Highlights
Quick Links
Funding
Scotch Whisky Action Fund open for 2015 applications, deadline Tuesday 30 June 2015 
Grants of up to �2000 available - Women's Fund for Scotland, rolling deadline 
Training
Monitoring and Evaluation, 13 March, Glenrothes
March 2015
Greetings!

Welcome to our new look Health and Social Care e-bulletin.

 

As well as providing feature links down the left hand side of the screen, each article's title is now a live web link, meaning you can click on it for instant access to further information where it's available. We hope you find this useful.

 

Fife Voluntary Action (FVA) is delighted to welcome Sandy MacKenzie to the Health and Social Care (H&SC) Team. Sandy is only with us for a short time but will contribute greatly by helping us to better understand the complex policy landscape that lies within H&SC. This will allow us to better focus on where the priorities for the third sector lie and where we can have most impact.

 

FVA is also delighted to announce a Self-Directed Support Conference in partnership with Real Life Options. This is on Tuesday 19 May at the Rothes Halls, Glenrothes. Watch this space for further information and how to book your place!

 

The Health and Social Care Forum will next meet on Thursday 05 March 2015 at 10.00am. If you haven't done so already, please confirm your attendance to Christine Davison or call 08456 006 046.

 

Please let us know if there is anything you wish to share with colleagues in the next e-bulletin or if there is anything you feel should be included. Send your content and/or suggestions to [email protected] or call 08456 006 046.

 

Best wishes,

Christine Davison

Health and Social Care Forum

Thank you to those members of the Forum who attended our fantastic Joint Employability and Health and Social Care Forum on Wednesday 11 February. We welcomed more than 70 attendees over the day from the third, public and private sectors.

At our previous Forum on Thursday 22 January Kenny Murphy (Chair) consulted on the Integration Scheme on behalf of the Shadow Board. The timeline for the scheme is:

  • NHS Fife Board - Tuesday 24 February 2015

  • Fife Council's Executive Committee - Tuesday 03 March 2015

  • To be finalised by shadow Board - Thursday 19 March 2015

  • Submission to Scottish Government - Wednesday 01 April 2015

FVA has summarised and submitted the discussions from the Forum. These will be considered for the final version of the Integration Scheme to be approved.

 

Save the dates for the next two H&SC Forums!

Date - Thursday 05 March and Thursday 02 April 2015

Time - 10.00am to 12.00pm

Venue - Craig Mitchell House, Flemington Road, Glenrothes

 

Please let Christine Davison know if you are planning to attend.  

National News

Dr Catherine Calderwood has been named as the new chief medical officer for Scotland. Dr Calderwood has a special interest in maternal medicine, obstetric scanning and high-risk pregnancy. She has also held various high-profile national roles, including that of national clinical director for maternity and women's health in NHS England. As chief medical officer, she will be the top adviser to ministers on a wide range of issues surrounding the health of the country.

The Link Workers Programme

 

The Link Workers Programme is a Scottish Government funded programme that aims to explore how the primary care team can support people to live well in their community. It is being delivered as a partnership between the Health and Social Care Alliance (The ALLIANCE) and General Practitioners at the Deep End, and delivery partners include the Scottish Association for Mental Health (SAMH) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). The programme brings together the worlds of primary care and community development in a way that has never been done before. A new full-time specialist role, the Community Links Practitioner, is joining the existing primary care team.

The Alliance have produced a manifesto for the UK General Election in May 2015. The document outlines two substantial issues affecting disabled people and those with long-term conditions - Welfare and Employment. The document calls on political parties to sign up to measures which reduce the impact these issues are having on the most vulnerable in society.

Joint Strategic Commissioning

 

Joint Strategic Commissioning is about planning and delivering services and support for people in a new way. It includes identifying the needs of individuals and communities, enabling people to decide what will best address those needs and working together with agencies to put the right services and support in place. To read a definition of Joint Strategic Commissioning click here.
 
The Scottish Government has published new guidance to support clinical and care staff who are planning and providing care during the last days and hours of life. "Caring for people in the last days and hours of life" is based on four principles designed to ensure that patients and relatives are given the best support possible.

National Voices updates Person Centred Care 2020: Calls and contributions from health and social care charities

 

In "Person centred care 2020: Calls and contributions from health and social care charities", published in September 2014, National Voices members call on the next government to make person centred care the central ambition for health reform, and to provide consistent leadership, more funding and stability. They want to see government supporting local efforts which personalise and coordinate services, particularly for people with chronic conditions and disabilities, with public agencies, voluntary groups and local communities working together.

A new online interpreting service will be rolled out nationwide. This will allow deaf people across Scotland to use sign language to contact public sector services. The new Scottish Government-funded service "contactSCOTLAND" will mean deaf people can now speak to public services, such as their local council, doctor's surgery and the Scottish Government, without the need for someone to call on their behalf.

Free online training from Scottish Information Accessibility Forum (SAIF)

 

SAIF have two online training courses: Accessible Information Awareness and Hidden Accessibility. The purpose of these courses is to raise awareness of the importance of ensuring electronic information is accessible and some information on how to do this.
Regional News
 
The Care Inspectorate and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have for the first time conducted a joint inspection in three pilot areas of Scotland, of which Fife is one. The purpose of the joint inspection was to find out how well the health and social work services partnership (between Fife Council and NHS Fife) delivered good personal outcomes for older people and their carers. In the areas of good practice there are nine recommendations, of which seven are from the voluntary sector. Six are the Community Interventions Fund projects and the other is the Footcare Fife project.

  Fife has appointed new members of the Senior Management Team to oversee the transformation of joint adult community health and social care services as Fife creates one of the largest Health and Social Care Partnerships in Scotland. The new Divisional General Managers are:
  • Julie Paterson, currently Head of Adult Services with Fife Council;
  • David Heaney, currently Service Manager (Resources) with East Lothian Council
One post is still to be filled. These new positions will replace the existing roles of Heads of Service in Fife Council and General Managers in the Community Health Partnerships (CHPs).
 
Final data has been released from the 2011 Census, highlights include:
  • Almost 30% of households in Fife have someone with a long-term health problem or disability that limits their day-to-day activities, and of these households 25% are for those aged 75 and over
  • People in the youngest age group (0-15) with long-term health problems tend to have higher numbers of carers available than the oldest age group (75 and over)
  • For people in Fife with long-term health problems, physical and mental health conditions were the most prevalent in the 'White: Gypsy/Traveller' ethnic group, and deafness or partial hearing loss were highest for 'White: Irish'. 'White: Polish' had the lowest levels for almost all health related issues.

Fife results from the 2013 Scottish Household Survey are now available. The Scottish Household Survey provides an insight into the composition, characteristics and behaviours of households across Scotland. Highlights include:
  •  The majority of Fife households include adults and older people, with families accounting for around one in four households
  • Fifers have a strong sense of belonging to their local community, and a greater involvement with other people in their neighbourhood than Scotland as a whole
  • Three out of four adults have very good or good health, compared to two out of three in Fife's most deprived areas
  • One in three households include someone with a longstanding illness or disability, with a higher rate for social rented, older and low income households
  • One in ten households provide regular unpaid help or care to others
  • One in four adults provide unpaid help to organisations or groups

In one of the first joint sessions of its kind, Fife's joint 'Way Forward' workshop gave over 60 carer, charity group, public and patient representatives an opportunity to come together to discuss, describe and start to shape the future of public engagement in Fife.

The Scottish Government has confirmed NHS Fife is to receive an extra �3.6m of funding in 2015/16. The money is part of the additional �65m for health boards announced by Health Secretary Shona Robison last week.
 
"Information and Statistics on Equality Groups in Fife 2015" has been developed to help service providers, groups and anyone interested in equality issues to be better informed about equality groups in Fife. In particular the information will help statutory organisations to better plan and deliver services which meet the needs of the community.

The current authorisation for driving Fife Council minibuses as part of the Community Use scheme expires on the Tuesday 31 March 2015. This affects individuals who drive a Fife Council minibus for a voluntary organisation or as part of their work for Community Learning and Development.
Fife Council have written to all those who are registered on the scheme with details on how to renew their authorisation. Click the title link to find out more or to contact Claire Moyles or Lynn Leitch.


The fund lessens the effect of the bedroom tax by paying the gap between tenants' housing benefit and their rent. The deadline for applications is Tuesday 31 March 2015.
Local News

In our last bulletin we reported that local Kirkcaldy campaigner Gordon Aikman called for specialist Motor Neurone Disease nurses to be funded through the NHS rather than through charities and donations. In January he welcomed an NHS funding package to double the number of specialist Motor Neurone Disease nurses in Scotland. The move was announced by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon last week after she met Gordon at the end of last year.

Fife Women's Aid has brought its offices together in Glenrothes, but the service still has almost 40 refuges across the Kingdom to help women and children affected by domestic abuse. The former local offices of Fife's Women's Aid have now closed, with all its services being brought together under one roof in Glenrothes. To read more about their office move click the title link or to find out more on becoming a trustee for Fife Women's Aid click here.
Spotlight

Fife Voluntary Action is the first voluntary sector organisation in Fife to be accredited as a Living Wage employer. The Living Wage commitment means that all employees, regardless of whether they are permanent staff or third-party contractors and suppliers, receive a minimum hourly wage of �7.85 - significantly higher than the national minimum wage of �6.50. There are now six Living Wage accredited employers in Fife; five are private sector employers and Fife Voluntary Action is the first voluntary, or 'third sector' addition to the list.

Meeting, activity and therapy rooms for hire - The Paxton Centre, Homelands Trust - Fife

 

The Paxton Centre is a welcoming environment where a variety of therapies and day activities are on offer. It is also a hub for information and a place to relax and enjoy a cuppa and a chat. Comfortable accessible rooms can also be hired for meetings, self-management classes, events and/or training. Prices start at �10 per hour and packages can be discussed for booking the whole centre. If you are interested in hiring a room please contact David Paton on 01333 329039 or e-mail [email protected] 

Fife Voluntary Action | 08456 006 046 |
[email protected]
| www.fifevoluntaryaction.org.uk
Craig Mitchell House
Flemington Road
Glenrothes, KY7 5QF