COWALHEALTH & WELLBEING NETWORK

27th January 2015

MINUTES

Present: Eileen Lea, Fiona Duncan, Margaret Stevenson, Donna MacLean,

Angela Coll, Alison Hardman, Sue Clarke, Heather Whyte, Audrey Forrest, Michaela Goan, Sharon Hendry, Duncan MacLeod, Siobhan Bordan, Susan McFadyen

Apologies:Laura Stephenson, Angela Wilson, Arthur Oliver,Muriel Robertson,

Fiona McRoberts

Discussion and Agreed Actions

1 / APOLOGIES/INTODUCTIONS
Apologies were noted and those present introduced themselves. / Action
2 / Summary of funding allocated 2014/15
Funding allocated was as follows:
Interloch Transport / Passenger Assistance Please / £1,706.00
Cowal Community Care Forum / Fostering Inclusive Communications and Engagement / £2,000.00
Dunoon Grammar School / The Outdoor Programme / £2,000.00
Argyll Nordic Walkers / Argyll Nordic Walkers / £1,996.16
The Walking Theatre Company / Get Out and Walk About / £1,530.00
Dunoon Link Club / SING / £1,000.00
Long Term Conditions Support Group / Pathways / £500.00
Kirn Gala Committee / Kirn Gala / £687.84
Ardentinny Village Hall Subgroup / Ardentinny Nature and Discovery Trail / £1,000.00
TOTAL / £12,420.00
We hope to get a similar amount of funding next year although this may be slightly reduced. Details should be available by the May meeting.
3 / Update on the Keep Well Project – Alison Hardman
Keep Well checks are currently being carried out by two health care assistants and Roy in Dunoon. This will now finish in January instead of end of March as previously planned due to capacity problems in the team. Keep Well has been under review. Looking at whether a community development approach may be better. Hoping to get a small budget from April 2015 – confirmation of this should be April/May 2015. May look for partnership working for additional funding. Plan is to engage with people at events. Full health checks take about 40 minutes and quicker ones can be done at events if more appropriate. Will try to reach out to minority groups and looking at working outside the original 40-64 age range.
4 / Telecare and Telehealth – Donna Forbes
Donna explained how funding was received from RCOP for raising awareness of and promoting the use of telehealth and telecare equipment. Telehealth is a way for people to monitor their own long term health conditions (e.g. COPD or chronic heart disease) at home. You use a tablet to answer a series of questions about your health every day. The readings are then sent to a nominated health professional – usually at your GP surgery. There is also the potential to use the tablets for video calling in the future.
A bid is being submitted to the Scottish Government for a share of the Technology Enabled Care Fund in order to provide more staff and try to develop different ways of working. If successful, funding would be received April 2015.
Many different devices can be linked to the telecare unit e.g. smoke detectors, heat sensors, flood sensors and devices to remind you to take your medication. The cost is £5 per week for clients including all equipment.
The “Just Checking” system is a monitoring system made up of movement sensors and door sensors.
Those in hospital waiting to be discharged are at the top of the list for referral. Referrals are made via the duty social worker at local social work offices. Clients should be contacted within 14 days to arrange assessment and installation is usually within 7 days of assessment.
Donna provided interesting handouts which can be obtained from
In Cowal the telecare service is provided by Argyll and Bute Council and the local contact is Heather Steele, 01700 501300/07876 355657, , Adult Care – Telecare, Cowal Community Hospital.
5 / Research for the Mental Health Foundation – Michaela Goan
VOX (Voices of Experience) aims to “develop a national organisation of, for and by people who have experienced mental health problems, which will drive policy and practice, facilitate partnership working and strengthen the voice of people who have had mental health problems.”
Michaela is working on a project for VOX investigating people’s experiences of living in remote and rural areas (Dunoon, Islay, Bute, Campbeltown) and living with mental health issues. The project will run until April 2015 and then a report will be produced discussing experiences and what people would like to see improved. She is attending existing groups and events e.g. Dunoon Link Club open day and can also offer a one to one chat. There is an online survey and people can also email their experiences in the form of a story. Planned projects are a photograph project – getting people to capture their experiences and a project with clay which will look something like a patchwork quilt and illustrate experiences good or bad.
6 / Minutes AND MATTERS ARISING
Minutes of the September 2014 meeting were approved.
Matters arising:
Fractures – Viv Hamilton is looking into whether the anecdotal evidence is accurate and suspects it could be a matter of procedure.
Disabled access – the doors to meeting rooms in Cowal Community Hospital have been adjusted to make them easier to open/close. The situation will be monitored.
Use of Cowal Community Hospital rooms by CHWN member groups.
Kathy Graham has said that groups can use the Training Room free of charge as long as it is not needed for NHS staff training.
7 / INFORMATION SHARING – PARTNER UPDATES
Angela Coll
NHS Highland Health Improvement Team
Choose Life have received funding for another year.
Samantha Campbell of the Health Improvement team is on maternity leave for a year.
Duncan MacLeod
Cowal Elderly Befrienders
Very busy at the moment, seeing approximately 145 clients per week with a waiting list of about 20. Looking to expand the dementia support service.
£17000 received to replace a minibus at the end of February.
On Bute 3 days a week. This is going well and nearly at capacity.
Falls prevention was funded until March and now looking at how to continue with this and are in constructive discussions with the NHS.
Sharon Hendry
Cowal Hospice and Therapy Services (CHATS)
CHATS is now up and running. Launch is planned for Saturday 7th March 1-4pm.
Services provided to patients of the hospice and their relatives are: one to one psychological and emotional support, complimentary therapies, gentle exercise, relaxation, arts and crafts groups, drop in on a Thursday morning.
Audrey Forrest
ACUMEN
Reference and carers groups continue in Lochgilphead.
There will be a benefits Realisation Workshop this Friday in Lochgilphead.
There was a WRAP course recently in Lochgilphead in partnership with the NHS. 8 people attended. Hoping to have more facilitators and to run a facilitators course in March. Looking to run a transitions workshop later in the year.
Working with Link clubs – Link Club convention coming up in April/May – to be confirmed.
Dr Ogilvie, consultant psychiatrist has been off for a couple of month and there is now a locum in place.
Heather Whyte
HELP Project
Todd left in August and has been replaced by Tim who will be starting an environmental project on Bute.
Heather took 10 clients to Benmore for a weekend.
Heather will have been in post for one year this March, funded for three years.
Working with Paul Kerr and Alison McCrossan of Happy Dayz and Cowal Elderly Befrienders to organise a World War One themed tea dance.
Desert Island Disc event planned for 12th February.
Sue Clarke
Health Visitor/ Depute Team Lead/Practice Teacher
The team is not quite up to full strength. A new health visitor has started and also a trainee who will be training for a year. Not a lot of capacity to do extended work at the moment. Working with Ailsa Dominick to provide parenting sessions for S4 pupils, consisting of two lessons, focussing on relationship building with children and relationships between children and their parents.
A group of 6-8 year olds has been identified as needing extra support in their lives. This will be provided using empathy based routes.
Interviewing for a new primary mental health worker (ages 10 and up) whose role will be to provide emotional support, stress management and bereavement services.
Siobhan Bordan
Argyll Nordic Walkers
There has been an article in the local paper. Two taster sessions were held with 12 attendees the first week and 7 the second week. Focus now is on maintaining interest. More volunteers will be trained in February. More funding has been received from the Forestry Commission. Starting after school activities in Toward and Tighnabruaich once the evenings become lighter.
Fiona Duncan
Oral Health Promotion
Visiting care homes training care staff on how to look after residents’ oral health. Also trying to get into carers organisations and to training carers at home.
8 / Funding priorities and partnership working
Funding priorities will be reviewed at the next meeting.
9 / AOB
None

Next Meeting Date Wednesday 13th May 20152pm

Conservatory, Cowal Community Hospital

Dates for 2015/16:
July TBC
Wed 23rdSept 2015
Wed 27thJan 2016

Susan McFadyenPage 1 of 4