingthe nine checks and services

recommended to managetheir condition. The figure isbelow the national average of54%, so the charity is nowcalling on local peopleaffected by diabetes to joinits Diabetes Voices Networkof campaigners who workwith the charity to helpensure everyone with the

condition receives good qual-ity care wherever they live.

To find out more contact theDiabetes Voice Team atDiabetes UK: diabetesvoices@diabetes.org.uk

or call 0207 424 1008 or visitthe websitewww.diabetes.org.uk

Diabetescharityseekscounty’shelp

Mencap and the ChallengingBehaviour Foundation havewarned that many people inin-patient settings could bemissing out on support to moveinto community-based settings.

NHS England has revealed that1,317 people with learning disabili-ties or autism and challengingbehaviour had been registered asbeing in NHS-funded hospitals as of1 April.

Of these, 97% have had their careand support needs reviewed byclinical commissioning groups andcouncils with a view to them beingmoved into community-based careby the Government's target of June

next year. However, the number ofpeople registered falls far short ofthe 3,400 people who were countedas being in NHS-inpatient learningdisability beds in 2010.

‘We are deeply concerned that theregisters only record a fraction of thepeople whose situations need to bescrutinised,’ said the chief executivesof the two charities - Jan Tregelles(Mencap) and Vivien Cooper (CBF) -in a joint statement.

Beverley Dawkins, Mencap'snational officer for profound andmultiple learning disabilities, saidshe was concerned that people whohad not been placed in assessmentand treatment units may in fact not

even have been registered byclinical commissioning groups. ‘Myfirst reaction is that there may besome confusion [about who shouldbe counted]. Just because someoneis not in something called an assess-ment and treatment unit doesn'tmean that they are not at risk. Peo-ple have experiences in a range ofsettings that are pretty troubling,’ shesaid.

A Department of Health spokesmansaid it was carrying out audits of thenumber of people with learning dis-abilities or autism and challengingbehaviour in NHS-funded beds be-cause the ‘data available...is not asrobust as we would like.’ [Source:Community Care 19.07.13]

A recent press release bySDN about the need for anew secretary brought agreat response. Sevenpeople offered to volunteer,mostly with previous relevantexperience. Although it wasspecifically the secretary’srole that was advertised,most are willing to help inother respects instead.

Geographically speaking,Shrewsbury, Wellington andOswestry are represented,

and there is a reasonablebalance between men andwomen. So watch thisspace, and hopefully in thenear future we will be able tointroduce our new-lookleadership team.

But there are never enoughvolunteers – if you would liketo be involved in SDN, evenin a small way, please get intouch, every hour thatpeople can spare us ispriceless.

Secretary search is over!SDN’s recent tabletop sale at Radbrook CommunityCentre was very successful, both in terms of out-reach to the community and financially. Our fundshave benefitted by some £200 and we had thechance to speak to many people about our work. Sixout of the 25 stallholders have already expressed in-terest in taking part when we do future tabletopsales.

Meanwhile, SDN is planning a two-day info standand collection at Morrisons in Shrewsbury onTuesday 19 and Wednesday 20 November. Moredetails closer to the time - but please put it in yourdiary as something you would like to spend and houror two helping at!

Radbrook tabletop success

Charities concerned over‘missing’ patients withlearning disabilities

4

The number of people receivingadult care services in 2012-13 fellto 1.3 million, down 9% from theyear before and 25% from 2007-08,according to the latest figures forEngland.

Social services departments havereduced the numbers receivingservices despite the fact that thevolume of people coming throughthe door remains largely the sameas in previous years, the figurespublished by the Health and SocialCare Information Centre reveal.

The statistics show that of thosereceiving services, 1.1 millionreceived community-based services,a fall of 10%; 209,000 receivedresidential care, a 2% fall; and87,000 received nursing care (lessthan 1% change).

According to the centre, feedbackfrom councils suggests that the fall isdue to an increase in the provision ofreablement services outside of aformal assessment process, raisedeligibility criteria for services, and

reduced funding and resources.

Michelle Mitchell, charity directorgeneral at Age UK said: ‘Thesefigures provide yet more evidence ofthe bleak reality of the crisis in socialcare. It is wrong that older people

who desperately need help witheveryday tasks such as washing,dressing, preparing food and clean-ing their teeth will not receive help.’

Age UK estimates that there are830,000 older people who need careand are yet are receiving no formalsupport.

A Department of Health spokesmansaid a new national eligibility criteria,to be introduced in 2015, ‘will set aminimum threshold that will allowlocal authorities to keep current lev-els of access to care and supportservices. For the first time, this threshold willset out the individual needs and cir-cumstances in which every council inEngland must offer care and supportfor adults.

‘This would put an end to councilstightening their own local eligibilitycriteria in response to budget pres-sures, which can currently see peo-ple live with the fear that they will bedenied or lose their support.’[Source: Community Care]

The Department for Work andPensions has closed its freephonebenefits helpline for carers and dis-abled people. Although there are stillhelplines for disability living allowanceand carers’ allowance these are 0845numbers as opposed to the old free0800 number and all charge up to10.5p a minute from a landline and upto 41p a minute from a mobile.

But an organisation called Contact aFamily says it may be still possible tocall for free. Check the 'Say No to0870' website for more information -http://www.saynoto0870.com/

Helpful advice from Contact a Familydoesn’t stop there. It offers free andimpartial benefits advice and says ithas long been a great source ofinformation about the benefits system

but now also offers parents or carersof disabled children more intensiveand personalised advice.

‘We will offer you a telephoneappointment with one of our welfareexperts, who'll help you navigate thenew system, they'll also be able torun through any other financial helpyou may be entitled to maximise yourincome,’ says Contact a Family. ‘Wewill also be offering a series ofinformation sessions across Englandto raise awareness of the newbenefits system. Get in contact withyour nearest office to find out more.’

It has an e-bulletin and a range of re-sources to help parents make senseof the benefits maze. And unlike theDWP, Contact a Family still has afreephone helpline - 0808 808 3555.

‘Bleakreality’behindfallingadultcare

numbers

DWP slams down thephone on free calls

The Lake Vyrnwy HalfMarathon is coming up on15 September, and SDN’s

most famous pair of legs -belonging to member VicDavies - are in training for

the lakeside road.

IF you’d like to sponsor Vic,here’s how (even if you’re

reading this after the event,it’s never too late to part

with your money in a goodcause!) From a mobile, text

“SHDN12 £1” to 70070.You can donate up to £10 in

one free message and (ifyou’re a taxpayer) Gift Aid

your donation. If you prefermore traditional means,

please send chequespayable to SDN to SDN-

Fund-Raising Lead, c/o 26Aldwick Drive, Radbrook,

Shrewsbury, SY3 6BN.

5

One year since theLondon Games - andParalympic actioncontinues, both in thiscountry and across theworld.

Jonnie Peacock, theamputee sprinter who litup the beloved stadiumwith a charismatic goldwin on what they calledThrilling Thursday lastsummer, ran an evenfaster time in a recent100m event – but camethird!

And as summer turnsinto autumn the disability sportingfervour seems to show little sign ofabating.

The 22nd Deaflympics – which havea longer history than the now muchbigger and richer Paralympics –have been held in the Bulgariancapital, Sofia. The games alsoboasted more athletes - upwards of4,600 took part in 18 events,compared to the LondonParalympics total of 4,300.

Michigan State University in the UShas hosted the World Dwarf Games.As the name suggests, the competi-tors are all people of restrictedgrowth. There were fewer athletesregistered for this event - just 400.Unlike deaf athletes, dwarfs docompete in the Paralympics.

Last year made stars of Team GB'sEllie Simmonds, and power lifter ZoeNewson. In the Paras, they inhabit acategory called Les Autres (The

others, in French) where less easilydefinable people go.

In late August this country hosted theSpecial Olympics National SummerGames, with 1,700 athletes fromEngland, Scotland and Wales com-peting in Bath. All athletes have alearning impairment, meaning they'rebelow 75 on the IQ scale.

The Games are described as ‘agrassroots sports programme onlyfor athletes with intellectual disabili-ties, of all abilities and ages.’ Some2% of the population have a learningdisability and one in three of thoseare obese. The Special Olympicstraining and competitions promoteself-esteem plus good physical andmental health.

Competitors with the greatest abilitymay progress on to the Paralympicswhich has a class for athletes withintellectual disabilities. At London2012 the events they featured in

were swimming, athletics and tabletennis. The next Special OlympicsWorld Summer Games are in LosAngeles in 2015.

Great Britain finished the recentINAS World Tennis Championshipswith an historic haul of three goldmedals, a silver and a bronze, aftervictories in the men's singles anddoubles finals capped a fantasticweek at the competition in Rakovnikin the Czech Republic.

And there was even a Shropshire in-terest just to make things even better– the team’s physio, Megan Hyne,comes from Shrewsbury. GreatBritain had never won a medal at theevent before and team memberssaid support from the Tennis Foun-dation and UK Sports Associationhad really contributed to their suc-cess.

(INAS stands for the InternationalFederation for Sport for Athletes withan Intellectual Disability)

Getty Images

Paralympicsport justkeeps oncomingJonnie Peacock in top form

Since last year, Community Care Coordina-tors have been placed in many ShropshireGP practices as part of a pilot schemelaunched by the Clinical CommissioningGroup. Their purpose has been to identifyand support individuals who are frail andvulnerable and at risk of hospitalisationand/or loss of independence.

The project so far has been successful with22 practices hosting a co-ordinator. But that

means there are around the same numberof GP surgeries and medical centres withouta coordinator.

Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group isnow looking to recruit members of the Vol-untary and Community Sector Organisationto support smaller practices in a number ofareas. Email VCSAssembly@shropshire.gov.uk

by 13 September to find out more or to getinvolved.

County

GPs trial

new

scheme

6

DASH, the Shropshire-baseddisability Arts organisation, has justlaunched a new-look website -http://www.dasharts.org. Theelegant and simply designed site isbound to do a lot to help Dash fulfilits slogan of ‘cultivating spaces forextraordinary artists’.

DASH does much to commissionexciting new work by disabledvisual artists and it also runs work-shops and mentoring for artists andtraining. The new website featuresartist profiles, blogs with opportuni-

ties, and the latest news on DASHprojects, events and partnerships

with galleries, plus much else.DASH says it is ‘particularly proudof our extensive interactive timeline,which charts the history of DASHfrom its beginnings in 1992, throughto other milestones such as movingto the Hive in 2012. ‘Please take a few minutes tobrowse the new DASH website;we'd love to know what you thinktoo - send feedback topaula@dasharts.org’DASH is based at The Hive Musicand Media Centre, 5 Belmont,Shrewsbury, SY1 1TE.

New website is a work of art, of course

A page on the new website

Whitchurchroadshow success Shropshire CommunityHealth NHS Truststepped up its cam-paign to eliminate allavoidable pressureulcers when it held alearning roadshow.

Representatives fromresidential carehomes, nursing homesand mental healthservices, as well asdistrict nurses, wardstaff and members ofthe public attended thedrop-in roadshow atWhitchurch Commu-nity Hospital to learnmore about all aspectsof pressure care.

Sally Underwood,pressure ulcer preven-tion tissue viabilitynurse, said: ‘It’s beena very successfulevent and has beenextremely positive forthose attending.

‘Everyone we’vespoken to who camealong has said how in-formative it has been.’[Source: VCSA July 2013]

Stand-up comedian Lee Ridley is not like any other comedian

you have ever heard - he has no voice. So his comic routines

are spoken via an iPad app. In his first ever interview for a talk

show, the BBC disability site Ouch, the comedian - generally

known as Lost Voice Guy - uses this technology to chat about

hecklers, his meteoric rise to comedy fame and why disability

plays such a big part in his new Edinburgh show.

Photo: Caroline Briggs

Ekso Bionics was foundedin California in 2005 andsince then has sold morethan 40 exoskeletons – theEkso - to hospitals, outpa-tient centres and individualsacross the US, Europe andAfrica.

The Ekso is a bionic suitthat enables individuals withcomplete paralysis, lowerextremity weakness orhemiparesis (weakness orparalysis on one side of thebody) to stand up and walkwith a four-point reciprocalgait.

Some 60 highly skilled engi-neers and clinicians haveworked to mimic normalgait, providing the user with

a very natural movement.The Ekso weighs 23kg andis strapped over the user’sclothing, but due to thedesign, the user does notfeel the weight.

It is powered by two high-capacity lithium batteries,which drive the hip and kneemotors. The Ekso can beadjusted for different usersand can accommodateusers weighing up to 100kg,and between 5’2″ and 6’2″ inheight.

Each step is initiated by theuser’s weight shift, enablingthem to be in total control oftheir speed. A new feature,called ‘Variable Assist’, waspresented at the European

Stroke Conference inLondon in May. It allowsindividuals with any lowerextremity strength to con-tribute their own power,dynamically adjusting oneach step.

Ekso Bionics has openedThe Ekso Base Camp, afacility situated betweenLondon and Cambridge andrun in partnership withPrime Physio.

For more information call020 7060 3568 or visitwww.eksobionics.comEkso Bionics can also befound on Facebook andTwitter, posting as @Ekso-BionicsUK [Source: AccessMagazine August 2013]

Is Ekso the ultimateaid for walking?

7

Councils must protect access tosocial care if they want to get holdof £2bn in additional funding fromthe NHS designed to promote inte-grated care, the Government hassaid.

In the spending review announce-ment three months ago, ChancellorGeorge Osborne said a £3.8bn‘pooled budget’ would be set up tofund integrated health and socialcare in 2015-16 to reduce hospitalepisodes for older and disabled peo-ple.

Of that £3.8bn, £1.8bn is alreadycommitted but the other £2bn is newfunding that will be transferred fromthe NHS into the pooled budget.

‘To access this funding, all areas willneed to produce local plans, signedoff by the NHS and local authorities,for how the money will be usedacross health and social care,’ saidhealth minister Earl Howe in a Houseof Lords debate.

‘These plans must demonstratethat social care services will beprotected.’

Half the £2bn will be paid to councilsand NHS commissioning groups onthe basis of outcomes achieved.

Part of this £1bn payment will bemade in April 2015 on the basis of

outcomes in 2014-15 and the restmade during the year on the basis ofoutcomes in 2015-16.

It is not clear what would constituteprotecting social care, but in astatement, a Department of Healthspokesman said local areas wouldhave to set out how they wouldprotect access to social care.

This might mean that councils couldmeet the test by maintaining eligibil-ity thresholds at 2014-15 levels evenif they cut funding for social care inreal terms in 2015-16.

However, all councils would need toimplement the Government's newnational minimum threshold for carein 2015, making comparisons with el-igibility thresholds in 2014-15 prob-lematic. The department has beguntalks with the Local Government As-sociation and NHS England to workout the details of how the moneywould be accessed.

Councils told to protectsocial care if they wantpart of extra £2bn funding

Just for once thedisabled may notbe losing out, asfunding from theNHS to supportintegrated care

will be conditionalon social careservices being

protected

Even if all of the £3.8bn pooledbudget were counted as money forlocal government, overall councilbudgets are set to shrink by 2.3% inreal terms in 2015-16. This will addfurther strain to adult care budgets,which have been reduced by 20%since 2011, once inflation and demo-graphic pressures have been takeninto account.

This context led several peers towarn ministers of a substantial gapbetween public resources for socialcare and levels of need. FormerLabour health minister and ex-socialservices director Lord NormanWarner said councils would face afunding gap of about £2.5bn in 2015-16, the year in which the most of theCare Bill comes into force, bringing

with it significant new duties forcouncils. He said this meant the re-sources were not in place to imple-ment the bill's intentions. ‘Howeveryou cut the figures, there is a prettybig hole in the base budget for adultsocial care in the year in which thefirst tranche of the bill’s reformsbegin," he warned. [Source: Community Care 31.07.2013]

But no let-up in cuts to council budgets

A network of NHS trusts hasdeveloped a free iPhone appto help soldiers who sufferfrom mental illnesses. Theapp, called ‘Joining Forces’,provides tailored informationon 11 mental health prob-lems including depression,post-traumatic stress disor-

der, and anxiety. Thecreation of the app was ledby South Staffordshire andShropshire Healthcare NHSFoundation Trust.

The trust decided to designan app which would give allserving personnel, wherever

they were in the world,access to information andsupport on mental healthdisorders. The app, hasbeen approved by the RoyalCollege of Psychiatrists. Ini-tially it is only available oniPhones, but an Androidversion is due later this year.

County’srole innew appfor Army

8

Entrepreneurs withdisabilities can bidfor major awardApplication forms are now available for theStelios Philanthropic Foundation Award forDisabled Entrepreneurs in the UK, which is runin partnership with Leonard Cheshire Disability.To obtain a form email innovation@lcdisability.org.

The eligibility criteria are that you have arecognised disability or long-term healthcondition, have at least a 25% managementstake in your company, your business has aturnover in excess of £10,000, you own a UKregistered business, and that your businesshas been trading for between one and fiveyears

Return the completed form, along with a copyof your audited accounts, to innovation@lcdis-ability.org or send by post before the deadlineof 5pm on 25 October to: Strategic Partner-ships & Innovative Services, Leonard CheshireDisability, 66 South Lambeth Road, London,SW8 1RL

There is a small device foundon hundreds of streets in mostparts of the country, but mostpeople seem to be unaware ofits existence ... and it saveslives.

It's an unassuming little plastic ormetal cone which you can find onthe underside of pedestrian cross-ing light control boxes.

When the green man lights up toshow traffic should stop and it'syour turn to cross, the cone(which has tactile ridges) startsspinning. It's there for visually im-paired or blind people. When theyfeel the cone spinning they knowthey have the right of way.

When crossing a road you can standnear the control box with your handon the cone and independently knowyou can cross when it spins, withouthaving to get help from a passer-by,if there is one. Many crossings beep

for blind people, but not all. For in-stance, if two crossings are close toeach other neither will beep, in casepedestrians are misled into walkingout into oncoming traffic on thewrong road. And a tactile indicatorhelps deaf-blind people too - theycan't hear audible signals.

The cones provide the same

information as the beeping signalbut in tactile form. Some cross-ings both beep and rotate.

But the cone isn't telling you it'ssafe to cross, it's simply tellingyou the light is on.

Crossings are maintained by localauthorities, which are not legallyobliged to make them accessible,although the Department forTransport says it ‘encourages’their use.

The idea originally came fromNottingham University, which tookit to the Department of Transport,

as it then was, back in the 1980s. In1989 they began to appear on ourstreets. Even now, the cones aren'tbuilt into the boxes at manufactureand have to be retro-fitted. Radix, the company behind thecones, says it has sold about 10,000a year since 1995. [Source: BBCNews, Ouch]

Saving lives, at the touch of a button!

Steep stairs to a railway foot-bridge mean those with wheel-chairs or crutches who want tocross to the other platformhave to travel an extra 40miles.

Despite promises of Govern-ment funding for a lift at Alfre-ton station in Derbyshire, thework is not expected to startfor another year.

Marlene Bennett, who sufferscrippling arthritis, is one of212,000 passengers who usethe station every year.

The alternative is to carry onthe journey to either Notting-ham or Sheffield and getanother train back, a 40-miles

round trip which takes an hour.

Local councillor John Walkersaid: ‘It’s a 40-mile round tripfor some to get from one sideof the station to the other.There is no exit on the south-bound side.’

Campaigners had tried tosecure funds to fit the foot-bridge with a stairlift fordisabled people. But thecouncil has recently been toldthat funds for the project hadbeen ‘redirected’, he said.

MP Nigel Mills said the stationwas ‘high up on the list’ toreceive funding due to to beannounced next April.[Source: Access Magazine]

Is this the world’s longestjourney across a railway?

9

Greg Wood decided thathe could no longertolerate working for thefitness-for-workassessment firm Atosearlier this year when hewas asked, for perhapsthe 10th time, to changea report he had made ona claimant, in this casemaking it unlikely thatthe individual would beeligible for sicknessbenefit.

He had harbouredconcerns about aspects ofthe work he was expectedto perform for several months, butfinally decided to leave because hefelt the company was unethical toput pressure on a doctor to changethe conclusions of an assessment.

His decision to blow the whistle onpractices within Atos made headlinesin May, because he was the firstAtos-employed doctor to put his ca-reer on the line and articulate con-cerns about a system that has beencriticised by charities and claimantsfor years. Wood gave strong evi-dence to the BBC to suggest that themethods used to assess whether in-dividuals are eligible for the new in-capacity benefit – employment andsupport allowance (ESA) – were un-fair and skewed against theclaimant.

Purely by coincidence, of course, theGovernment has revealed that thequality of reports written by Atos as-sessors had fallen to ‘unacceptablypoor’ levels.

Given the noise created by hiswhistleblowing, Wood thinks he cantake a sliver of credit for the Govern-ment's subsequent decision to‘retrain’ those Atos staff deliveringthe controversial fitness-for-work testand to start appointing new compa-

nies to take on thework, alongsideAtos.

Wood joined Atos in2010 after 16 yearsas a Navy doctor.He saw the job ofhelping the Govern-ment determine whowas eligible forbenefits as arespectable andimportant position,and wants to makeit clear that he hasno ideologicaldispute with the

underlying principle of assessingpeople. He was paid about £60,000a year for a 37-hour week.

‘I'm not complaining about thefunction of what Atos does. I'm all forrational assessments. I've neverliked the idea that people can justsay that they've got somethingwrong with them and you just acceptthat. I think you do need an objectiveassessment,’ he says.

Atos was given the contract toperform the work capability assess-ment by the last Labour Govern-ment, and its team of doctors, nursesand physiotherapists are responsiblefor carrying out a computer-led testthat looks at claimants’ ability to per-form a range of functions (walk 200metres, sit down for extended peri-ods, use their hands, for example).

In order to qualify for ESA, anindividual needs to score 15 points.Since the company began reassess-ing former incapacity benefitclaimants at a rate of around 11,000a week, very high numbers of peoplehave been unhappy with the results,and have appealed against them. The total number of people appeal-ing every year – both inside and out-side of tribunals – has risen from

279,000 in 2009-10 to 465,000 in2012 13.

For the first two years, Wood had nocomplaints about his work, most ofwhich was conducting less contro-versial assessments for a differentbenefit, the soon to be defunctdisability living allowance. In Maylast year, however, he was sent on aone-day training course on how tocarry out a slightly updated WCA,which had more stringent eligibilitycriteria, and several aspects of thetraining concerned him.

The trainer gave quick rule-of-thumbguidance on several areas of thetest, which he believed deliberatelytraduced the more nuanced writteninstructions in the assessors' hand-book on five critical areas, so thatassessors were less likely to awardpoints to claimants. He thinks theguidance is ‘plain wrong’.

On another section of the test, hewas told: ‘If they can wash and getdressed, they have enough driveand concentration to do a job.’ Hedescribes this logic as ‘medical non-sense’

In January, his reports began to beaudited. His patience ran out whenhe was instructed by his line man-ager – the clinical performance lead– to reduce the number of pointsawarded to a claimant with seriousmental health problems.‘It was clearly wrong, medically,’ hesays. ‘I had more mental health ex-perience than most of the staff atAtos; I was supposed to be a lead onit. The two people who were tellingme to change my report weren't. Ihad seen the person; they hadn't...She fully deserved points. I wasspecifically told to amend the report.... I was sent two emails both tellingme: 'You need to amend the report',’he says.He resigned within the hour.

Why I blew the whistle onAtos fitness-for-work test

10

Disabled people get used tolugging extra bits of kit around,but Rebekah Owens hasdiscovered the unexpecteddifficulties of having to go outhooked up to her personal oxygen supply.

Since falling ill a while ago, my mo-bility has been limited. I have to beaccompanied on my travels by aportable oxygen tank. I say'portable'. I mean an object made ofmetal, weighing almost 4kg and con-taining just over 400 litres of air. It ishoused inside a smart, narrow blackrucksack fitted with straps and buck-les. These are designed so that youcan carry it on your back betweenyour shoulders, the strap clippedaround your midriff, cannula dis-creetly snaking over your shoulderand perching under your nostrils.

The image I had when first told Iwould be required to carry this stuffwas that it would be like carrying ahandbag - albeit one that hisses andhas a ‘no smoking’ sign.

It was not that way at all. Wear itbackpack-style, as is the intention ofthe oxygen supplier, and you canspend an awful lot of time apologis-ing. Some days, it is all I seem to do.The tank feels heavy and awkwardon your back so your co-ordination isaffected. I have knocked shopdisplays over, backed into people,swept people aside as I turnedaround, and all I seem to be sayingis 'Sorry' or 'Excuse me'.

This did not work wonders for myself-esteem. For the first few weeksof using the tank, I was apologetic.Then I was in an absolute rage. Itmade me angry having to be theperson who was at fault. Why was Iapologising to the person behind mewho appeared not to have noticedthat cumbersome, hissing beast on

my back? When I wassprawled on the floor be-cause my balance wasnot good, why on earthwas I the one sayingsorry?

This was the momentwhen I realisedthat I now had a problemwith access. It did notoccur to me in the firstinstance. I accepted thatI had limited mobility be-cause I needed oxygento get around. I evenaccepted that I would not be able toget very far. It did not occur to methat an oxygen tank can cause youdifficulties with access. But if you areill enough to require oxygen, then bydefinition you are lacking in energyand strength. You have sloweddown, no longer able to pop to ashop, nip across the road, or dash tothe loo... you need space to move atyour own pace and to be able to turnaround comfortably.

Nowhere have I found access prob-lems more apparent than when Ihave stopped for a coffee. As manyof the more popular coffee shopsdon't offer table service, this pres-ents all sorts of problems. In placeswhere the tables and chairs arepacked tightly, the sheer lack of

space means it isnot easy to ma-noeuvre yourselfthrough them. Soyou end up apologis-ing again.

Going to the counterand ordering andthen trying to getback to your tablebecomes an obsta-cle course. All ofwhich was accompa-nied by a chorus oftutting. In fairness,

no one so far has been abusive, butthey have certainly been rude. Asidefrom the tutting, there is the exasper-ated sigh and the half-stifled groan...The best way around this is to culti-vate a sense of humour. Getting thetank trapped as a door swings shutis a lot less embarrassing when yousee the funny side. And never beafraid to ask to be given specialconsideration. Most of the time peo-ple will help, but you have to let themknow. Tell a member of staff of yourdifficulties and ask if they will takeyour order at a table... If you usecash, you won't even have to go tothe counter to use the machinebecause you just pay when youorder and your change is broughtover with your food and drink.[Source: DisabilityNow July, edited]

All tanked upand ready for(nearly) everything ...

Shropshire’s VCS Assembly is workingclosely with Voluntary and CommunitySector colleagues in Telford and Here-ford to support the Marches LocalEnterprise Partnership, which is seek-ing EU funding under the Structuraland Investment Fund Growth Pro-

gramme. Shropshire VCS Assemblyhas organised two events to bring VCSmembers together to explore the socialinclusion element of this funding. Oneof these was held in August and thesecond is on 10 September at CravenArms Community Centre.

Meeting to hearabout social inclusion elementof cash bid

11

An Israeil company has developed acamera-based system to give the visuallyimpaired the ability to both ‘read’ easily andmove freely.

Until now reading aids for the visuallyimpaired and the blind have been at bestcumbersome. The OrCam device is a smallcamera connected by a thin cable to acomputer in the wearer’s pocket. The deviceclips onto the wearer’s glasses with a smallmagnet and uses a bone-conduction speaker to readaloud the words or object pointed to by the user.

The system is designed to recognise and speak ‘text inthe wild,’ a term used to describe newspaper articles aswell as bus numbers, and objects as diverse as land-marks, traffic lights and the faces of friends. It is for salethrough the company’s website for $2,500.

OrCam says the device is different from other technology

that gives some vision to people who areblind, like the artificial retina system calledArgus II, made by Second Sight MedicalProducts.

That system, which was approved by theUS Food and Drug Administration in Febru-ary, allows visual signals to bypass a dam-aged retina and be transmitted to the brain.

On a broader level, the OrCam system isrepresentative of a wide range of rapid improvements inthe field of artificial intelligence, in particular with visionsystems for manufacturing as well as fields likeautonomous motor vehicles.

Speech recognition is now routinely used by tens of mil-lions of people on both iPhones and Androids, computersystems can ‘read’ documents, and there are at least sixcompeting approaches in the field of computer vision. [From: www.nytimes.com/2013/06/04/]

‘Seeing’with atiny

camera

Unique filmarchive capturesdeaf historyThe BDA Film Archive con-tains more than 600 films andvideos that capture the activi-ties of the deaf communityfrom the 1920s to the present- even featuring rare footageof the 1935 and 1939 OlympicGames for the Deaf.

Many of these films have notbeen viewed in more than 50years and require preservationas they are extremely fragile.

Unless the films are trans-ferred to a digital formatquickly this precious materialcould be lost forever. With do-nations, the BDA can transferthese films and put them on-line. The BDA Film Archivehas a match-funding target of£80,000, and thanks to won-derful support has alreadyraised 40% of this figure.

Read more about the project,view a selection of these rareand important films, and do-nate athttp://www.justgiving.com/BDA-Film-Archive

The Department for Work andPensions has refused to release anupdate to its figures on the deaths ofpeople in receipt of incapacitybenefits (including Employment andSupport Allowance).

Last year, when the initial figures werereleased, they showed that more than70 people were dying every week afterbeing denied ESA or put in the workrelated activity group – more thandouble the previous figure.

The outcry was such that the DWPclearly thinks it better to cover-up suchunwelcome statistics in future. It sayslast year’s figures were ‘on the depart-ment’s website as an ad-hoc statisticalanalysis publication. As such there is nointention of releasing an updatedversion of these statistics.’

The department can hardly be accusedof springing into action, even whensaying No. The request for an updatewas sent in November last year! Nodoubt the subject of driving people tosuicide was a sensitive one in the

corridors of power last Novemberbecause in that same month IainDuncan Smith flew into a rage on BBCTV’s Question Time when challengedabout the case of a 57-year-old man,paralysed down one side, blind in oneeye and unable to speak. He died oneday after being found ‘fit for work’ byAtos.

A request for the updated informationhas now been made under the Freedomof Information Act by the Vox Politicalwebsite, which urges readers to do thesame. Sent to ministers@dwp.gsi.gov.uk

with the title ‘Freedom of Informationrequests’, it runs as follows:‘Please provide the number ofIncapacity Benefit and Employment andSupport Allowance claimants who havedied in 2012. Please break that figuredown into the following categories:• Those in the assessment phase• Those found fit for work• Those placed in the work related activity group• Those placed in the support group• Those who have an appeal pending[Source: Vox Political 13.08.2013]

DWP refuses to updateinformation on deaths of claimants

12

England's record goalscorer in blind football,David Clarke, is beinginducted into the NationalFootball Museum's Hall ofFame. He says that thehonour confirms the highesteem in which disabilityfootball is held.

‘When I was born in 1970,there was no opportunity toplay football as a blindperson for your club,school, district county oryour country,’ he said.

‘Then having worked for 17 years onand off the pitch to get the sportrecognised as a Paralympic sportand then by the English FA and UKSport, to have retired and to lookback on that is great for me.

‘But to have someone recognise myinfluence with something as main-stream as the Hall of Fame, andgoing in there with Peter Schmeicheland Matt Le Tissier is unbelievable.’

The museum's hall of fame boastslegends including Sir Alex Ferguson,Alan Ball, Gordon Banks, CliffBastin, Jimmy Greaves and Sir TomFinney.

Clarke, who retired after the 2012Paralympics and who scored 128goals in 144 international appear-ances, will be inducted in Septemberwith Cliff Jones who played forTottenham's double-winning side,Mike Summerbee, one of the ‘HolyTrinity’ in the great 1968-70Manchester City team, Ray Wilkinsand Sheila Parker, the first women’sEngland captain.

The status of disability football,according to Clarke, is one he couldnever have dreamt of as a 12 yearold at Worcester College for the

Blind where he honed his skillsplaying against older and morepowerfully built players who hadmore sight than him.

‘We now know through the numberof disabled football courses done,and the fact that the basic coachingcourse that the FA runs includes amodule on disability football, thatcoaches are being educated on howto coach disabled footballers.

‘There are pathways available fordisabled kids to play football fromthe age of five for fun or to reach anelite level. It's testament to the workof many people that we're in aposition that any blind child whowants to play, can,’ said Clarke.

But although the opportunities arethere, Clarke says that making surethat they are exploited is another

issue. ‘I was very fortunatein that my parents wereimportant in encouragingme to get out there and bea part of sport. It's probablyup to the likes of you andme and the blind communityto make sure that peopleget out there and do it now.Another challenge is howyou make people aware ofhow they can participate.Marketing that is difficult.’

Does the fact that moredisabled young people arebeing educated in main-

stream schools rather than specialschools make it harder to developteams and nurture football amongblind and disabled pupils?

‘It's difficult to track people down, butit's not beyond the wit of man to gothrough the sensory teams in localauthorities. Let's not forget that lastyear Sainsbury's got two million kidsplaying blind football by approachingmainstream schools.’

As well as writing a book and actingas an ambassador for the FA, Clarkecoaches a mainstream under-eightsteam, Harpenden Colts, and trainsonce a week with his old coach.

But before his 17-year footballcareer, he had already been playingfor 10 years. Now he is enjoying hisretirement.

‘I'm considering a number of optionsto get involved with disability andmainstream sport. But I gave upfootball to give more time to myfamily. I don't miss playing at all.

‘There's a lot to not miss about train-ing six days a week and holdingdown a job. I'm still keeping myself fitbut it's nice to do it for fun.’ [Source: Disabilitynow, July 2013]

Blind footballer finds hisway to the Hall of Fame

David Clarke, about to enter the Hall of Fame

‘Any blind

child who

wants to

play, can’

13

Y o u a r e n o t a l o n eGoing to our site is all it takes to meet

others who understand what you are goingthrough:

www.shropshire.gov.uk/community.nsf

Shropshire Self Help GroupsTelephone

01691 656882Sponsored by Shropshire Council,

Telford & Wrekin Council, and the NHS

Former care minister Paul Burstowhas launched a commission torehabilitate the standing ofresidential care and make it apositive choice for older people withhigh support needs.

Burstow is chairing the year-longCommission on Residential Care,established by think-tank Demos, toexamine how care homes canbecome a more valued part of thespectrum of care.

The commission's starting point isthat an additional 239,000 people

aged over 85 will require round-the-clock care, meaning there must be afuture for residential care. It willexamine issues including the currentfinancial pressures on the sector,driven by squeezes on local author-ity fees; negative stereotypes ofresidential care fuelled by mediareporting; and the extent to whichcare homes can diversify into pro-viding intermediate care for the NHS

The commission will also look athow older people can be providedwith a range of housing options assupport needs increase.

Recently I read an article whichsuggested that by 2018 disabledpeople, through cuts in ourbenefits and services, will havecontributed £28 billion to deficitreduction. If this figure is accuratethen poverty is about to make anunwelcome return into the lives ofmany disabled people.

Of course throughout history povertyhas always been a close companionof disabled people and our familiesand in the 1960s its constantpresence was responsible for thefirst stirrings of modern disabilitypolitics as we know it today.

The Disablement Income Group wasformed to advocate for a nationaldisability income to banish povertyfrom the lives of disabled people forever ... a few years later the Union ofthe Physically Impaired AgainstSegregation was formed. It arguedthat poverty was not the cause ofdisabled peoples' problems but wasmerely a symptom of our exclusionfrom society which required a muchbroader range of solutions.

The leading advocate of what mightbe called 'the income approach' was

the late Peter Large who spent manyyears working tirelessly behind thescenes in Parliament to ruthlesslydemonstrate to policy makers theeffects of poverty on the lives ofdisabled people and their families.

The leading advocate of what mightbe called 'the integration approach'was the late Vic Finkelstein whoworked tirelessly with organisationscontrolled by disabled people toestablish a wide range of supportservices and legislation to end thesegregation of disabled people fromsociety.

While their views on the relationshipbetween disability poverty weredifferent, between them and theirsupporters they established a net-work of financial benefits and sup-port mechanisms to facilitateindependent living. So much so thatby the end of the 1980s one ofMargaret Thatcher's ministers wasable to proudly claim that poverty nolonger existed in Britain.

This claim was ridiculed at the timebut the fact remains that povertydisappeared from the politicalagenda shortly afterwards . Onlynow ... do we see poverty beingrediscovered as our politicians beginto realise the real consequences oftheir heartless austerity policies.

As the cuts bite deeply into the livesof disabled people, debates aboutwhether poverty is a symptom or acause of our current problems don'treally matter. We urgently need newleaders of the calibre of Peter Largeand Vic Finkelstein or this round ofcuts, scheduled to end in 2018, willnot be the end of a horrible night-mare but the start of something evenmore unimaginable and unen-durable. [Source: disabilitynow]

Here’s a simple sum, even members of the Government

could do it if they wanted to

Austerity+disability = povertyAs cuts to social security,disability benefits andservices bite yet moredeeply,Professor MikeOliver calls forthe kind oflobbying,campaigningand access to shapingpolicy which broughtresults 30-40 years ago

Residential care: making homes more valued

If your organisation or cause is not listed here please let us know.Email the editor at newsletter@shropshire-disability.net or write tohim: Peter Staples, 8 Gorse Lane, Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, SY3 0JJ

Shropshire Council Disability Services -www.shropshire.gov.uk/disability.nsf

Telford & Wrekin Adult Social Care Directory - services available and howto access themhttp://www.telford.gov.uk/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?fileID=116&cat-egoryID=100010 .....................................................A4U Disability Advice Centre - Guildhall, Frankwell Quay, ShrewsburySY3 8HQ; 01743 256218; advice@a4u.org.uk

Autonomy - self-help and social for Aspergers in Shropshire, Telford andBorders - autonomyshropshire@yahoo.co.uk

Care Farming West Midlands - www.carefarmingwm.org.uk;stewart.scull@carefarmingwm.org.uk or Mobile:07957 839634

Carers Direct - 0808 802 0202www.nhs.uk/carersdirect/Pages/CarersDirectHome.aspx

Community Council of Shropshire - www.shropshire-rcc.org.uk/4 The Creative Quarter, Shrewsbury Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY2 6LG; 01743 360641; fax: 01743 342179

Community Directory for Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/community.nsf

Disability Arts in Shropshire -01743 272939/271676; www.dasharts.org

Disability Directory – Information, aids and mobility serviceswww.ableize.com/Disabled-Groups-and-Clubs-by-County/Shropshire/

Disability Football Directory 01952 407198http://www.disabilityfootball.co.uk/Madeleysports.html

Disability-friendly holiday accommodation www.friendly-places.com/categories/disability-friendly/disability-friendly.asp?Location=Shropshire

Disability Resource Centre, Lancaster Road, Shrewsbury, SY1 3NJ01743 450 912; robin.durham@shropshire-cc-gov.uk www.the-svab.org.uk. RNIB:www.info.rnib.org.uk/exe/Agencies/Details.pl?480

Disabled and Wheelchair Athletics Directorywww.apparelyzed.com/disability-directory/adaptive-sports/disabled-athletics/

Enable - supported employment services for people with disabilities inShropshire and Telford, Unit 4, Owen House, Radbrook Road,Shrewsbury, SY3 9SR enable@shropshire.gov.uk. 01743 276900

Headway Shropshire (brain injured and families) Holsworth Park, Oxon Business Park, Shrewsbury, SY3 5HJ01743 365271; www.headwayshropshire.org.uk

Healthwatch Shropshire - 4 The Creative Quarter, Shrewsbury Business Park,Shrewsbury, SY2 6LG; 01743 237884; enquiries@healthwatchshrop-

shire.co.uk; www.healthwatchshropshire.co.uk

Telford & Wrekin - Suites A & E, The Place, Oakengates, TF2 6EP;01952 384990; info@healthwatchtelfordandwrekin.org.uk;http://www.healthwatchtelfordandwrekin.org.uk

Landau - supported employment services for people with disabilities,5 Landau Court, Tan Bank, Wellington. TF1 1HE, 01952 245 015,admin@landau.co.uk

Listen Not Label - User Led Organisation for disabled and carers inTelford and Wrekin (Tina Jones, manager), 01952 211421 Meeting Point House, Southwater Square, Telford, TF3 4HS

Marches Community Enterprise01584 878402 or 07891094901

ME Connect - Helpline 0844 576 5326 between 10.00-noon, 2.00-4.00and 7.00-9.00; meconnect@meassociation.org.uk

Motor Neurone Disease Association - MND Connect 08457 62 62 62mndconnect@mndassociation.org

Multiple Sclerosis Society - 01952 250038;www.mssociety.org.uk/telford

NHS Choices - www.nhs.uk/Pages/HomePage.aspx

Omega (National Association for End of Life Care) - www.omega.uk.net/

OSCA Citizen Advocacy - Roy Fletcher Centre, 12-17 Cross Hill,Shrewsbury, SY1 1JE; 01743 368370; info@oscacitizenadvocacy.org.uk;www.oscacitizenadvocacy.org.uk

Parent and Carer Council (PACC) Shropshire - making parents andcarers aware of developments that affect their children and giving them avoice - www.paccshropshire.org.uk; PO Box 4774, Shrewsbury, SY1 9EX;0845 661 2205; enquiries@paccshropshire.org.uk

Parent Partnership Service - www.parentpartnership-shropshire-andtelford.org.uk/#/useful-links/4551168089

Parent & Carer Council Shropshirewww.paccshropshire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groupsPACC provides an index of support groups for children with disabilities inShropshire. The following groups are listed on the PACC site. Wherepossible we list direct contacts, but refer to the PACC site for full details)

Allsorts (South Shropshire, for behavioural conditions) 07813043841

www.paccshropshire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groups/71-allsorts

Bridgnorth Buddies (Parent-led, Special Needs) 07968 544182 or 07790

780631; email Buddies20@yahoo.co.ukwww.paccshropshire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groups/72-bridgnorth-bud-dies

Haughton School, Telford, drop-in for parents of pupils with more com-

plex special needs) 01952 387551 or 01952 387552; www.paccshrop-shire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groups/83-haughton-school-drop-in

Onevision (visual impairment) 01952 385269

/www.paccshropshire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groups/77-onevision

STACS (Aspergers,16+) 01952 254594 or 01939 260273; email

louise.griffiths@carerscontact.org.ukwww.paccshropshire.org.uk/parent-and-carer-groups/76-stacs

Autistic Supporters (if you suspect your child is autistic, or has recently

been diagnosed) 01743 356298www.shropshireautisticsupporters.co.uk/?q=node/2

Deaf Children’s Society 01952 770019; email: nat4sdcs@aol.com

www.ndcs.org.uk

Down's Syndrome 01743 233802, 01948 880110 or 01588 640319

www.dsa-shropshire.org.uk

Dyslexia Association 01743 231205; www.thesda.org.uk

Wheelchair Users 01743 350460 or 01952 252243

SKiD (Shropshire Kids Insulin Dependent, associated with Diabetes UK)

01743 873724 or 01743 364366; email: home@morkot.go-plus.net

SPECTRUM (Autistic Support group) email: netgriffiths@fsmail.net

www.spectrum.t83.net/

Telford STAA (supports parents/carers of children with ASD, ADHD, and

challenging behaviour) 01952 457439 or 01952 617758; email: julie@par-entpartnership-shropshireandtelford.org.uk or lesley@parentpartnership-shropshireandtelford.org.uk

Steps (help for parents/carers, lower limb abnormalities) 01743 355363

PODS (Parents Opening Doors - Telford, forum for views on services)

01952457439; email: julie@parentpartnership-shropshireandtelford.org.uk

PAGE XNames and numbers that might help

14

continued next page

YV services directoryThis is a ‘bulletin board’ of services to the disability com-munity. Any service that is genuinely for the benefit of people withdisabilities is welcome to up to 40 words free. If you have a logo orartwork we will try to include it, but can’t promise. Email your text tothe editor at newsletter@shropshire-disability.net or write to him:Peter Staples, 8 Gorse Lane, Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, SY3 0JJ

Sign as you speak: 1Starfish - to become a better communicator learnhow to sign as you speak. Total Communication Training Courses for pri-vate, public and voluntary sectors. Also Makaton courses. Contact Mandyat www.1starfish.co.uk or 01743 891885 or 07939 600126

Used medical and mobility equipment: The British Red Cross some-times has donated medical and mobility equipment for sale for a reason-able donation. Call Christine Hunt on 01743 457810 for further information.The donations received help maintain the medical loan department, whichis an invaluable service offered by the Red Cross.

PAGE X continued

15

Shropshire Handyperson Service: Small jobs at £15+ VAT

per hour, no call-out fee, 01743 458 347

mhishropshire.enquiries@mearsgroup.co.uk

PODS - independent forum in Telford for families of children with disabilityor additional need; Jayne Stevens 0777 534 2092 or 07824 631 297;info@podstelford.org; www.podstelford.org

Primary Care Trust www.shropshire.nhs.uk/Get-Involved/

Scope (Cerebral Palsy) - www.scope.org.uk/services/shropshire

Shrewsbury Dial-a-Ride - Sundorne Trade Park , Featherbed Lane, SY1 4NS. Enquiries 01743 440350; Direct Line 01743 440744; Mobile07891094901, linda@shrewsburydialaride.org.u

Shrewsbury Hard of Hearing Club - URC Church Hall, Coleham Head,Shrewsbury, SY3 7BJ; Contact Erica Horner 01743 873540, ericahorner2@googlemail.com

Shropshire ME Group- www.shropshiremegroup.org.uk; 07516 401097

Shropshire MIND - www.shropshiremind.orgObserver House, Holywell St, Shrewsbury, SY2 6BL 01743 368647

Shropshire Peer Counselling and Advocacy Service www.shropshirepcas.co.uk/default.htm

Shropshire Volunteering Team - Promote your volunteering opportuni-ties. http://shropshirevcs.org.uk/site/volunteering/

Shropshire and Staffordshire Heart and Stroke NetworkLambda House, Hadley Park East, Telford, TF1 6QJEmail: yuen-ting.cheung@shropshirepct.nhs.uk 01952 228490

Sight Loss Shropshire (formerly Voluntary Association for the Blind) TheLantern, Meadow Farm Drive, Harlescott, Shrewsbury, SY1 4NG; 01743210808; SVABadmin@shropshire.gov.uk

VCSA - Voluntary & Community Sector Assemblywww.shrop.net/shropvcsassembly

Voluntary Association for the Blind (see Sight Loss Shropshire)

All SDN members and supporters - andanyone who wants to criticise us - arevery welcome to express opinions or

promote events in YV. Email us atnewsletter@shropshire-disability.net

or write to the editor at 8 Gorse Lane,Bayston Hill, Shrewsbury, SY3 0JJ

Carers are

missing out on

assessment of

their needsThough carers are involved in all stages of the personalbudgets process for service users, separate assessmentsof their own needs are uncommon and seldom conductedbefore service user support is planned, according toresearch carried out by York University and funded by theDepartment of Health.

In the study, researchers based their findings on a surveyof 16 councils, in-depth research in three of these andinterviews with carers and service users.

Carers were commonly involved in supporting service userswho had cognitive or communication impairments duringassessment and this role was valued by service users andpractitioners alike.

Managers and practitioners said carers were routinelyasked about their willingness to continue providing supportat this stage, and some asked carers about their ownsupport needs. But service user assessment forms hadlimited space to record carers' needs.

Most of the carers interviewed could not remember beingasked in detail about their own needs during user assess-ments.

While carers providing a substantial amount of care have aright to a full assessment, these were uncommon andsometimes conducted some time after the service user as-sessment so they could not inform support plans.

Such assessments should go beyond the consideration ofthe carers' willingness and ability to continue to providecare to cover their needs for support to access work orleisure activities. Though carers were heavily involved insupport planning for service users, there was no evidenceof carers having their own support plans.

From April 2015, councils will have a duty to assess theneeds of carers if it appears they need support, and thenprovide support if they meet a defined eligibility threshold,under the Care Bill currently going through Parliament. Thislowers the threshold for a carer's assessment and, for thefirst time, provides a right to support for those who meeteligibility thresholds. For further information contact one ofthe researchers,Wendy Mitchell, atwendy.mitchell@york.ac.uk or on 01904 321 971.[Source: Community Care 14.08.2013]

SDN seeks to provide a forum for information and all points of view on matters affecting people with disability, their families and carers. Views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those held by SDN or anyone connected with it.SDN and this newsletter do not endorse commercial products or services; any mentioned here are for information only. If you have a problem with any of the content, please contact the editor on newsletter@shropshire-disability.net

16

The Paralympics broughtprosthetics such as runningblades into the limelight. Butwhat about the body parts thatkeep them attached?

After an amputation, the bit that's leftbeyond a healthy joint is called aresidual limb, or more commonly, astump. People born without all orpart of an arm or leg, are saidinstead to have a ‘limb difference’.

How is a stump created? To ampu-tate, surgeons cut through skin,muscle, blood vessels, nerves andbone. The exposed bone then getsfiled smooth, with rounded edges.Nerves are cut slightly higher thanthe main amputation area andretracted up into the muscle, toprevent potentially painful bundles ofnerve cells from forming close to thestump's surface.

The remaining muscle getsre-attached to bone, providingprotective padding and helping toshape the stump. Skin is sewntogether in such a way that oncehealed, the scar won't rub against anartificial limb.

Stumps shrink so much during theirfirst months, that the sockets ofprosthetic limbs - which are meas-ured before surgery - become toobig and need replacing. In the mean-time, thick stump socks are worn tokeep the prosthesis in place.

Once stable, stumps are checked atleast once a year for potential prob-lems. Growing children may needsurgery to trim the bone.

Skin wasn't designed to spend hours

each day inside a plastic socket.Diane Mulligan, who lost her legabove the knee in a motorbike acci-

dent eight years ago, likens wearinga false leg to wearing the same pairof 80s jelly shoes, every single day.

‘My skin rubs against the plastic andbreaks down very easily,’ she says. ‘Iget sores and cracked skin as a re-sult.’

She uses an anti-chafing cream thatworks ‘like Teflon on a non-sticksaucepan’.

Diane says she tried Botox to reducesweating because her stumpsmelled so badly. When ingrowinghairs became infected, she couldn'twear her prosthesis for weeks.

Like many amputees, she gets painin the place where her missing limbwas - known as phantom limb pain.

Diane's top stump care tips are to‘keep it really clean and take yourprosthesis off as much as possible’.

Between five and six thousand majorlimb amputations are carried out inthe UK every year, with the mostcommon cause for leg amputationbeing loss of blood supply to thelimb. Trauma is the most commonreason for upper limb amputation

Diabetes sufferers are 15 times morelikely to need an amputation than thegeneral population, because highblood glucose levels can damageblood vessels, leading to restrictionin blood supply.

More than half of all amputations areperformed in people aged 70 or over,with men twice as likely as women toneed an amputation.[Source: BBC Ouch]

Livingwith a

‘residuallimb’

(aka, astump)

CBeebies presenter Cerrie Burnell wasborn with a limb difference

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Online Health Communities (OHCs)are being studied as a means tofacilitate high-quality and affordablehealth care for future generations.

OHCs are Internet-based platformsthat unite either a group of patients,a group of professionals, or a mix-

ture of both. Members use moderncommunication technologies suchas blogs, chats, forums, and wikis.

For instance, ParkinsonNet is a pro-fessional network for Parkinson’sdisease whose participants, bothpatients and professionals, use vari-

ous types of OHCs to deliver pa-tient-centred care. Researchers saythat OHCs are a powerful tool toaddress some of the challengeschronic care faces today. For moreinformation:http://www.jmir.org/2013/6/e115/

[From Health Information News]

Online health communities and the future