What’s inside: DDF March Forum Daventry District Health Walks Ageing Well in Daventry District Eat Out Eat Well Northamptonshire
Action Fraud RNLI Award Attendance Allowance Northamptonshire Police Community Connect
If you would like this newsle er via email, contact eparry@ daventrydc.gov.uk. If you require it in an alternate format, phone 01327 302523. For type talk, prefix with 18001. Or email equali es@ daventrydc.gov.uk. We are grateful for the con nued support of Daventry District Council
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Gree ngs from Gloria
Informa on and support can prove preventa ve for us and our carers as we age. If elderly people fall and are Dear Members. Spring is around the corner and at the me of wri ng this my snowdrops are nodding in hospitalised with a broken hip or other problems the the wind and the daffodils are risking flowering. My trauma c experience may result in a loss of confidence Springer Spaniel Harley is eager to go out ‐ the wind which changes their quality of life and limit independence. As a result loneliness can follow if they and rain never bothers him—wish I had his energy! become housebound and no longer socialise with On a more formal note I look forward to another year friends and neighbours as Chair of DDF which is a pleasure for me. A er The old saying ’preven on is be er than cure ‘rings true and it can also save the NHS and Community Care a life me of working with communi es and Provision funding, decrease emergency A&E admissions and help delayed discharges. people with Northamptonshire Thank you for con nually taking me to fill in feedback County Council Local forms, your comments are valued. The results from Health Trusts and the the DDF Member Ques onnaire are currently being District Council plus my voluntary work I con nually analysed and a summary of the findings will be try to use my knowledge and experience to the published in the next newsle er. benefit of DDF. As a member of the Health and Together with the much valued help and support of Wellbeing Board which is part of the local Strategic our Management Team and Emma’s administra ve Partnership I seek to raise the profile of DDF and the Support we hope to plan and provide suppor ve needs of older people to the benefit of members. events throughout 2016. I look forward to seeing you I am par cularly concerned about the future provision all again. Take care. of nursing home care for the elderly together with Kindest Regards, Gloria Edwards‐Davidson adequate housing provision and suppor ve care for independent living in their own homes. Whilst I am relieved that the Evelyn Wright Care home in Daventry has escaped closure for the me being I remain concerned about long term provision. Although Evelyn Wright is not purpose built it does provide good personal care. Ideally we need a purpose built care home in Daventry but closing the current provision before building future purpose built provision would, from my personal experience, be very trauma c for both the elderly residents and their families. Together with Emma on behalf of DDF I completed the feedback Consulta on Form for the Northamptonshire’s Joint Health and Wellbeing Strategy 2016‐2020 making sure that the needs of our ever increasing elderly popula on are heard. Also our local Nene Commission Group for Health is working in partnership with Northamptonshire County Council and local voluntary agencies on Reducing Falls and Promo ng Bone Health. I consider it would prove beneficial if DDF became involved. We have done this in the past and this joint working enabled outreach work across Daventry District.
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Walking for health is a great way for almost all members of our communi es to build and maintain fitness in a simple way. Benefits include: help to improve heart performance, reduce risk of strokes and enhance feelings of well‐being. All of this is available in a sociable and friendly way. Welcome, walk and wonder as you wander. The Daventry & District Heart Support Group welcome all members of the community to join them on their Health Walks. If people are not able to make the walk you are welcome to join the group for supper. Contact walk leader Viv Crouch for more details on 01327 341193 or kvc.crouch@b nternet.com For more informa on on health walks in Daventry District, contact Melanie Bland at melaniebland@everyoneac ve.com or 01327 871144.
Ageing Well in Daventry District Daventry District Council is upda ng its Older Person’s Strategy – Ageing Well in Daventry District 2016‐2020.
Tell Us What You Think!
Ageing Well Workshops will present findings from the survey and give residents an opportunity to ask ques ons as well as suggest ways in which any issues iden fied locally can be tackled.
The Council would like Daventry District to be a place where older people are able to live independent, healthy and ac ve lives for as long as possible.
It will also help the Rural Isola on Project, which is being run by the Council and its partners in order to be er support people aged 65 and over who are suffering feelings of loneliness or isola on.
To help us with this work we need to hear from our local residents aged 50 years and above on how growing older affects quality of life such as housing, health, transport and social lives.
Please find enclosed a copy of the survey, it would really help if you could complete and return back free of charge, your views are really Look out for further dates in Braunston, Crick, Flore and Weedon. important.
Feedback from this will be used to inform the development of the dra Ageing Well Strategy.
Dates are as follows:‐ 14th April Moulton Village Hall 2‐4pm 19th April Long Buckby Village Hall 2‐4pm 21st April Byfield Village Hall 2‐4pm 26th April The Abbey, Daventry 9.30‐11.30am 28th April Brixworth Community Centre 2‐4pm
You can also complete the survey online www.daventrydc.gov.uk/ consulta ons un l Friday 4th March 2016.
For further informa on please contact Daventry District Council on 01327 871100.
Eat Out Eat Well Northamptonshire
Healthier ea ng op ons when ea ng out in your local area Did you know that the average person eats one in every six meals out of home in restaurants, cafés and other loca ons, and if snacks and ‘grab and go’ food are added in, men get about quarter of their calories when ea ng out and women about a fi h?
Businesses will help you to Eat Out and Eat Well by using healthier catering prac ces, such as grilling instead of Daventry District Council has introduced an award scheme for frying, increasing fruit, vegetables, and starchy caterers called ‘Eat Out, Eat Well’. Working in carbohydrates, decreasing levels of fat (especially conjunc on with the Environmental Health Team, this saturated fat), sugar and salt in food and providing rewards caterers for offering healthier food choices to healthy op ons for children. customers. To find an award holder near to you look at the Eat Out You can find healthier meal op ons on the menus of all award‐ Eat Well sec on of the Daventry District Council Website winning restaurants, pubs and cafes for you and your family. www.daventrydc.gov.uk/business/environmental‐ You will also have more control over what you choose to eat health/eat‐out‐eat‐well‐scheme or telephone 01327 that will ul mately benefit your health. 871100.
Fraudsters are sending out virus infected emails that claim a package has been seized by HM Revenue & Customs upon arrival into the United Kingdom. The official looking scam emails claiming to be from Royal Mail contain a link to a doc‐ ument which will install malicious so ware on your comput‐ er designed to steal creden als like account names, email addresses and passwords.
An example email reads: Title: Your parcel has been seized Royal Mail is sorry to inform you that a package addressed to you was seized by HM Revenue & Customs upon arrival into the United Kingdom. A close inspec on deemed your items as counterfeit and the manufacturers have been no fied. If your items are declared genuine then they will be returned back to you with the ap‐ propriate custom charges. You may have been a vic m of counterfeit merchandise and the RM Group UK will no fy you on how to get your money back. Please review the a ached PDF document for more informa on. Document (RM7002137GB).Zip Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.
To help the spread of the virus, the email also says: “you will need to have access to a computer to down‐ load and open the Zip file”. If you receive one of these emails, do not click on any links or download any a achments and report it to Ac on Fraud.
Protect Yourself Royal Mail will never send an email asking for credit card numbers or other personal or confiden al infor‐ ma on. Royal Mail will never ask customers to enter infor‐ ma on on a page that isn’t part of the Royal Mail web‐ site. Royal Mail will never include a achments unless the email was solicited by a customer e.g. customer has contacted Royal Mail with an enquiry or has signed up for updates from Royal Mail. Royal Mail have also stressed that they do not receive a person’s email address as part of any home shopping experience. If you believe that you have been a vic m of fraud you can report it online: www.ac onfraud.police.uk/ report_fraud or by telephone: 0300 123 2040
Royal Na onal Lifeboat Ins tu on Award For Daventry Volunteer Our very own DDF Commi ee Member Mr David Hu on has been awarded a framed cer ficate of thanks signed by the RNLI’s Chairman for his volunteering work at the Daventry Branch. Jeff Sutherland‐Kay, Chair of RNLI’s Northampton Branch, explained “David has been a volunteer collector for many years and whenever we have a fund‐raising event in Daventry he's always one of the first with an offer of help. And that offer of help will usually include being on duty several mes during the course of the event. “We have a busy fund‐raising programme in Northamptonshire as it is holiday‐makers from the Midlands who are o en at risk when they go to the coast—they don’t always understand how dangerous the sea can be. We are very fortunate to have volunteers like David who are commi ed to helping whenever they can and the RNLI is always pleased to recognise the hours that volunteers put in”. David was delighted to receive the award. “I have been an RNLI supporter for 15 years or more and a volunteer with the Northampton branch for nearly 10 years. It’s a wonderful organisa on to be part of.” The photograph shows David Hu on holding his cer ficate of Thanks, with longstanding Daventry RNLI Volunteer Roger Hadlow on the le and RNLI North‐ ampton Branch Chair Jeff Sutherland‐Kay on the right. For further informa on on how to get involved go to www.rnlinorthampton.org
For all of the latest news please visit www.daventrydc.gov.uk/leisure/ddf
A endance Allowance A endance Allowance is a tax free benefit for people aged 65 or over who are physically or mentally disabled and need help with personal care and supervision to remain safe. You do not actually have to be ge ng any help. It is the help you need that is relevant, not the help that you get. You can get A endance Allowance if you live alone; you do not need to have a carer.
How much do you get? A endance Allowance has two rates, the lower rate is currently £55.10 a week and the higher rate is £82.30. The rate you are awarded is determined by a disability test.
A endance Allowance can be paid in addi on to almost any other benefit e.g. A endance Allowance is not means state pension or pension credit and is tested, there are no na onal ignored as income for means tested benefits insurance contribu on tests. It is so it will not reduce the amount of any also not affected by the current pension credit or housing benefit you may introduc on of the personal receive. independence payment which is replacing disability living allowance It may, however, be taken into account in the local authority’s means test for care and for people aged 16‐64. support it provides to you in the community To qualify for a new claim you need or in a care home. Whilst you cannot to have required help with personal normally claim A endance Allowance if you care for at least 6 months. live in a care home it is worth pursuing if you spend a weekend at home with rela ves, There is no qualifying period for going home on Friday and returning on terminal illness. Sunday as you may be legible for those three days.
Northamptonshire Police Community Connect Police forces have become aware of a fraud circula ng targe ng elderly and vulnerable members of the community. Some older people have received telephone calls from a caller who purports to be from the GP surgery and is asking for an appointment to discuss the person’s mobility needs. During the appointment, the older person is persuaded to buy mobility aids which are either unnecessary or inappropriate and always expensive. If you receive a call like this, please check with your GP surgery first before agreeing to a visit. Informa on has already been circulated to all GP surgeries and the Clinical Commissioning Groups by the NHS. If you have suspicions or concerns that distrac on burglars or rogue doorstep traders are opera ng in your community or targe ng someone you know, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated doorstep crime number 0345 23 07 702. For more informa on about Doorstep Crime Ac on Network www.northants.police.uk/#!/Protec ngmeandmyhome/2411
If you go into hospital Generally payment of A endance Allowance is stopped if you’ve been in hospital over 28 days and payment will start again when you leave hospital. If you leave hospital temporarily and return within 28 days your en tlement is based on the days you are at home. Respite Care In some circumstances periods spent in respite care can affect the amount of A endance Allowance received. This is a snapshot of A endance Allowance which I do not want to make too complex as it can put many older people who could be en tled off to claiming. The sad thing is that many people who may be legible to claim do not. This is a non means tested claim which is paid directly from Central Government. At a me of Local Authority cuts in funding receipt of this allowance can enable older people to live independently in their own homes with a be er quality of life. A endance Allowance Helpline: Ask for the AA 1A claim form by post from 0345 605 6055; text phone 0345 604 5312. Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. Website details are www.gov.uk/a endance‐allowance/overview Gloria Edwards Davidson 23.01.16
Dates For Your Diary! Future Public Forum Events 2016/17 at Daventry Leisure Centre 2‐4pm: Wednesday 23rd March 2016 Wednesday 22nd June 2016 Wednesday 21st September 2016 Wednesday 7th December 2016 Wednesday 22nd March 2017
Thank you for your con nued support