A Duty to Support Carers: A National Approach to Eligibility Thresholds

The  National Carer Organisations have produced a draft framework for national eligibility thresholds linked to the proposed new Duty to Support unpaid carers. 

The framework sets out the circumstances in which local authorities will have a duty to provide support to unpaid carers under the Carers (Scotland) Bill, currently progressing through parliament.  The draft Bill proposes that local authorities should be left to develop their own eligibility criteria.  The NCO disagree with this and would like to see a national approach which we believe would help deliver support more fairly and consistently across Scotland. 

We want to hear what carers and those supporting carers think about our Framework - Do you agree with this approach?  Have we got it right?  What could be improved? 

Please help us by distributing this information through your networks. 

You can download the framework here

Complete the short survey here

Or email any comments to Don Williamson don.willamson@sharedcarescotland.com

The closing date for comments is the end of August.

For further information on the Carers (Scotland) Bill, go here

13th - 15th September 2016: Save the Date

Scotland is hosting the 10^th International Short Break Association’s conference next year. 

“Unlocking the potential” is being held at The Assembly Rooms in Edinburgh between 13th – 15th September 2016.

The International Short Break Association (ISBA) was established in 1995 and is a world-wide ‘community’ concerned with the effective delivery of short breaks (respite care) services.

ISBA exists to create opportunities to share knowledge and experience of short break provision across international and cultural boundaries.

Read more at www.isba.me
 

How Good is Your Third Sector Organisation?

Education Scotland has developed a resource for third sector organisations to assess their impact and build on their strengths.

This self-evaluation resource has been created to support third sector organisations to evaluate their performance and identify priorities for action.  It encourages organisations to look at six key questions about their skills and capabilities.

• What key outcomes have we achieved?
• What impact have we had in meeting the needs of our stakeholders?
• How good is the delivery of key processes?
• How good is our operational management?
• How good is our strategic leadership?
• What is our capacity for improvement?

You can download it and find out more here

Scottish Young Carers Festival

The media team is trained, the young carers packed, and the sun is booked – it is time for the Young Carers Festival at Broomlee again, 4th August to 6th August.

Every year hundreds of young carers have time to be away from their caring responsibilities at the Young Carers Festival.  Funded by the Scottish Government it is a great time to let their hair down and not have to worry.

You can read about it and follow their work at @ycfest and facebook.com/SYCSA

Short Break Stories

We have been publishing the stories of projects funded by the Short Breaks Fund for three years at the Short Break Stories website.  Here are the ideas, experiences and advice from every project funded.

We have now searched through these to find the stories that break the mould, the ones that are not what you would expect and detail the transformational effect a small amount of money can have.

Gary has brought these together in an elegant publication and if you would like a copy please email him

We have also published the latest round of stories and evaluations from projects funded through the Better Breaks programme.  You can get ideas, tips and read their stories at www.shortbreakstories.org.uk

In Kind Direct

In Kind Direct are a charity that redistributes products from companies to charities, social enterprises and not-for-profit organisations.

They work by taking the end of line / excess goods that companies don’t want and selling them cheaply to charities for distribution.  They deal with any product from household goods, to sports equipment, office supplies to toys.

It is free to join and their catalogue changes all the time.  The savings can be huge so if you support people directly, have a look at www.inkinddirect.org/

Respitality Update

The Respitality project received a boost from Scottish Government this month with two ministerial visits.

On 6^th July, Maureen Watt, Minister for Public Health visited Rufflets Country House Hotel to meet several Carers who had benefitted from Respitality breaks, including those gifted by Rufflets.  Then later in the month Fergus Ewing met with Gill and Lesley Fishleigh from Lanarkshire Carers Centre to hear about how the project was making progress.

You can read about all the Respitality developments in the August Update here

New Services

Both our short break directory and funding directory are growing.  We came across The Scottish War Blinded charity this week and they are a welcome addition to both.  They have a short break grant scheme for anyone who is a member (anyone who has served in the military for more than one day and is losing sight for any reason) and provide support and advice for people to take breaks.
 
Clober Farm is fully accessible self catering accommodation in Milngavie run by Spinal Injuries Scotland.  It is a grade C listed property and forms part of a 280-year old farmhouse which includes an extensive garden.  It has been converted for use as an accessible accommodation for those with spinal cord injuries and their families or anyone who uses a wheelchair.  There are three accessible bedrooms which can provide accommodation for family or carers, one with ensuite wetroom, plus a modern accessible bathroom facility.  One of the bedrooms has a tracking hoist, height adjustable profiling bed with air mattress, shower chairs and an ensuite wet room.  There is a fully accessible kitchen with fridge / freezer, microwave, induction hob and oven. Pets are welcome. More info here

Scottish Health Awards

The Scottish Health Awards 2015 launched on Tuesday 23 June 2015 at the NHS Scotland Event.

The launch heralds the start of a 10-week nomination process where the public, staff across NHS Scotland and its partners can nominate people who have gone that extra mile to provide the highest quality health and care for the people of Scotland.  Nominations can be made in many award catagories via the website: 

www.scottishhealthawards.com/