Friday Carer Lunch Talks

We have the last carer lunch for 2009 on Friday 27th November. As usual it will start at 12 noon and go on til 2pm. The speaker will be Sarah Bromley from The Energy Assistance Package. The Energy Assistance Package provides advice and support to enable you to maximise your income, reduce your fuel bills and make your home warmer and more comfortable. It offers a range of measures to help improve the energy efficiency of your home. Sarah will be talking about the package and how it may apply and will be available to answer your questions. We'll also have our usual lunch of sandwiches, cakes and cuppas plus our fabulous brain stretching prize winning quiz.

There will be no carer lunch in December and so the next one will be on the 29th of January 2010. The Speaker at the January lunch will be Iain McGarry from Fife Fire and Rescue Service (yes! a fireman -control yourself ladies!!)

University of Dundee, Department of Social Work

Would you like to influence the social workers of the future?

Would you be willing to share your knowledge and experience with a social work student to help them understand what caring is about?
The University of Dundee trains social works students. Part of the course is called ‘Making Sense of the Experience of Caring’. It is a new style of learning, done mostly outside the classroom. Each student is linked with a family and spends periods of time directed by the family in their own home.
An introductory day will take place on Monday 7 December 2009. Between December and April 2010, the student will spend between 15 hours and 24 hours with the family and others closely involved in the care. This could include several periods with the family at different times of the day, an introductory meeting and time in a weekly activity with the person cared for. Suitable arrangements will be agreed between students and families.

Students will do written work and presentations to show their understanding, based on their research and their time with families. Students will also look at issues which families themselves want to find out about. In this way, families will hopefully benefit from this experience too.

PAMIS, Fife, Angus, Dundee and Perth Carers Centres are working in partnership with the University of Dundee to develop this training module and will be there to support the families. Two family carers are also on the steering group.

There are 25 students to link with families! If you are interested or have questions, please contact:

Sheila McCallum
School of Education, Social Work and Community Education
University of Dundee
Nethergate
Dundee
Telephone – 01382 381441 or s.z.mccallum@dundee.ac.uk

PAMIS on 01382 385154

Your local Carers Centre: Fife – 01592 642999, Angus – 01241 439157, Dundee – 01382 400222, Perth – 01738 567076

Avoiding SCAMS!

I caught up yesterday with Janice Russell from Trading Standards who spoke to us earlier in the year about trying to protect the people we care for from falling for Scams. Janice was telling me that she had been at a conference that changed the way she thought about why people fall for Scams and the psychological pressure that is put upon us by very cynically manipulative con artists. She pointed me towards an excellent website which was set up to bring the problem to the attention of the public and highlight how easily people can become sucked in to the Scam. The website is called http://www.thinkjessica.com/. If you care for someone and are worried that they have been the victim of a scam or think that perhaps you have been "suckered" you can contact Consumer Direct on Telephone: 08454 04 05 06 or Website: http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/. They can also give you advice on how to avoid Scams as well as things like "How to find a reputable tradesman" and "What to do when a company goes into Administration" etc.

Partners in Care Workshops

Our Partners in Care Workshops for Health and Social care workers have been underway during October and November and our feedback from those attending has been very positive. Without fail the part that the delegates say has been the most use to them has been the time they spend listening to carers talking about their own experiences as carers. We would not be able to run these workshops as effectively without the help of the carers who volunteer to take part so thank you very much for all your help this year to Nancy, Bill, Mike , Hugh, Cath, Dave and Grant.

We have more of these workshops coming up next year and will be looking for more carers to talk about their experiences - if you feel this is something that you could do and would like to take part please give us a call!

Kirkcaldy District Stroke Club

The Kirkcaldy and District Stroke club was set up October 1999. It is an independent club run by a small committee of members and volunteers. The club is affiliated to Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland. The club organises activities to reflect the wishes and interests of its members and also organise occasional outings. Membership is open to people who have had a stroke. The club aims to offer friendship and support in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Carers are also welcome to attend the club or carers can take the opportunity to have a short break. Volunteers are essential to the running of the club. Volunteers can help with club activities, fund-raising, seriving refreshments and chatting to club members. No special qualifications are required apart from lots of enthusiasm, a sense of humour and a genuine interest in people. Volunteer drivers are needed who are willing to use their own car to transport people to and from the centre are also needed. They would be delighted to hear from you if you would like to join their small and friendly team of volunteers. They meet fortnightly on Thurdays between 2pm and 4pm in the Templehall Community Centre in Beauly Place in Kirkcaldy. For further information please contact the Stroke Club on 01592 583363.