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Don’t be an April Fool; be a Local Hero!

Localgiving’s annual Local Hero campaign launches on 1st April and runs until 30th April 2018.

Each year, Local Hero highlights the incredible ideas and feats of local charity fundraisers.

Throughout April, all participants will be ranked on the Local Hero leaderboard according to the number of unique online donors who sponsor their page. At the end of the campaign the winning fundraiser will be awarded a £1,000 donation to their cause. Many more prizes will be announced soon.

Whether you’re a runner, a painter or an abstainer this is an amazing chance to help a local charity or community group near you raise their profile and raise some extra funding. All you have to do is set up a fundraising page and persuade as many people as possible to donate between the 1st and 30th of April.

Click Here for Key facts, Leaderboard info, how to Take part and FAQs

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Muslim Rose Welfare Fundraising Event

You are cordially invited to attend the Muslim Rose Welfare Fundraising Event on Saturday 17th March 2018. Please click here for event and booking details.

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General Data Protection Regulation

In the past two weeks Mark Hardman from Computer Bright Ltd ran a  training session on the new regulations coming out in May this year.

The session was well attended and invoked a lot of discussion and questions about what needs to be done. Certainly there will be is a step change from the existing Data Protection Act and impacts on all organisations whatever size and or structure. It also empowers the Government i.e. the Information Commissioner’s Office to be able to carry out audits of organisations at any time.

So what did it cover? In short this is what was said:-

  • The new regulation will come in to  force on 25th May 2018
  • There will be increased powers of audit by the Information Commissioners Office (and they are recruiting more staff!)
  • The regulation seeks to further protect peoples information. That covers information that is directly a record of personal detail (e.g. name and telephone number) and information that is kept indirectly (e.g. within an email or on a list)
  • It requires organisations to state the purposes for holding information and the purposes need to be specific and explicit
  • Consent from the individual needs to be obtained for each purpose.

Individuals will have the:-

  • Right to access their information
  • Right to be forgotten
  • Right to information about the use of data
  • Right to have information corrected or rectified.

Feedback from the first session has been excellent and Mark or his Company may be able to deliver some further sessions. So if you are interested then please let us know at Sobus: nigel.jacques@sobus.org.uk ”

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H&F ArtsFest 2018

Plans are moving apace and we have lots of opportunities coming up for registered Arts Partners to present and promote their work during the 5th HF ArtsFest 2-10th June 2018!

Registration is Free and you can complete and submit the registration form online! It can be found on our website www.hf-artsfest.com in the drop-down Section called ‘Arts Partners’. Over the next few weeks, we will contact you to confirm the final details for the programme which will be released in April. Remember the deadline for registration is 31st March 2018.

New and previous Arts Partners are all welcome to register for the HF ArtsFest. Here’s a list to guide you:

  • venues offering to host arts events (theatres, galleries, libraries, shopping centres/mall, community halls, church halls, parks, cinemas, music venues, pubs, local businesses etc)
  • professional and emerging artists/companies living or working in the Borough
  • residents of all age ranges an abilities belonging to community groups using arts’ activities regularly (visual art, performing arts, music, choral, dance, drama, circus, poetry, writing, literature, craft, etc)
  • schools and youth groups who are regularly engaged in arts activities
  • residents with a desire to promote the arts in the Borough
  • local businesses who wish to sponsor an arts event

If you have any questions, need any information or assistance, please email us with your contact details and we will respond asap.

Click Here to read the Press Release

With many thanks for joining the HF ArtsFest and helping to promote Hammersmith & Fulham as the best Borough for the Arts in London!

HF ArtsFest Team
email: info@hf-artsfest.com
web: www.hf-artsfest.com

Registered Charity No: 1162116
c/o Riverside Studios, 65 Aspenlea Rd, Hammersmith W6 8LH

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Hammersmith & Fulham Accountable Care/ Integrated Care Partnerships Workshops

Sobus are running a program of three sessions to develop a shared approach to how the voluntary and community sector in H&F can be better integrated into Accountable Care Partnership. These sessions are essential for any CEO or senior manager to attend if you work with services users with health and wellbeing support needs and want to ensure your service is integrated into local care pathways and commissioned.

Places are limited and to book your place click here

Coffee and tea will be available from 9.30am, the session will run from 10am to 3pm and lunch will be provided.

Session 1 outline – 19th February

  • What accountable care partnerships are
  • What does it mean for the VCS in H&F in terms of risk and opportunities
  • How to develop a model for the VCS in H&F
  • Next steps

Session 2 outline – 12th March

  • Vision and values
  • Learning from other models that have worked and those that have not
  • Benefits and risks for organisations, service users and commissioners
  • Next steps

Session 3 outline – 19th March

  • Developing a model for H&F
  • Next steps

Places are limited and to book your place click here

The above sessions are complimented by a series of one day training sessions for frontline workers across voluntary and community sector providers, healthcare providers, social care providers and local authorities in Hammersmith and Fulham throughout March.We would also recommend attendance of these sessions which will provide an opportunity to meet health care and other social care professionals.

These workshops are:

  • Learn more about integrated working and what this means for yourselves, your teams and our patients
  • Explore what integrated working looks like at Hammersmith and Fulham and how we can achieve this
  • Build relationships across organisational boundaries and decide how you will work together

Please forward to your colleagues To sign up, please register your details online here and answer a short pre-course questionnaire.

If you have any queries  on any of the above please contact Shad Haibatan at shad.haibatan@sobus.org.uk or tel: 020 7952 1230

 

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Alzheimer’s Society Service – Side by Side

The Alzheimer’s Society is launching a new service in Hammersmith and Fulham for people with Dementia called Side By Side. Side By Side seeks to reduce the loneliness and isolation that people with Dementia can often face as a result of their diagnosis with the help of volunteers who ‘befriend’ a person with Dementia and enable them to actively participate in their local community.

Side by Side is an Alzheimer’s Society service which helps people with dementia to keep doing the things they love with the support of a volunteer.

Our free one-to-one support makes it easier for people with dementia, who might sometimes feel isolated or find it difficult to leave their homes, remain active and feel part of their local community.

By doing things like going for a walk, to a football match, or joining a local class together, our volunteers can support people with dementia to take up hobbies and get out and about. Or, they might simply visit them at home for a cup of tea and a chat. What they do together is entirely based on what the person with dementia wants.

How does Side by Side work?

  • Side by Side connects people living with dementia with local volunteers who provide free one-to-one support, in person, or over the phone.
  • What they do together is based on what the person with dementia wants. Volunteers can help people access local groups, such as art or fitness classes. Or they might simply visit them at home for a cup of tea. Volunteers can provide support in the day time, evenings and over the weekend.

Why is Side by Side important?

Our research shows that 40% of people with dementia in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have felt lonely recently. A third of people with dementia in the UK live on their own. Side by Side offers people with dementia opportunities to interact socially and take part in activities. This helps maintain a good quality of life for them and gives carers time for themselves.

Statistics:

  • A third of people with dementia lose friends following a diagnosis and nearly two-thirds (62%) of people with dementia who live on their own feel lonely (Dementia 2013: The hidden voice of loneliness.)
  • Our research (Dementia 2014) shows that 40% of people with dementia in England, Northern Ireland and Wales have felt lonely recently. This is often caused by anxiety and loss of confidence. It can lead to depression, poor health and speed up the progress of dementia.
  • As dementia progresses, relating to the world is more difficult without stimulation. Many people with the condition feel trapped in their own homes, with almost one in 10 only leaving the house once a month (Dementia 2014).

Side by Side will:

  • Help us to reach more people with dementia who live alone.
  • Help reduce loneliness and social isolation amongst people with dementia.
  • Increase the number of people who volunteer for Alzheimer’s Society, providing a network of support for people with dementia.

Side by Side will also:

  • Encourage and support people with dementia to keep up their hobbies and interests, or to take up new ones and get out and about.
  • Establish a free service for people affected by dementia across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
  • Make it easier for people with dementia to feel part of their community and access places like their local library, park, café or community centre.

For more information please contact:

Danny Branch (Side By Side Co-ordinator)

Tel: 0208 5630001

Or email: sidebysidehammersmith&fulham@alzheimers.org.uk

 

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NHS Cervical Screening Programme – Important Information for Local Residents

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme saves an estimated 5,000 lives every year in the UK and provides the best protection against cervical cancer. However, uptake of this life-saving test is at a 19 year low and incidence of cervical cancer is worryingly high with nine women diagnosed with the disease every day in the UK.  The National Target for the uptake of cervical screening is 80%. In Hammersmith and Fulham CCG performance is currently 58%.

Hammersmith & Fulham GP Federation together with the Royal Marsden Vanguard are launching a campaign to raise more awareness of this issue and to take practical steps to increase uptake.

Who is eligible for a smear test

  • Women aged 25–49 invited every 3 years
  • Women aged 50–64 invited every 5 years

Your doctor usually sends a letter inviting you for a smear test. If they don’t, ask them or make an appointment with the nurse in GPs (Book a date when you are not having your period).

A smear test  is nothing to be embarrassed about, the staff have undertake many of this relatively painless procedure and nothing will phase them.

This simple little test could save you or someone you love life – encourage them to go

The link below provides some useful information that might be of help

https://www.jostrust.org.uk

For further information contact – carolinedurack@nhs.net

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Cervical Screening Programme – Important News!

The NHS Cervical Screening Programme saves an estimated 5,000 lives every year in the UK and provides the best protection against cervical cancer. However uptake of this life-saving test is at a 19 year low and incidence of cervical cancer is worryingly high with nine women diagnosed with the disease every day in the UK.  The National Target for the uptake of cervical screening is 80%. In Hammersmith and Fulham CCG performance is currently 58%.

The target audience -In England, Northern Ireland and Wales and Scotland;

  • Women aged 25–49 invited every 3 years
  • Women aged 50–64 invited every 5 years

A report by Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust was published in January of this year, which audited activities undertaken by local authorities and clinical commissioning groups, to increase cervical screening coverage in England. It made some key findings as follows:

  • Almost half (44%) of local authorities have not undertaken any activities to increase screening attendance in the last two years
  • Almost two thirds (60%) of CCGs have not undertaken any activities to increase screening attendance in the last two years
  • Of the local authorities and CCGs who reported undertaking no activity, many simply stated it is not their responsibility to do so
  • There are many local authority public health teams and CCGs working hard to increase screening coverage amongst their populations. However, inconsistency in activity is leading to a potential postcode lottery where lack of awareness could be putting lives at risk
  • Despite the need to improve screening accessibility, provision through sexual health services has dramatically fallen in some areas resulting in reduced access to potentially life-saving cervical screening.

Hammersmith & Fulham GP Federation together with the Royal Marsden Vanguard are launching a campaign to raise more awareness of this issue and to take practical steps to increase uptake. Could we ask that you share this information within your organisations and encourage women to go to their local GP and ask for a smear test. It

The link below is for the Jo’s Trust Website that provides useful information for professional and public audience

https://www.jostrust.org.uk

For further information contact – carolinedurack@nhs.net

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Code Consultation: Fundraising Platforms, Complaints Handling & TPS Assured

The Fundraising Regulator (FR) has launched a three-part consultation on the Code of Fundraising Practice that aims to improve standards in relation to online fundraising platforms, complaints handling and the TPS Assured Certification. This consultation has two separate timescales.

The first two parts (A and B) invite feedback on specific issues raised by the sector in relation to complaints handling and the TPS Assured Certification. The deadline for response on these is 28th February 2018.

Part C proposes to introduce a new section to the Code for online fundraising platforms and aims to ensure that these platforms provide adequate and clear good practice guidance to individuals setting up a fundraising page on their sites.

It also aims to ensure relevant platforms follow the legal requirements set out within the recently introduced Payment Services Regulation 2017. The deadline for response on fundraising platforms is 14th March 2018.

These changes come as a result of the engagement had between the Fundraising Regulator and many of the fundraising platforms, and with the Financial Conduct Authority, the statutory regulator for the Payment Services Directive.

All have recognised the need for regulation following a sharp rise in the use of fundraising platforms over the past few years by members of the public wanting to raise money for causes they care about.

The consultation document can be found here. Please send your response to consultations@fundraisingregulator.org.uk

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The Care Quality Commission: Consultation 3, Independent healthcare

Tell us your views on our proposals – we want to hear from anyone with an interest.

Today, we publish our plans to evolve regulation of independent healthcare services in England.

The proposals in this consultation document represent the evolution of our approach, rather than introducing new methods. It builds on our knowledge of independent healthcare services and our specialist expertise. It will enable a more targeted, responsive and collaborative approach, in line with our strategy.

CQC has been given the power to award ratings to some of these services for the first time. This is important for people who use services, as it will provide more transparency about the quality and safety of services provided by the independent healthcare sector.

Independent healthcare services include:

  • Community health services
  • Diagnostic imaging, dialysis services, and refractive eye surgery, termination of pregnancy services (laser eye surgery)
  • Hospices
  • Acute hospitals
  • Ambulances
  • Doctors and clinics
  • Mental health care
  • Substance misuse services
  • Online/digital services

We believe that we should take a consistent approach and regulate all services as far as possible in the same way, irrespective of the type of organisation they are or how they are funded.

We would like your views on our proposals to:

  • Rate independent healthcare services using our new powers.
  • Evolve our approach to regulating independent healthcare over time to be more focused, targeted and intelligence driven in line with our strategy.

Click here for further information and how to respond

If you have any questions about this consultation, please email us at nextphase@cqc.org.uk

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