We had 14 members today. Everyone enjoyed having lots of chats and then Lisa introduced a multiple-choice picture quiz. Susanne and Sheila did really well in the quiz with 15 out of 20. James Le Bec then joined us and everyone enjoyed some music favourites to start with and this followed with the music quiz and a Countdown word quiz at the end for a bit of a challenge.
Eon then joined us for the exercises, and this followed with Lisa calling the Bingo numbers. There were 2 winners today. John and Audrey and Colin Pulvernis.
We have 25 members now for each of the sessions which are working out really well. Lisa makes sure that all the tables are cleaned beforehand and prepares the room ready. It was great to have Angela Chen and another new volunteer today – Theresa Haslehurst. I’m very grateful for their help.
Lisa made sure as members arrived that their temperatures were taken and given hand sanitiser before they sat down.
Members are then happy and ready for their chat over a cup of tea/coffee and biscuits. Lisa also had some diabetic ‘no sugar’ biscuits for everyone to try today. They enjoyed trying them out and interesting to have the various feedback. Members were busy with Lisa’s word searches and colouring pictures.{gallery}FMH20210818{/gallery}Richard Kravetz then joined us for the Yoga. Richard always provides a good exercise and makes it fun. It was then time for the music entertainment and Ian James joined us. Ian’s new position at the front was great and this gave members room also for a dance. Ian played some really great favourites and a few of the members were ready to sing with the spare microphone that Ian had. It was a very enjoyable and successful session.
Lisa welcomed everyone including the new members and introduced and welcomed;
Andrew Wrensch – Community Development Manager at a Care Home and a qualified trainer who does seminar training on topics of interest for our carers group meetings.
Marcelo Navarro – Managing Director of a care company Christie’s Care now trading as Walfinch. His contact details are;
The topic today was about NHS Continuing Healthcare Care ‘CHC’
Rachel gave a very detailed explanation about what is CHC and some of the difficulties and challenges completing the forms.
– Please see the link below which details what Rachel showed and talked to the group about. Don’t forget to scroll down to page 21 where the test starts
Rachel mentioned the question that should be posed in relation to Nature, Intensity, complexity, and unpredictability. This will help you decide whether your loved one is eligible for NHS CHC
When identifying a primary health need, how should the four key characteristics be approached? 3.1 Four characteristics of need – namely ‘nature’, ‘intensity’, ‘complexity’ and ‘unpredictability’ – ‘may help determine whether the ‘quality’ or ‘quantity’ of care required is beyond the limit of a local authority’s responsibilities, as outlined in the Coughlan case (a summary of the case can be found at Annex B). It is important to remember that each of these characteristics may, alone or in combination, demonstrate a primary health need, because of the quality and/or quantity of care that is required to meet the individual’s needs.
It may be helpful for Multidisciplinary Teams ‘MDT’s to think about these characteristics in terms of the sorts of questions that each generates. By the MDT answering these questions they can develop a good understanding of the characteristic in question. The following questions are not an exhaustive list and are not intended to be applied prescriptively.
‘Nature’ is about the characteristics of both the individual’s needs and the interventions required to meet those needs. Questions that may help to consider this include:
How does the individual or the practitioner describe the needs (rather than the medical condition leading to them)? What adjectives do they use?
What is the impact of the need on overall health and well-being?
What types of interventions are required to meet the need?
Is there particular knowledge/skill/training required to anticipate and address the need? Could anyone do it without specific training?
Is the individual’s condition deteriorating/improving? What would happen if these needs were not met in a timely way?
‘Intensity’ is about the quantity, severity and continuity of needs. Questions that may help to consider this include:
How severe is this need?
How often is each intervention required?
For how long is each intervention required? National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded Nursing Care 97
How many carers/care workers are required at any one time to meet the needs?
Does the care relate to needs over several domains?
‘Complexity’ is about the level of skill/knowledge required to address an individual need or the range of needs and the interface between two or more needs. Questions that may help to consider this include:
How difficult is it to manage the need(s)?
How problematic is it to alleviate the needs and symptoms?
Are the needs interrelated?
Do they impact on each other to make the needs even more difficult to address?
How much knowledge is required to address the need(s)?
How much skill is required to address the need(s)?
How does the individual’s response to their condition make it more difficult to provide appropriate support?
‘Unpredictability’ is about the degree to which needs fluctuate and thereby create challenges in managing them. It should be noted that the identification of unpredictable needs does not, of itself, make the needs ‘predictable’ (i.e. ‘predictably unpredictable’) and they should therefore be considered as part of this key indicator. Questions that may help to consider this include:
Is the individual or those who support him/her able to anticipate when the need(s) might arise?
Does the level of need often change? Does the level of support often have to change at short notice?
Is the condition unstable?
What happens if the need isn’t addressed when it arises? How significant are the consequences?
To what extent is professional knowledge/skill required to respond spontaneously and appropriately?
What level of monitoring/review is required?
Rachel has also provided a YouTube link below for you to watch. You will see Rachel speaking about NHS CHC to a Personal Injury forum, dealing with catastrophic injuries. It has a slightly different angle, but you may find it interesting and useful.
In my last week’s report, we talked about;
Homeshare Scheme
Karin has asked me to share with you the following contact details which she knows about and they are really lovely;
Zaira De Novellis who is a co-founder (no relation!) is really lovely.
Rona has asked me to share the following details of an Audiologist who she recommends
Audiologist’s name is Hannah Bryant.
Warman Freed Pharmacy. 45 Golders Green Rd. NW11. 8EL. It was an NHS Hearing Aid Appointment, She works with ‘Audiological Science – 020 8059 9645.
Lastly – Karin would like to share the letter “Dementia Explanation for Kids” she sent to her 8-year-old grandchildren which I think is brilliant – (this has been e-mailed to members at the meeting)
Our speaker for next week’s carers group meeting is Michael Shann from Carers UK
We had 11 members today. There was also no James Le Bec as he was on holiday. Everyone however had a lovely chat and Lisa also did some quizzes which everyone enjoyed and called out the Bingo before Eon joined us for the exercises. The Bingo winner was Pam Horwood.
We had 25 members today. This session now has to be booked and 25 members is the new limit for the number of people in the room which makes it more manageable. Lisa welcomed everyone and also the volunteers Melvyn and Dr Angela and also one of our volunteers from the past Angela Chen who was so overwhelmed to be back and everyone was also very pleased to see her.
Everyone was busy with different activities Lisa prepared on each table. James then had a poem he wanted to read. This was from a magazine called ‘Pigeon Post Age UK’ James also read out about some of the many forms of transport in the old days which was very interesting. Anyone who would like to receive these magazines can subscribe if you go to https://www.ageuk.org.uk/barnet/about-us/newsletter/ There are some past months magazines too which you can download which makes interesting reading. Lisa then distributed 3 poems out to everyone and asked for different speakers. Everyone enjoyed reading the poems.
This was then followed with Bingo which was quite funny as Lisa had forgotten to put the first 30 balls into the bag. The first 30 balls are usually used every Tuesday for the Bingo Zoom session. Everyone concentrates hard for the Bingo and Lisa gave out some prizes to the winners. It was then time for some singing, so Lisa handed to everyone a booklet with all the lyrics. Everyone enjoyed singing along .
We had 10 members today. This was our first session in our new programme. Everyone enjoyed a chat and then Lisa did a multiple-choice quiz. James Le Bec then joined us with Joy for the music entertainment. This also included a music quiz and at the end the first letters of each answer are used to play Countdown which makes it challenging trying to find different words.
We then had Eon Walters who did the exercise to music and as usual gets everyone really working out but always good fun too.
Lisa then called out the Bingo numbers with her lovely assistant Chrystalla who always helps out. The winner today was Frances and Ranjet.
Lisa welcomed everyone and also welcomed our Trustees – Dr Angela Parker and Valerie Chodosh and also welcomed Andrew Wrensch a qualified trainer who does seminar training on topics of interest for carers and also works in a care home as a development manager.
Lisa also welcomed our new members and visitor Shakira Nurmohamed – a Client Liaison Manager at Signature Senior Lifestyle. A new Signature care home has nearly been built in Wood Street Barnet. There is also a similar care home in Hendon which is now open.
The following was discussed.
NHS Continuous Health Care ‘CHC’
Lisa mentioned that the previous week, a carer talked about the difficulties and challenges he was experiencing in completing an NHS Continuous Health Care ‘CHC’ form. Lisa mentioned that she had spoken to someone who had gone through this process and was also having the same difficulties but she found a very good solicitor who succeeded in winning her case and therefore her CHC was approved.
Lisa has further organised for this solicitor to visit our carers group meeting next Tuesday 17th August at 7pm. Her name is Rachel Burley-Stower from Martin Searle Solicitors. In the meantime you may like to read the following to get a better understanding about CHC before Rachel visits next week.
Andrew has provided the attached continuing healthcare checklist which provides details of the questions asked.
I have also provided below a summary of the 11 criteria called Care Domains and what they mean;
Breathing* – can you breathe independently or with support?
Nutrition – what care do you need to ensure you get enough to eat and drink?
Continence – your control of your bladder and bowel
Skin integrity – the condition of your skin: poor skin integrity can include pressure sores, wounds or infection
Mobility – your ability to safely walk or move about without support
Communication – how able are you to articulate or explain your needs?
Psychological and emotional needs – such as anxiety, mood disturbances, hallucinations, or distress
Cognition – does your disability or disease cause confusion, memory issues, disorientation, or an inability to judge risk?
Behaviour* – is your behaviour a risk to yourself, others or property? Can it be anticipated or minimised?
Drug therapies and medication* – is your medication or pain difficult to manage safely?
Altered states of consciousness* – when your mind is aware but not fully in control, putting you at risk of harm (for example, if you have epilepsy)
The needs marked with an asterisk (*) are considered more important and pressing than others
The Checklist can be completed by a variety of health and social care practitioners, who have been trained in its use, including, for example: a registered nurse employed by the NHS, GPs, other clinicians or local authority staff (such as social workers, care managers or social care assistants).
The outcome of the Checklist depends on the aggregate number of A’s, B’s, and C’s scored. Generally speaking, in order for the CCG to consider doing a comprehensive Full Assessment, you have to have a minimum ‘score’ in the Checklist:
2 or more ‘A’s
5 or more ‘B’s (or 1 A and 4 Bs)
or at least 1 A in a domain with an asterisk*
Homeshare Scheme
There was also mention about Homeshare. Homeshare is someone who is unrelated to you shares your home and offers companionship and practical help in and around your home. Please see the link from Barnet Council:
There was also a discussion which Lisa had raised about whether we should also provide no sugar biscuits and cakes at sessions especially for those with diabetes. Lisa mentioned how she recently visited a number of supermarkets and was unable to find no sugar biscuits and cakes.The shops had Gluten Free, Vegan, No Wheat and Low Sugar biscuits and cakes but nothing with no sugar. However Lisa said that she managed to find no sugar biscuits and cakes online.
Dr Angela commented to say that we should be careful with any products with alternative sweeteners as depending on the kind of sweeteners used they could have some bad side effects and in many cases it would not stop the craving for the real sugar as our brain is not fooled. It would be better to have one biscuit you like.
Vitamins
Someone mentioned whether we should take certain vitamins like B1 and B12. Dr Angela commented that generally if we all have a good balanced meal then we should not need to take any vitamins. There are of course people who may be deficient in some vitamins and there could be a medical reason for this. Dr Angela explained that there are people for example who do not absorb B12 and therefore need to take B12 injections.
Today was our first session at the Finchley Memorial Hospital after 18 months. As this venue used to be very full, Lisa decided that it would be best to introduce a booking system. We therefore had 21 members today.
Ian & Colin
Unfortunately, there were a few teething problems being the first session with tables and chairs but we managed to get everyone eventually seated and comfortable with their cups of teas/coffees and biscuits.
Ian James playing for Dementia Club UK
It was lovely to see one of our previous regular volunteers Melvyn who came to help and also our Trustee Dr Angela Parker. Members had lots to chat about and it was lovely to hear members saying how lovely it was to be back. Lisa got everyone to do a sing-a-long with their favourite songs before our Music entertainment started with Ian James who was brilliant as usual and Ian got everyone up and dancing in no time. It was a great session.
Lisa welcomed everyone and introduced Mike Rich – CEO of Barnet Carers and partners with Dementia Club UK. Lisa also introduced Trustees Dr Angela Parker and Valerie Chodosh and gave Andrew’s apologies.
Lisa first asked Mike to talk about the new digital ID card. Mike mentioned that after further feedback from people, he has removed the date of birth from the front of the card. Anyone interested in an ID card please see below.
Barnet Carers e-ID scheme
Barnet Carers e-ID scheme. This is for carers living in or caring for someone in Barnet. I will send you a separate email with the link for carers not living or caring in Barnet,
There was also discussion about carers assessments and getting carers help. Please see below regarding assessments
Barnet Carers assessments
An opportunity for you talk about the support you need which can include a FREE leisure pass, access to counselling, access to grants providing financial support. The assessment can be done over the telephone and normally takes between 30 and 40 minutes or you can complete a form online.
For any of the above please contact Mike Rich
There was discussion about finding the right carers:
Lisa then asked members if they had any concerns they wanted to discuss.
Continuing Health Care ‘CHC’
One of the members talked about the difficulties in applying for Continuing Health Care ‘CHC’
Lisa mentioned about some of her personal experiences and was aware of the difficulties and challenges faced in trying to apply for CHC. The scoring system makes it very difficult for approval. Dr Angela also gave some advice and mentioned that it was important to provide as much full detail as possible about day-to-day experiences. Lisa also mentioned the same and that it was important to keep a diary.
Lisa has been able to find out after speaking to another carer today how she found an excellent solicitor who specialises in CHC. She was able to win her case and CHC was approved.
There was also discussions about what you do if your loved one tends to wander. The following product and other advice was suggested.
Argenti personal alarm
Lisa suggested the Argenti personal alarm which has been discussed in previous carer group meetings on the 13th April. The Argenti care technology device offers peace of mind not only in and around the house but also when you go out and even abroad. Information can be obtained through Barnet Council or the Argenti website. Please see the link below:
Lisa also suggested the Herbert Report. This was previously discussed in the carers group meeting on the 13th July.
The Herbert Protocol is an early intervention and risk reduction scheme to help find vulnerable people who are at risk of going missing. The protocol is named after a war veteran of the Normandy landings named George Herbert, who lived with dementia in a care home.
The link below is from the Metropolitan Police and the form can be downloaded.
