November 2015 e-bulletin

Welcome to the Healthwatch Bristol e-bulletin. The content is a mixture of local,

regional information regarding health, wellbeing and social care services.
If you have any events or information that you would like us to include in our
e-bulletin please contact us at healthwatchbristol@thecareforum.org.uk
We need information for the next edition by 19 November.
If you have a group, event or organisation relating to health and wellbeing that you
would like to be listed for free please contact Well Aware T: 0808 808 5252
or E: infoservices@thecareforum.org.uk

Contents
Local Events
Local Information
Healthwatch Update
Training

Local Events
Local Events
Improving Inclusion for People with
Dementia in Community Gardens
Tuesday 10 November 1-4pm (lunch
provided at 1pm), Federation of City
Farms and Community Gardens,
Hereford St, Bristol, BS3 4NA
Improving Inclusion for People with
Dementia in Community Gardens
is a best practice sharing event for
community gardens and professionals
working with people with dementia. A
discussion about how we overcome
barriers to the inclusion of people with
dementia in community gardens will take
place after the following three talks:
The mental and physical health
benefits of community gardening
for people with dementia Maria
Devereaux, Growing Health Project
Lead, Sustain
Bristol Dementia Inclusion Programme
Jan Connett, Commissioning Officer
Bristol Public Health
What weve learnt, taking part in the
Growing Support in the Community
Project Jan Perry, Allotment
Coordinator, Knowle West Health
Association.
Booking is essential.
E: dalec@growingsupport.co.uk
T: 07581 281 578
The Green House Celebration of the
Years Achievements
Monday 16 November, 3-5pm, Open
Space Meeting area, West One, St
Georges Road, Bristol, BS1 5BE (a new
event space below Triodos Bank behind
City Hall)
The Green House invites you to
celebrate their years achievements and
take the opportunity to share in how they
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make a difference in the lives of those who

have experienced sexual abuse.
RSVP to Beckie Johnson.
E: info@the-green-house.org.uk
T: 0117 935 1707
Avon & Bristol Law Centre Annual General
Meeting (AGM)
Tuesday 17 November 6-8pm, Hamilton
House, 80 Stokes Croft, Bristol
The theme of the AGM will be Do human
rights really matter?
W: www.ablc.org.uk
E: mail@ablc.org.uk
T: 0117 924 8662
Living Well With and Beyond Cancer
Tuesday 17 November 2015
From passive to proactive: the pathway
to health activation is Penny Brohns sixth
national conference. The conference will
include presentations from Dr Alf Collins, GP
and Clinical Associate in Person Centred
Healthcare, The Health Foundation, and
Dr Catherine Zollman, Lead Doctor, Penny
Brohn Cancer Care and will conclude with
a presentation from a person who has
experienced the Living Well Course delivered
by Penny Brohn. For details of the venue and
more information, contact Penny Brohn.
E: livingwell@pennybrohn.org
Carers Rights Day
Friday 20 November 10am-3.30pm, Main
Conference Room, The Vassall Centre, Gill
Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 2QQ
The South Gloucestershire and Bristol Carers
Support Centre (CSC) is holding an all-day
event for carers from across Bristol and South
Glos to celebrate Carers Rights Day and
its theme this year of the right information
at the right time. The day will take the form
of a presentation about Lasting Powers of
Attorney and Wills and Trusts followed by

Local Information
individual advice sessions, one-to-one
massage, therapy and pedicure/manicure
sessions throughout the day, with a
Question Time panel attended by senior
managers from both South Gloucestershire
and Bristol Local Authorities and Clinical
Commissioning Groups in the afternoon.
The CSC invites organisations to contact
them to request space for a stand at the
event. From conversations with carers,
the CSC has learnt that a drop-in event to
gather information and advice exactly suits
most carers, and so they have developed
this theme this year and hope to have a
large number of people attending. Contact
Dennis Agodzo for more information.
T: 0117 9589902
E: DennisA@carerssupportcentre.org.uk

Support for disabled people and

vulnerable older people in cold homes
across Bristol
The Home Energy Team is helping disabled
or vulnerable older people who are living
in cold, damp and mouldy homes and/or
struggling to pay fuel bills stay warm and
well at home. With funding from the Big
Lottery, the Home Energy Team can help
residents across Bristol understand their
energy use, better control their heating,
switch suppliers and deal with fuel debt.
Energy saving home improvements will also
be carried out in homes where possible
for example cavity wall or loft insulation,
replacing old and inefficient boilers and
draught-proofing. T: 0800 082 2234
E: home.energy@cse.org.uk

The Wall of Silence contributions to

event needed
The Southmead Project is setting up and
running an exhibition that will highlight the
Older peoples experiences of falls
extent of child abuse and the awful impact
questionnaire
The Care Forum is asking for older peoples it has on lives. Whilst raising awareness
of the problems encountered by survivors
experiences about having a fall and their
and victims, the event will also give people
experience of using the health, social
a voice. Silence will be requested during
and community support services that are
involved in helping recover from and prevent the staging of the exhibition to represent
the covert, secretive, unspoken world of
future falls. Examples of support that could
child abuse. The exhibition will also present
be received include: visiting the GP, having
the viewer with the question of what they
a home assessment for falls risk or referral
themselves might be able to do in order
to an exercise group. Initially participants
to help charities like the Southmead
can fill out a short questionnaire, either
online, on paper or over the phone. Anyone Project. The event will take place from
4-9 January at The Colston Hall, Bristol.
who wants to be more involved can also
take part in an interview for a more in-depth A team of people has been assembled to
ensure the success of the event and now
exploration of their experiences. If you
would like to take part or if you know others financial support is urgently being sought
to help meet venue costs, materials and
who may be interested in sharing their
construction costs of the display. If you feel
experiences, please contact Simon Bailey.
there is a way you could contribute, contact
E: simonbailey@thecareforum.org.uk
Mike Pierce.
T: 01179 589313
T: 07765129903
E: mikepeirce45@yahoo.co.uk

Local Information

Local Information
Second Step Recovery Education
Thursdays starting on 5 November, The
Coach House, 2 Upper York Street, Bristol
Discovering Good Mental Health is a
six week course which aims to support
participants to explore ways to manage
their mental health. The course will cover
recovery tools, self-management and goal
setting, wellness recovery action plans,
five ways to wellbeing, life mapping and
good communication skills. For more
information and to apply for a place,
contact Kate Thomas or Nina Simmonds.
W: www.second-step.co.uk
T: 0117 9096630
The Princes Trust Get Into
Construction course in partnership
with N-Gaged
Monday 9 November and Friday 20
November Friday 4 December 2015
Get into Construction is a free practical
training programme for young people
aged 16 to 25 who are unemployed but
work-ready and interested in a career in
construction. Interested young people
will be invited to attend an information
session on Monday 9 November at The
Princes Trust office, if they are Princes
Trust eligible. Places will be given to
those young people who can demonstrate
readiness for the programme and a
commitment to work with the Trust
and develop their skills towards further
education, employment or training. It is
essential that they attend the information
session. To refer a young person, contact
Rhian Evans.
E: enquiries.bristol@princes-trust.org.
uk
T: 07436 582 249

Mental Health and Community Learning

new courses available
The Learning Communities Team and Adult
Learning Service provides courses that are
free for learners experiencing mental health
issues. Three new courses available this
month are Mindfulness workshops, Italian
Cookery and Mind and Body movement.
Contact Jenny Wilkes for more information.
T: 0117 903 9750
E: jenny.wilkes@bristol.gov.uk
Bristol Disability Equality Forum (BDEF)
forms new Independent Living Action
Group (ILAF)
BDEF has recently set up an ILAG to
discuss and share information as well as
campaign for the right to Independent
Living. BDEF are looking for new members.
The Forum is free to join for anyone who
identifies as a Disabled adult, living working
or studying in Bristol. BDEF meets every two
months at accessible venues in Bristol.
E: campaigns.bristoldef@gmail.com
T: 0117 914 0528
W: www.bristoldef.org.uk
Peer volunteering with St Mungos
Bristol Mental Health Floating Support Peer
Advice Link Team is recruiting volunteers
who have past experience of mental
health or addiction issues which left them
dependent on tenancy services to use
their experiences to support others. The
volunteers will help clients achieve goals
such as managing money, building social
networks and engaging in meaningful
activity. Contact Liz Bryant for more
information.
T: 07736881740
E: volunteerservices@mungosbroadway.
org.uk

Macmillan Helping Overcome Problems

Effectively (HOPE) course
Participants are being recruited to a new
cancer self-management course which will
be running in Bristol. The Macmillan HOPE
(Helping Overcome Problems Effectively)
course will be co-delivered by Sam Cole,
Clinical Psychologist, University Hospitals
Bristol, and Helen Shallcross, Macmillan
Occupational Therapy Case Manager,
Bristol Community Health. HOPE is a
group programme consisting of six weekly
sessions each following a similar pattern.
There is a mix of psychoeducation, skills
practice, and setting and reviewing selfmanagement goals. The HOPE programme
encourages positive psychological and
behavioural change by focusing on
building on participants existing strengths
and resiliencies. For more information
contact Catherine Neck, Macmillan Cancer
Rehabilitation/ Recovery Package Project
Lead. T: 07730 286356
E: Catherine.neck@nbt.nhs.uk

Healthwatch Bristol
Update
Feedback Feed Forward
Feedback Feed Forward is the new name
for Healthwatch quarterly reporting. This
positive approach has been designed to
refine how we encourage and support
providers to respond to, and act upon,
valuable feedback from patients and
the public. Healthwatch is about using
the feedback of local people to make a
difference to local services and this
approach makes it easier for you to see
how we are doing this. You will begin to see
the difference when you next look through
one of our quarterly reports, all of which
can be found on our Healthwatch websites.
W: www.healthwatchbristol.co.uk

GP Practice develops Easy Read forms

in response to Healthwatch feedback
In response to feedback shared with
Healthwatch Bristol by a member of the
public who has Learning Disabilities,
Birchwood Medical Practice has developed
Easy Read forms. Work is now underway
to spread the learning and the Easy Read
forms across all GP Practices in Bristol, the
South West and the whole of England!
W: http://goo.gl/Ay62nu
Young Healthwatch volunteers are the
stars of re-commissioning process
Young Healthwatch volunteers have
supported Bristol Clinical Commissioning
Group to develop the consultation website
for the re-commissioning of Childrens
Community Health Services in Bristol,
South Gloucestershire and North Somerset.
Their involvement has included designing
and providing the voices for an animation
promoting the consultation, helping develop
the website and arranging assemblies in
their schools to encourage other children
and young people to comment on the
consultation. Share your feedback on the
Your Healthy Future consultation website.
W: www.yourhealthyfuture.org
Healthwatch event provides forum for
collaboration
The Healthwatch Bristol Open Advisory
Group on 30 September brought together
Healthy Living Pharmacies, One Care
Consortium, Dementia Wellbeing
Partnership and many more groups to
enable collaborative working and the joining
up of different initiatives taking place in
Bristol. The notes from the meeting will
be available on the Healthwatch Bristol
website over the next month.

The Wellbeing Show on BCFM

Healthwatch Bristol host the Wellbeing
Show on community radio station, BCFM,
on the second Tuesday of each month.
In October, the shows focus was young
people and Healthwatch welcomed guests
from Off the Record, Barnardos, Bristol
Clinical Commissioning Group and the
Children in Care Council (facilitated by
Reconstruct). Listen back to the show
online using the link below. On Tuesday
10 November 3-4pm, Healthwatch Bristol
will host the show with guests from Bristol
Community Health.
W: http://bcfmradio.com/wellbeing
Healthwatch Bristol supports the
Wheelchair Alliance Charter
The Wheelchair Alliance Charter was
launched by Baroness Tanni Grey
Thompson at Speakers House in the
Houses of Parliament. Healthwatch Bristol
has pledged our commitment and is
proud to support the development of an
NHS wheelchair service that can deliver
a fair and effective service for all people
who need it and to the ten key principles
outlined in the charter.
W: www.rightwheelchair.org.uk
Healthwatch Bristol return to
Southmead Hospital, 3-5 November
As a follow up to last years Healthwatch
report on Southmead Hospital,
Healthwatch Bristol and South
Gloucestershire will be hosting a stand
with interactive activities in the Brunel
Building of Southmead Hospital. Please
come and visit the stand or contact us with
your feedback about services delivered by
North Bristol NHS Trust.
W: http://goo.gl/Cx9c3t

Tell Us Your Story: carers, the Care Act and

the Children and Families Act
Healthwatch Bristols focus topic for October,
November and December 2015 is carers,
the Care Act and the Children and Families
Act. The aims of the changes to the acts are:
making care and support clearer and fairer;
promoting peoples wellbeing; enabling people
to prevent and delay the need for care and
support; support carers to maintain their caring
role, and to put people in control. It also gives
carers the same rights as those they care for.
Healthwatch wants to hear about your
experience of health and social care services.
As carers we want to hear about the support
you receive and issues you face, as well as the
experiences you have looking after the person/
people you care for.
If you are part of a group or work with a group
who would like to get involved and share their
experiences get in touch and Healthwatch
Bristol can come along to talk with you.
For more information on the Care Act and the
Children and Families Act visit:
W: http://bit.ly/1I3ReJ0
W: http://bit.ly/10l9oTk
Contact Healthwatch Bristol
T: 0117 2690400
E: info@healthwatchbristol.co.uk
W: www.healthwatchbristol.co.uk
Healthwatch Bristol, The Care Forum, The
Vassall Centre, Gill Ave,
Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ
Text: text bris + your story to 07860 021 603
Twitter: @HWBristol
Facebook: bristolhealthwatch

Training
Training

E-learning packages on welfare benefits

Bristol City Councils Welfare Rights and
Money Advice Service has just launched
Christians Against Poverty (CAP) Money
three new e-learning packages on welfare
Course
benefits. They are free to use and would
Starts on Monday 16 November (for three
be of interest to anyone who is affected by
weeks) 7.45-10pm, Ebenezer Church
changes to welfare benefits or works with
Building, 286 Filton Avenue, Horfield.
people who are affected. The three courses
Some estimates suggest British households
are:
spend as much as 800 on Christmas
Introduction to Welfare Benefits
yet around half of purchases are made
Introduction to Personal Independence
on credit, putting them at risk should their
Payment
circumstances change in the New Year. CAP
Preparing for Universal Credit
Money is a money management course that
Each course will take between one and
teaches people budgeting skills and a cashtwo hours to complete, but can be done
based system that really works. This course
in sections. The courses are all available
will help participants to get more in control of
on the Bristol City Council Learning Pool
their finances, so they can save and prevent
website.
debt. The CAP Money Course has been
W: http://goo.gl/hIfp5N
found to be useful for newly retired people,
soon-to-be students, mums dealing with
Peer support training course
mounting bills, families saving for a wedding
Do you have lived experience of mental
and everyone in between.
health difficulties and recovery?
W: http://tinyurl.com/o58qbwk
Could you use this to inspire hope and assist
T: 0117 9791399
others? The Second Step Peer Support
Training course offers:
Free cancer awareness event for health
What peer support is and how it helps
professionals
How to use your lived experience in a
Tuesday 1 December, Mercure Bristol
positive way
Holland House Hotel and Spa, Redcliffe Hill,
New skills including communication, team
Bristol, BS1 6SQ
work and self management
World Cancer Research Fund UK is holding
How to apply for paid and unpaid peer
a free event for health professionals in
support roles
Bristol to raise awareness of the link
This is a 30 hour course run over 6 8
between diet, physical activity, body weight
sessions.
and cancer risk. The conference includes
Bristol 2015: (Thursdays & Fridays) 26 & 27
speakers from the charity as well as other
November, 3, 4, 10 & 11 December.
experts in the field. This free one-day event
Times: 10:00am-4:30pm.
is for anyone working to improve health
For further information and to apply:
and wellbeing in Bristol and the South West
Please visit: www.second-step.co.uk or
region.
contact Debbie Lloyd on
For more information and to book a place:
T: 01179 096 630
W: http://tinyurl.com/pxw5ojx
E: learning@second-step.co.uk
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Contact Us...
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Now you can text us your issues - is the health or social care service that you
have received good or bad?
Text bris followed by your message to: 07860 021 603
Write to us at: Healthwatch Bristol, The Care Forum, The Vassall Centre
Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ.
T: 0117 965 4444 Fax 0117 965 0200
E: info@healthwatchbristol.co.uk
Web: www.healthwatchbristol.co.uk
TCF: www.thecareforum.org
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but cannot accept responsibility for personal security, any loss or damage which may
occur from use of the information. The Care Forum does not provide quality control
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construed as a recommendation of that organisations products and / or services. If you
find anything that causes concern, E: info@thecareforum.org.uk or T: 0117 965 4444 or
write to The Care Forum, The Vassall Centre, Gill Avenue, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 2QQ.
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