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SDEF Newsletter No.10 - June 2003 |
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Welcome to the 2nd issue of our new style
Newsletter - OPEN DOOR, or number 10 “in old money”.
I hope doors have indeed opened for you recently and
your horizons are widening
We would be grateful if you would give us feedback
on content and style, e.g. what things you would like included or, for that
matter, left out.� Please
remember a door opens both ways and this is your way of letting others know
of problems met and solutions found.� There
are a few problems that have never been encountered before and someone
somewhere will have found a way around them.�
OPEN DOOR means just that.� We
are all on the same team and we would very much like to include articles
about members’ activities and events and pass this on to others.�
When we say we want to involve our wider membership meaningfully and
want to hear your views - we mean just that.�
The Board of Directors exists to carry out your wishes.
Since we received the first instalment of this
year’s funding, a lot of time has been taken up with progressing our
current business plan, agreed by you.� This
is: �research into special needs
transport: and a toilet survey which enhances information already available,
to reveal unmet needs.
In addition, we have also put a great deal of effort
into preparing a carefully, well constructed and balanced bid to become the
Umbrella Group for the Access Panels.� This
is something very dear to our hearts and something we have consistently
championed and promoted for years. It has resulted in the research and
progress so far. When the papers come through from the Steering Group, we
hope those involved will give our proposals full-hearted support.�
We cannot stress strongly enough that the result of the ballot is
vital for future developments.
The next event will be our A.G.M., and the outcome
of the above ballot will have a strong influence on this.�
If the decision is as we hope, support for SDEF, then there will be a
great amount of work involved, with representatives from the panels themselves agreeing the next
steps.
However, holding true to our philosophy of being
driven by our grassroots, we are appealing to our membership for advice.�
Do you have any ideas for suitable, accessible venues - bearing in
mind our membership stretches from Southwest Scotland to the Shetlands?�
We are also looking for a lead on a theme and a Speaker, if this is
your choice.� Perhaps you would
rather just discuss subjects of general interest, which would then form the
basis for future business plans.� This
might encourage more involvement by the general membership.�
Preparations will be starting shortly for this A.G.M., so please give
these matters some thought and pass on your views to the office.�
There will also be an election this year, so think about nominations.�
More details of this will come to you later, with the formal papers.�
It will be an exciting time to join the Board of Directors; �we
would welcome committed, hardworking members and an injection of new blood.
Remember, if you would like to talk to any of the
Directors at any time, please ask at the office.� We are always at your disposal.
Enjoy the holiday period and we hope to see you soon at the A.G.M. in the Autumn
Elma Mitchell MBE - Chairman
GEORGE REID MSP
The Scottish Disability Equality Forum is honoured to
announce that George Reid has agreed to become its Patron. People will know
Mr Reid as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament, but it is in
his capacity as an MSP that he has kindly accepted our invitation. The SDEF
is confident that Mr Reid’s enormous experience and knowledge of
disability issues will greatly enhance our work. Below we give a brief
resume of Mr. Reid’s career.
���������
Born Tullibody, Scotland 1939.�
Married with two daughters.
���������
Educated Dollar Academy and University of St
Andrews.
���������
Producer and Correspondent with ITV and BBC in UK,
Europe
���������
MP (SNP) and Member of the Parliamentary Assemblies
of the
���������
Director of Public Affairs of the International Red
Cross, Adviser
���������
Member of the Steering Group for the Scottish
Parliament 1998-9.
���������
Elected Member of the Scottish Parliament and Deputy
Presiding
NEWS and VIEWS
Congratulations
To David Grieve, a Director and the Treasurer of
S.D.E.F..� David was presented
with a Certificate by the Provost of Nithsdale, on behalf of Volunteer
Action, for dedication and commitment as a volunteer with Dumfries &
Galloway Coalition of Disabled People.�
The presentation took place during Volunteer Week 1st -
6th June.
David, (pictured below, first on the left of the
photo) is also to be congratulated on his election as Chairman of the
Council of Management of the Disabled Drivers’ Motor Club at its A.G.M. on
�
Congratulations
To Kathleen Welsh of the Order of Malta -
Dial-A-Journey, on being awarded an M.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours
List.� Kathleen has given
sterling service to the organisation and well deserves this honour.�
We will be proud to hear Kathleen say, “My
Buses are Excellent.”
Congratulations
To Ron Skinner, M.B.E., who has been asked to a
meeting of WESTMARC, to consider the setting up
Any concerns regarding wheelchairs should be passed
to Elma Mitchell or Ron at S.D.E.F..
�
The following letter was received by SDEF yesterday.�
This letter had been e-mailed to MSPs and other organisations with an
interest in disability issues.� It
graphically highlights the issue being faced by those with disability who
wish to further their education.� SDEF’s
response to Caroline Barr’s request for help is to publish her letter to
raise awareness of the situation.� Readers’
comments would be most welcome.
To Whom It May Concern
1.������
Did you know?�� That
35% of disable people of working age have no qualifications.
2.������
Did you know?� There
are 96,000 registered wheelchair users in Scotland.
3.������
Did you know?� That the
unemployment rate for disabled people is almost double that of
non-disabled people.
4.������
Did you know?� That you
can’t get statutory help with transport if you’ve got a disability and
you’re accessing education, unless you’re doing an HNC, or above,
course.
�
1, 2 and 3 are referenced from Promoting Rights and
Participation 2003 the European Year of Disabled People.
4 is from information gleaned from a Student Funding
Advisor at Telford College.
I am currently a student at Telford College.�
I eventually want to go on to do an HNC, but to get onto an HNC
course I need two Highers.� I
would also like to finish off the course that I started last year, which
is Counselling Skills and Social Welfare NC.� This is going to involve three to four days a week at
college.� This is going to be
impossible for me to achieve because I require a taxi to and from college,
which is going to cost me �60 -�80 per week and, as I’m currently on
income support, that will probably bankrupt me.�
Sitting Highers and facing bankruptcy is not a prospect which I’m
looking forward to.
‘Lifelong learning’ is one of your buzzwords, as
is ‘social inclusion’.� I
think you should qualify this with ‘if it doesn’t cost us any
money’.
My dad and the Student Hardship Fund have offered to
help me out, but I really do feel this should be statutory.
I look forward to some support with this matter and
a reply.
Yours sincerely,
C.W. Barr
�
WHO
ARE WE?
The Disability Information Service is a part of
Gordon Disability Action.� We
operate throughout Aberdeenshire providing information, advice and support
for people with physical and/or sensory disabilities.�
We also help carers and their families.
WHAT
CAN WE OFFER?
We have an up-to-date database providing information
and advice.� We also have access
to care data and we can help people or groups who are searching for funding,
to find it with the help of Funderfinder.
The Disability Information Service has recently been
awarded an Internet Free Access computer, courtesy of the Scottish
Executive.� The computer will be
installed at our opt-in centre in Inverurie within the near future.�
This is a great opportunity for people to access information.
If we cannot provide you with the information you
require we will introduce you to someone who can.
Should
you wish to visit our opt-in centre we are in Inverurie.
Monday
- Friday
10.00
a.m. - 3.00 p.m.
WHO
TO CONTACT:
Julie
Burgoyne, Development Worker
�
We have received an article from the Irish Republic,
detailing the problems of a disabled man in finding accommodation. Anthony
is currently homeless.
LETTER FROM DUBLIN
I
remember it well, 28th November 2002 at 7.50 am., I was getting
out of bed when my feet hit the water. It had rained heavily all night and
my home of six years was beginning to flood and fill with a heavy, dirty
silt.
After
about twenty minutes, I waded knee deep through the kitchen, watching
mementos of my past float out the door. Unable to prevent the water
rising, I felt sudden panic as I realised the problems I would face in
finding other lodgings.
As
a person with a disability, I was acutely aware of the lack of
understanding of our needs, the way we are automatically classified as
something cloistered, cared for and a cause for pity. But I had built an
independent life which involved growing my own vegetables and providing a
home for rescued animals. I had worked hard to build my skills and hoped
someday to enter the open market.
My
immediate problem was finding somewhere to live. I spent Christmas
shuffling between friends and applying for grants. I couldn’t afford to
rent social housing, but in Ireland we can apply for housing grants which
I would be able to repay. I was informed, however, that I was ineligible
because I was not in full employment. This is automatically discriminating
against disabled people, as 93%, or 300,000 people, are not in employment.
For
eighteen years I had dreamt of the security and pride of owning my own
home. However, the concept of Independent Living is relatively new and
only in recent years has there been a European Directive for Disability
Equality.
Why
then do studies show that disabled people are the subjects of
discrimination? I was told that if I were pregnant, a traveller or a
foreign national I would be given preference. Disabled people, however,
daily experience discrimination in terms of attitudes, physical access,
poverty and exclusion from the life of the community.
Could
it be that this is because so few disabled people have an input to
legislation? We have limited access to education, training and employment
because we are assessed against the mainstream, but equality of
opportunity demands legislation which gives equality of access. Similar
flexibility is required when framing legislation which creates services
for disabled people and that means the input of people with disabilities.
Currently we are celebrating the European Year of Disabled People and Ireland is hosting the Special Olympics in June 2003. This is not for the politicians, it is for us. For disabled people to advance we must have more input to the legislation which controls our lives. If I am wrong, why am I, a disabled person, homeless in Europe in 2003?��
Survey
of Special Needs Transport
The Scottish Disability Equality Forum has been
asked by The Scottish Executive to conduct a survey of Special Needs
Transport in the former Central Region.
This is provided locally by the Order of Malta
Dial-a-Journey. With more than five hundred regular users of service and
many hundred escorts, the organisation is kept very busy. People must book
three days in advance and the service is strictly first come first served.
The operation gives people with disabilities a measure of independence to
carry out the types of travel most people take for granted.
Dial-a-Journey also manages the local taxi-card
system, hires self-drive vehicles, tests mini-bus drivers and operates
regular school runs for children with any impairment or learning difficulty.
In the school holidays it is able to use its spare capacity to offer people
with disabilities longer excursions and breaks.
People who know Central Scotland will realise that
the area covered takes in both rural and urban areas. It will be interesting
to find out if there are any lessons which can be learnt for similar
initiatives elsewhere. The aim is to put the operation under the microscope
and to listen to the views of the service users. The work will be undertaken
by SDEF from a completely independent position and the approach will be to
offer passengers the opportunity to give frank feedback on their experience
of the service.
For its part, Dial-a-Journey has welcomed a ‘warts
and all’ approach, with a view to turning any comments into positive
action to improve services. The survey should take several months to
complete and we will bring you more details when it is complete.
�
DLA
and Mental Health
For some time the Panel of Reference has been
concerned that Disability Living Allowance forms are not useful to people
with mental health issues. The forms relate to physical disabilities, there
being only one page for people who are mentally ill to complete.
I fill in the form which consists of two booklets.
The questions to be answered are of the kind, “Can you lift a bag of
potatoes?”, “Can you walk upstairs?”, “Can you wash and dress
yourself?” etc.. So many of these questions are not relevant and, while a
number of people with severe mental health problems may be unable to do
these things, the majority can.
Many people who might be entitled to this benefit
are refused and are forced to appeal. This causes such stress to them and
their families that we feel the form should be amended, or a separate form
developed.
The problem appears to be commonplace and was
confirmed by a recent meeting we had with the Division of Psychiatry. As the
form seems irrelevant to their patients, we will be looking for their
backing to try to get the form changed. We hope to get broad support to have
it redesigned to accommodate all illnesses.
ACCESS AUDIT TRAINING by JMU
CONSULTANTS
WED / FRI 28 - 30 MAY 2003
The Course was organised by SCVO and the Steering
Group on Access Panels, as part of the on-going work on the position of
Access Panels in Scotland.
I attended the second of the two courses arranged
and held at RNIB, Dunedin House and the Apex Hotel, Haymarket, Edinburgh.
We were welcomed by Andrew Jackson of SCVO, who
introduced the Course Director, Kathryn Phipps and her assistant, Peter
Hudson.� At the outset we were
informed that no-one can train to be an auditor in three days, but the
Course would raise awareness of what was involved in conducting an access
audit.� We were each presented
with a manual which would guide us through the three-day Course.
I was very impressed with all the presentations and
the easy manner of the ‘Tutor’, interspersed with pertinent anecdotes,
which endeared her to most of her audience.�
It was reassuring that we were not being ‘talked at’ with a whole
lot of information, but that she had personal experience of the problems and
how they could be overcome.
We covered all aspects of an audit - the whys and
wherefores - Design and Disability (covering all forms of disability) -
Legislation - Goods, Facilities and Services - Education - Public
Transport - Design Issues - Reading Plans - Appraisal.
We came to the thorny question of ‘tactile
paving’ and it was enlightening to hear that JMU could devote a whole day
to this subject, as was also the case with colour contrast.
At any access meeting I have attended, the topic
that inevitably provokes most discussion is that of toilets.�
On this occasion the subject was ‘for’ or ‘against’
peninsular layouts.� The case
‘against’ could only have been dreamt up by someone who had no
experience of transferring a person with a pronounced one-sided weakness
onto a toilet stuck away in a corner.� A
peninsular layout gives much greater flexibility of use to both the person
as an individual, or a person requiring the services of a carer.
It was rather ironic that the venue for the second
day left a lot to be desired in terms of access, but it did provoke
conversation amongst the participants and added a lot of weight to how
essential an access audit was.� It
gave us an opportunity to do some practical assessment on the spot.�
The Course finished with a session on reading plans.
It was three days well spent and I would thoroughly
recommend to anybody involved with access to attend a Course, if the
occasion arises.
Since the Course ended, Kathryn Phipps has been
promoted to General Manager of JMU and Peter Hudson will take over
Kathryn’s responsibility for Scotland.�
Our best wishes go to both of them as they take up these new
responsibilities.
What is Single Shared Assessment
�
If the term SINGLE SHARED
ASSESSMENTS is broken down into its constituent parts it means:
��������� Single Shared Assessment
���������
Is person-centred and
needs-led
���������
Relates to level of need
���������
Is a process not an event
�
Single Shared Assessment
���������
Seeks information once
���������
Has a lead profession who
co-ordinates documents and shares
���������
Co-ordinates all
contributions
���������
Produces a single summary
assessment of need
�
Single Shared
Assessment
���������
Actively involves people
who use services and their carers
���������
Is a shared process that
supports joint working and information sharing
���������
Provides results
acceptable to all agencies
Where does the idea/need for it come from?
The idea of a Single
Shared Assessment came from the Scottish Executive in 2000.�
There was a need to improve assessment systems as a way of improving
joint working between social work, health and housing.�
Prevailing systems were bureaucratic, engaged with the individuals on
too many separate occasions and were often repeated because of
professionals’ reluctance to accept the views of others.�
Moreover, their content and results were found to be inconsistent.
What are the principles of it?
���������
People who use services,
and their carers, should be actively involved and enabled to participate in
the process
���������
Assessment should be
undertaken by the most appropriate lead professional
���������
The assessor should be
appropriately skilled and qualified to deal with the type and level of
assessment
���������
Appropriate information
should be shared by the informed consent of the person or person’s
representative
���������
Single shared assessment
must facilitate access to all community care services
���������
Other professionals and
agencies must accept the results
Who will it affect?
Single shared assessment
is for people with community care needs seeking help from social work,
health or housing authorities, who may require the services of more than one
professional discipline or agency.
What will it do?
The introduction of a
Single Shared Assessment will lead to greater communication and working
between social work, health and housing.�
It will prevent duplication and the unnecessary re-assessment of
individuals.� It will also
complement joint resourcing and joint service management.
What effect will it have on patients and carers?
���������
Focus on their needs and
those of their carer
���������
Involve them in the
planning of their care
���������
Offer an appropriate
level and range of assessments
���������
Avoid duplication of
information given, and the number of assessments
���������
Provide a key contact
person
���������
Achieve greater speed and
integration of care planning
���������
Provide access to a range
of co-ordinated services
What effect will it have on
staff and services?
���������
Minimise duplication of
work
���������
Reduce bureaucracy
���������
Integrate systems and
procedures
���������
Achieve better use of
staff skills and expertise
���������
Make more effective use
of resources
���������
Support and build on good
practice
���������
Ensure fellow
professionals will accept results
���������
Improve communication
between services
���������
Improve information
sharing between services
How will it work?
�������������
It involves an assessment process including:-
���������
Standard assessment -
This applies where indicated needs or requests for
services are straightforward and can be dealt with by low level response.�
As it may involve one or more agencies, some co-ordination of
contributions to the assessment may be needed.
���������
Comprehensive assessment -
This applies where a wider range and complexity of
needs is indicated.� It is
likely to involve more than one agency in contributing to an holistic
assessment of needs.� Specialist
input may be necessary to specific areas of need.�
In comprehensive assessment, effort needs to focus on co-ordination
of contributions to the assessment.� People
who are at risk of admission to residential care or nursing home should
receive a comprehensive assessment with care management and specialist
input, if necessary, to explore fully the options for rehabilitation and
care at home.
�
���������
Specialist assessment -
This may apply to simple needs of a particular
nature, or particularly complex needs requiring more in-depth investigation
by a professional with recognised expertise.
�
���������
Self-assessment -
Is where people identify their own needs and propose
solutions to them, as the sole assessment process, or in conjunction with
other assessments.� They may
receive professional advice, or the support of an advocate.
Can I
share confidential information?
Part of single shared
assessment is allowing for information sharing and co-ordination of care
between agencies.� There has
been an information sharing protocol developed throughout local Health
Boards and this will be part of the training given to people prior to
implementation/involvement in single shared assessment.�
There will also be a patient information sheet and the ability to
share information will be by informed consent of the patient or their
representative.
When does this happen?
Single shared assessment
will begin to be rolled out in some areas by March 2003.�
Our members are requested to find out what is happening in their
local council/Health Board area and let SDEF know.
�
The Blue Badge Network (formerly
the Orange Badge Network)
The Blue Badge Network, a
national charity, was formed in 1991, and exists to keep Blue / Orange Badge
holders up-to-date, through a quarterly Newsletter.� Subjects include legislation, information and ideas relating
to parking badge matters and disability issues in general.�
A telephone helpline is available, plus assistance given on an
individual basis in various areas of expertise.
Membership is open to any
Orange / Blue Badge holder at �8.00 per year (Joint membership �10.00).
The Blue Badge Network
Charity Number: 1018535
�
CONTACT US!
Scottish Disability Equality Forum, 12 Enterprise
House, Springkerse Business Park, STIRLING, FK7 7UF
Tel: 01786 446 456������
Fax: 01786 450 902������
email: [email protected]
Scottish
Disability Equality Form
Working
together with people affected by disability
SDEF
is a recognised Scottish Charity: No. SCO31893
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