Highland Senior Citizens Network - Summer Newsletter – June 2013

10th June 2013

We are sorry we can’t provide the sunshine to accompany the issue of our Summer Newsletter! We can, however, provide news of some encouraging developments in our work towards ensuring that all services for older people, planned and delivered, reflect the needs and aspirations of the membership.

Visions, Values and Actions

As a collective advocacy group we provide a platform for solidarity, partnership, and shared engagement for all individuals and groups who wish to end disempowerment and marginalisation of older people in the Highlands and beyond. At the heart of our work is the desire to reach agreement on a core set of values around which common action can be negotiated and acted upon. To that end we work with the International Framework of Human Rights and the principles of Equality embedded within the framework. The government and the statutory agencies (in our case, Highland Council and NHS Highland) also take account of the Human Rights Framework in the development of policies. As yet, however, there is no shared understanding between the statutory agencies and those whom they seek to serve on how human rights can be fulfilled at the level of the individual person. The HSCN is working to resolve this.

Older people (60+ years, N= 120,400) make up 52% of the population of the Highlands. In the past ten years the number of people in the Highlands aged 65-79 has increased by 21.8% and in the same period there was an increase of 31.7% in those aged 80 years and over. We need to remind ourselves and all other members of society that older people are assets to communities. Most of us live, healthy, independent, and productive lives; many providing direct care and support for family members, and for others through voluntary work. As a Highland-wide network of linked local voices we can do much to safeguard and enhance this position while speaking out collectively for the human rights of vulnerable older adults who cannot voice concerns. This is a collective moral imperative – it’s everybody’s business.

Annual Conference

At our Annual Conference in Inverness on Wednesday 17th April we had the opportunity to debate and affirm the above vision and values with the members who were able to attend. If the energy and willingness to voice concerns, views and visions for shaping care services across the communities displayed by the conference delegates is replicated across the Highland Network as we work together to address human rights issues then there will surely be ‘nothing about us without us’ when it comes to planning and delivering services for older people.

Two of the major challenges to health and wellbeing which were raised by Dr Somerville, and confirmed by delegates, were isolation and poverty. There is a clear connection between these two serious matters and, together with the continuing concerns about the quality of care for older people wherever it is required, these will be the focus of this year’s agenda for the HSCN. This does not mean that other issues such as transport, housing, pensions and welfare benefits will be neglected. Our Engagement and Development Officer, Hazel Allen, has been very busy making links with agencies (local and national) and other voluntary groups to ensure that we are able to intervene at appropriate levels in the defence and promotion of older people’s rights.

The afternoon session of the conference was led by Linda Odd , Spirit Advocacy, who informed delegates that a grant from ‘Comic Relief’ has made it possible to raise awareness of depression among older people and to begin to identify ways to help in what is often a hidden problem. Graham Morgan (Manager of Spirit Advocacy) began the afternoon session by sharing with delegates his own experience of mental illness. Graham was followed by two other members of Spirit Advocacy whose courageous stories of mental illness laid the foundation for the round-table discussions of mental health issues among older people and how individuals and communities can be helped to live fulfilling lives free of the stigma which is sadly still associated with mental illness.

The Board of HSCN looks forward to continuing collaboration with ‘Spirit Advocacy’.

Care Home Update

Members will recall that following the vote of ‘No Confidence’ in the Care Inspectorate, carried by the overwhelming majority of delegate across Scotland who participated in the Scottish Older People’s Assembly on November 2nd last year, representatives of the Network’s Committee subsequently met Annette Bruton, the Chief Executive of the Care Inspectorate.

Following this meeting the Committee wrote to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing. In his reply the Minister reiterated the current regulatory system that is meant to ensure a uniformly good level of care across the Care Homes and Nursing Homes in Scotland. His letter also stated that whilst 20% of services in Scotland are graded as very good/excellent, 20% are graded as being ‘High Risk’.

The concerns over Care Homes are long standing. For 20%, or one in five, Care Homes in Scotland to be to be deemed sub-standard means that either the regulatory powers are inadequate or are failing to be applied. We consider this to be totally unacceptable.

Following the reporting in the local press of concerns over the quality of service in certain Care Homes in the Highlands the MSP, Mary Scanlon, who considers the issue is above party politics, shared her concerns with the Network. She is to raise questions in the Scottish Parliament and has also written to the Care Inspectorate asking for clarification about the enforcement of the current regulations.

We hope that the quality of care in Nursing Homes and Care Homes, and equally important the quality of Home Care, is now being seen as an urgent priority. Time is not on the side of those for whom we speak.

Stories of Care

Members are asked to keep in mind the on-going HSCN Research Programme led by Dr Sara Bradley which is concerned with people’s experiences of care wherever that is delivered or, sometimes, not delivered effectively and efficiently. The HSCN principle is: ‘right care, right time, right place’ and we should settle for nothing less.

If you or anyone you know has a story to tell about care – good or bad, please contact Sara in any of the following ways:

Telephone: 07716 884 989 Email: sbradley.research[AT]hotmail.co.uk

Post: Box 301, 24 Station Square, Inverness IV1 1LD.

Self-Directed Support

There are impending changes to the way in which home care funding is to be distributed. Currently, most older people in receipt of a care package have this directly funded and provided by the statutory agency (or another provider on contract to the statutory agency). In 2014 this will change. The Scottish Government is currently introducing a Bill to the Scottish Parliament. The Bill is called the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Bill. Self-directed support is about giving individuals informed choice about the way that their social care and support is provided for them – something which the HSCN (among many other groups) has been pressing for and which is long overdue. The Bill requires local authorities (in the Highlands this will be NHS Highland) to offer people four choices on how they get their social support. This will range from total control through holding the budget and exclusively negotiating and directing service provision (total accountability) to shared accountability through a combination of service selection and direction and local authority procurement approaches. Simply put, those in need of care can have as much or as little control of that care as they wish.

Whatever you decide, the critical change in this Bill lies in the principles of provision – your rights, your care, your choices – and in the fundamental change in the assessment of care requirements to fulfil the outcomes you want. Thus, professionals will no longer tell you what you need but will enter into a conversation with you about your health challenges and what you think will be necessary for your wellbeing. This assessment, based on an exchange of views between the person in need of care and the professional, will also take account of carers needs which is a long neglected area of concern.

Now before you get too excited about the possibilities of this change, every agreement is subject to ‘proportionality’. So, if your current Motability car is a basic Ford and you want a Porsche – forget it! Moreover, this change will have to be rolled out gradually and will have the same financial constraints as the present system. Nevertheless, the shift in the focus and nature of the assessment is the most important and absolutely essential change to social care provision. This will happen regardless of the decision you make about how much control you want over service procurement and provision.

Don’t be put off by thoughts of employing your own staff or masses of paperwork. We have been advised that systems are in place to support all those requiring services. Gail MacMillan (Self Directed Support Officer) and her team based at NHS Highland, in collaboration with the Scottish Personal Assistant Employers Network (SPAEN), will be on hand to make the transition as easy as possible for all. Events will be held throughout the Highland Communities to inform people more fully about the changes. Do try to get to one of the sessions in your local area. You may also wish to view the Bill and can do so at: www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/Current Committees/29829.aspx

Nuisance Calls

We have received information from Highland Council, Trading Standards which member may find useful.

Nuisance phone calls can be two types of marketing calls. These can be either:


· Telesales (live) calls – unwanted sales calls from a real person

· Automated calls – pre-recorded marketing messages that are played when the phone is answered.

Telesales (live) calls - Marketing calls of this nature may attempt to sell or promote a product, service or ask you to take part in a market survey.

The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 cover the way organisations make direct marketing telephone calls.

If you have registered with either the Telephone Preference Service (TPS then you should not receive live marketing calls, unless you have given permission for the caller to contact you.

You can cut down on the number of marketing calls you receive by registering on TPS

Individuals can register with the TPS on contact number: 0845 070 0707 or online at: http://www.tpsonline.org.uk/tps/contact.html

If you continue to receive live nuisance calls after taking this action you can either contact the TPS to complain in writing to them or report your concerns to the Information Commissioners Office through their helpline on: 0303 123 1113 (Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm) or through their website at: www.ico.gov.uk

Automated calls – automated marketing calls should only be made to you when you have previously agreed that the organisation can make these calls. If you have not given your permission to a marketing business to call you in this way then you can complain to ICO through their telephone helpline (as shown above) or online.

Silent or abandoned calls - Some consumers are also concerned about ‘silent’ or ‘abandoned ‘calls. These are calls when you answer the phone and there is no one there. This can be very distressing for older and/or vulnerable consumers. Nuisance phone calls of this nature should be reported to Ofcom through their Consumer Contact Team helpline on 0300 123 3333. Or online at: www.consumers.ofcom.org.uk/

Ofcom is the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries and also investigates complaints from consumers regarding television, radio, postal services as well as telephone communications.
Premium rate line calls - If you are receiving nuisance calls that ask you to phone a premium rate number (one beginning with 090) you should contact Phonepayplus.

Phonepayplus regulate products or services that are charged to users' phone bills or pre-pay accounts. If you wish to complain about a business using a premium rate telephone number you can contact Phonepayplus directly on 0800 500 212 (Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 5.00pm) or complain online at: www.phonepayplus.org.uk/

Further general advice and assistance regarding nuisance telephone calls is available from Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 08454 04 05 06 or consumers can write/visit Highland Council Trading Standards, 38 Harbour Road, Inverness IV1 1UF.

You can also find further information on your rights by going to Highland Trading Standards news page at: www.highland.gov.uk/tradingstandardsnews
Other news

Following the conference in April, the members of the HSCN Board met to review the work of the past year, to consider the political agenda for welfare reform, all the matters raised by delegates at the conference, and all of the issues gathered by Hazel Allen (our Development and Engagement officer) in her meetings and discussions with members and groups across the Highlands. The product of this work is a detailed plan for the year ahead and for anticipated future developments. The work falls into four broad streams of activity: membership and communication; policy and strategy; income generation; and research. There is much to do within each of these groups. For example, scrutinising the information from national and local government and from the NHS nationally and locally is almost a full-time job. But, it needs to be done to be sure that there is ‘nothing about us without us’. However, we are few in number and if you know of anyone who might like to join the Board please contact the Chairman, Dr McNamara – contact details at the end of this newsletter.

Fun things, snippets, and bullet points

One of our members asked if we could just provide a few bullet points on each item of news rather than a full account. We could- but that would be a failure to engage fully with our own members. Also, for those who would like news of local events like lunch clubs and concerts, this is best left to local groups. We are a collective advocacy group. We provide a mechanism for the voices of every older person in the Highlands to be heard at every level of planning and decision making, should they so wish. Members need to be fully informed and actively engaged – snippets will not suffice!

We hope that you will encourage all the adults in your communities to join the HSCN – it’s free, and increasingly necessary!

Best wishes to everyone for a happy, healthy, restful summer!


Contact Us:

Telephone: 07716884989

Mail: HSCN, Box301, 24 Station Square, Inverness IV1 1LD

Email: hscn[AT]hotmail.co.uk

Website: www.hscn.co.uk

PHOTO
From the annual conference April 2013