Author: disabilitypartnershipcalderdale

Disability Partnership Calderdale will be at this weekend’s first ever Wellbeing & Community Festival at the Piece Hall.

This is a free two-day event to help the local community get active and creative, as well as showcasing the support services available in Calderdale.

The Piece Hall’s courtyard will host four different ‘zones’ for visitors to explore, themed around active, creative, support and wellbeing. From fitness fanatics to first timers, anyone looking to get moving can try their hand at a whole host of sport and relaxation activity. Visitors with a creative flair can try their hand at mindful colouring and stone carving, amongst other calming artistic activities.

All set against the backdrop of the beautiful Piece Hall building with food and drink available throughout the weekend from our resident bars and restaurants and entertainment from local musicians.

We will be in the NE corner, next to Gin Lane.

To view an accessibility guide to the venue click here

To view the full programme click here.

Ross Care, specialist providers of wheelchair services and mobility equipment across the UK, will provide NHS posture and mobility (wheelchair) services across Kirklees and Calderdale from 1 October 2019.

This follows a procurement process by NHS Greater Huddersfield, NHS North Kirklees and  NHS Calderdale Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs): the NHS organisations in charge of planning and buying wheelchair services for Calderdale and Kirklees.

The CCGs are working closely with the current service provider, Opcare, to make sure the change goes smoothly, and that all patient records are carefully and confidentially handed over to Ross Care so they deliver a service that continues to support the independence of people using wheelchairs from October 2019.

Dr Farrukh Javid, Clinical lead for wheelchair services for Greater Huddersfield, North Kirklees and Calderdale CCGs said:

“I’d like to thank everyone who’s been involved in the process of appointing a new wheelchair service provider for Kirklees and Calderdale.

“The CCGs have worked in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders, including the voluntary and community sector, to hear from and involve people who use wheelchair services, carers and families in Calderdale and Kirklees, over the course of this process.

“Their advice, views and suggestions on how we can improve this service to meet their needs, has helped us develop a new service specification, which Ross Care will deliver from 1 October and the CCGs are very keen for their ongoing involvement in the process to ensure our wheelchair service continually meets the expectations of service users and carers.

“My thanks also to Opcare for their support in working with the CCGs to reduce waiting lists and improve service provision over the past few years. Thanks to this hard work we will be in a position to launch a new service that will support people who use wheelchairs to maximise their independence.

“Finally, I’d like to thank all of the organisations that applied to provide the wheelchair service across Kirklees and Calderdale during the procurement process.”

Disability Partnership Calderdale is currently a partner in the Accessible Calderdale project which will help improve and map accessibility across the whole area.

However, the organisation also provides an accessibility consultation service for one-off projects, such as the Piece Hall refurbishment. We can help with initial planning as well as visiting projects during the building process. We also re-visit projects after they have been opened to the public and help with any tweaks or detail changes that are required.

 

Our trustees represent a wide range of physical and sensory disabilities and can provide expert input on various angles of accessibility, including wheelchair access and the needs of guide dogs.

Our most recent consultation was at Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum. Amy Harbour, Project Manager at the Museum asked us to come along and look at three cinemas within their building, with a view to improving accessibility to them.

Amy was previously Operations Director at the Piece Hall project and we didn’t hesitate to help her out when she issued the invitation to visit the Museum.

We will be sending Amy a report on our visit and look forward to continuing to help her with the work at the Museum.

If you’d like us to help with an accessibility project contact us via info@disabilitypartnershipcalderdale.org

 

Occasionally we like to look at services that are available to people with a disability that are essentially commercial, but backed by a story that we can relate to.

John Sage was injured in a snow-skiing accident in 2001 when he was 22 years old and sustained a T-4 incomplete spinal cord injury. He has some sensation but uses a wheelchair to get around. John quickly adapted to his new lifestyle and retained his passion for life. Since 2001, he has visited Europe 16 times to over 140+ cities in his wheelchair.

In the spring of 2008, after his sixth trip to Europe, he realized there had to be a better way to plan a wheelchair accessible trip to Europe. He had spent dozens of hours researching accessibility trip to Southern France and Italy and was still met by accessibility surprises during the trip. The existing internet accessibility information was sporadic, vague, non-existent, or completely incorrect! Some information would describe a place as “totally inaccessible for wheelchairs” (Venice) yet with the right information they can absolutely be visited by wheelchair users!

Upon realizing that there was really no one out there who was providing all of the comprehensive information that someone in a wheelchair or with other mobility issues would need to make a trip to Europe he began creating and setting up his accessible travel company, Sage Traveling. No one had pulled all the necessary accessibility information together and presented it like a guide book with maps and pictures but John was determined to change this.

John Sage has spent the past several years learning accessibility phrases in various languages to be able to call hotels and museums to inquire about accessibility. He has taken numerous trips to top European travel destinations to make Sage Traveling a leading expert in disabled European travel. After lots of work John launched www.SageTraveling.com in December 2009!

“I encourage any individual that has an interest in European travel, no matter their mobility limitations, to go for it! I have had the best experiences of my life traveling the world and living out my dreams. Traveling is my passion and I look forward to making your dream accessible vacation a reality!”
– Founder & Owner John Sage

Disability Partnership Calderdale is partnering up with Calderdale Council and Stonewater housing to run a new series of Luncheon Clubs in Copley.

The first was held on 5 July and was a great success, with a lively mix of music, quiz, a movement session and, of course, a great lunch.

• Dates: 2 August, 6 September, 4 October (First Friday of the month)
• Time: 11am – 1.30pm
• Venue: Copley Mill House, Copley Village, Halifax HX3 0UY
• Booking: places are limited, so please pre-book a place by calling Robyn Allen at Copley Mill House on 07471 907 189

Everyone is welcome to these new Luncheon Club dates. Each will include a 2-course lunch for just £3.99, plus a range of optional entertainments, including a quiz, music and light excercise.

 

Plan energy saving improvements to your home before winter kicks in, you could save yourself time and money.

Warmth – Time To Prepare For Winter / Affordable Warmth – Helping To Keep You Warm

Top no-cost energy saving tips

· Switch Energy supplier or tariff

· Turn your thermostat down by 1°C can save you as much as £60 per year.

· In the worst weather keeping your heating on constantly on a low heat e.g. 15c overnight, this could potentially save you more money than switching it on and off for big blasts of heat.

· Turn unnecessary lights and appliances off and don’t leave on standby. A typical household could save between £90 and £150 a year just by turning off appliances left on standby.

· Be careful in the kitchen – You can save over £55 a year just by being careful how you use your kitchen appliances. The following tips can help you reach this saving:

· Wash your clothes at 30-40 °C.

· Use a bowl to wash up rather than the whole sink; do not leave the hot tap running.

· Just boil the amount of water in your kettle that you need.

· Use the smallest pan and cooker ring possible.

· Turn the pressure down on the power shower.

· Avoid pre-rinsing dishes in hot water; just scrape dishes before they go in the dish washer.

· Air-dry your laundry outside rather than tumble drying it, or use a creel or maiden.

· Save ironing time by taking your clothes out of the dryer before they’re completely dry – they’ll iron much quicker.

Insulation tips

Draught proofing: DIY draught proofing of windows, doors and blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards could cost up to £115, but could save £55 a year in a draughty home, so these works can pay for themselves in just over two years.

Tank and pipe insulation: If you already have a hot water tank jacket fitted, check the thickness, it should be at least 75mm thick. Fitting a British Standard jacket will cost around £15 DIY, cut heat loss by over 75% and save you around £45 a year. Fitting pipe insulation will cost around £10 and save you around £15 a year.

Cavity wall insulation: If a home was built after 1920, the chances are that its external walls are made of two layers of brick with a gap or cavity between them. The average installation cost for cavity wall insulation is between £450 and £500 and can save up to £140 a year.

Loft insulation: It is recommended you have at least 270mm (ten inches) of loft insulation. The cost of installing loft insulation is up to £300. You could save up to £180 a year if your loft is uninsulated by installing 270mm of insulation. Even if you have some insulation, by topping up from 100mm to 270mm could save around £50 a year.

Solid wall insulation: If your home was built before 1920, its external walls are probably solid rather than cavity walls. The cost of installing internal wall insulation is £5,000 to £8,000 and you could save around £460 a year. The cost of installing external wall insulation is £9,000 to £13,000 and you could save around £490 a year.

Heating tips

Heating controls -Whatever the age of your boiler, control the time and temperature in the rooms where you want your heating, this will save you money. Here are the average savings you could make in a typical three-bedroom semi-detached home, heated by gas:

Install a central timed thermostat (if you didn’t have one before): £125 – saving approximately £100 per year.

Fit a hot water tank controller and thermostat: £30 – approximate saving of £45 a year

Replace your boiler – Boilers account for around 55% of what you spend in a year on energy bills. Replacing an old gas boiler with an A-rated high-efficiency condensing boiler and improving your heating controls will cost around £2,000 – and could save you as much as £310 a year.

It may be summer at the moment, but this is actually a great time to prepare for winter.

As winter arrives, if you haven’t already done so, you’ll be switching on your central heating systems, maybe for the first time since the end of last winter?

To ensure you don’t have to make any unnecessary callouts to your home because the central heating isn’t working, please check the following before you make that call.

– The boiler is switched on at the electrical point.

– The time clock is switched on.

– Room thermostat is turned up.

– Thermostatic radiator valves are turned on.

– Gas credit is available.

– Boiler is switched on for heating and hot water.

It’s always a good idea to try your boiler a few weeks before the weather turns cold. Plumbers are usually available before the heating season starts and you’ll have the comfort of knowing the heating is in good repair. Should you need any help please call Calderdale’s affordable warmth team on 01422 392199 and see if you qualify for funding towards a boiler repair, service or replacement.

More on affordable warmth from Calderdale Council

The Affordable Warmth team at Calderdale Council are there to help the more vulnerable members of the population of Calderdale, especially those in their own homes and private rented. To qualify for help from the team you must meet certain criteria, including having an combined earnings/benefits income of less than £21,000 per year and less than £16,000 in bank.

What’s available?

· Attic Insulation. Applicable for both private rented (PR) & Owner Occupier (OO) Lofts MUST be cleared before survey & installation; contractors are not covered to move client’s possessions. Insulation should be at least 27cm thick!

· Cavity Wall insulation. Applicable for both (PR) (OO). Not applicable for Solid wall, rubble filled properties or property with wall ties. Insulation with either fibre or polybead is available. A surveyor will ensure that the correct type is matched to the property. Maximum funding £1000. If work exceeds the grant, affordable interest free grants are available.

· Service or repair boiler, including gas fires. (OO) – Using our accredited Plumbers. THIS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY SERVICE. Grant upto £500.

· Upgrading Boiler/heating System. (OO) – Using our accredited Plumbers. Upto £500 towards new system.

· Fit modern timer/Thermostat control. (OO) – Using our accredited Plumbers. Upto £500 towards new controls.

· Apply for Warmth On Prescription. Applicable for both (PR) & (OO). We offer 50% funding towards replacement/new boiler/central heating systems. Interest free loans are available to fund the balance. This scheme is available for people or family member in the house with long term health conditions. A letter from Health professional is required.

‘Mr / Mrs (insert surname) of (insert address) has long term or chronic health condition(s) that are made significantly worse by living in a cold home. We therefore endorse their application for the council’s warmth on prescription scheme for heating and insulation works which will make their home warmer, healthier and cheaper to heat.’

· Switch your energy provider for a cheaper deal. Before shopping around, have the following details to hand; your last energy bill which has your customer number, your estimated yearly usage/costs. Remember, it is a billing exercise only, all gas & all electricity comes through the same pipes & wires. Put the money in your pocket, not their wallet.

· Fit a smart meter. Real time energy use. Reduces estimated billing. What’s causing those energy spikes?

· Fit draught proofing to wooden windows & doors. Applicable for both (PR) & (OO) Small grants are available to install draughtproofing which is undertaken by our Handyperson service.

· Claim Additional funding. If you or a member of your family have a long term health condition request to be put on the PRIORITY SERVICE REGISTER. You will be asked questions of the nature of the request. These details are to help you. Ask to be put forward for the “Warm Home Discount”. It must be applied for. However, be aware that once the pot of money is used, then there is no legal obligation for the energy company to give it to you. You could be receiving an extra £140 off your next winter bill.

Who to contact – Please check with affordable warmth team for up to date information – Sarah.buczynski@calderdale.gov.uk – 01422 393200 Jeremy.vicars@calderdale.gov.uk – 01422 392407

Affordable Warmth Referral Form

 

 

At our next open meeting on 30th July 2019, we’re really pleased to be having Brian Daltrey, director of DEX (Deaf Ex Mainstreamers) as one of our main speakers.

Brian will continue our recent series of presentations looking at different disabilities, as requested by our members.

Brian will talk about deafness and about DEX and the work they do. DEX is an entirely deaf-led organisation that exists to raise awareness of the daily struggle that deaf children have in mainstream education. DEX uses the English dictionary definition of the word “deaf” to mean “wholly or partially without hearing” to apply to all children who have hearing loss.

Brian has sent us an introduction to himself which helps set the scene:

“I was born moderately deaf, became severely deaf as a young child and now have just tipped into the profoundly deaf group.

My education was in mainstream schools and then at university. I worked as a social worker and manager in both generic and children’s teams within local authority social services departments until retirement 11 years ago.

My voluntary work with the Deaf Ex Mainstreamers Group (DEX) includes 13 years as Chair and now as a Director on the Board. I have been involved with the Leeds Deaf Forum, ran a deaf cafe in Leeds and now will be assisting with developing the deaf ministry in the Leeds Anglican Diocese.”

About DEX – the Deaf Ex Mainstreamers Group

Brian also sent a short introduction to DEX – It is our 25th anniversary this year! Deaf adults who had been to mainstream school set up DEX because the education of deaf children was not satisfactory : their attainment compared to their hearing peers was and is very poor. We have published our research – Deaf Toolkit – which has been acknowledged as a bible of deaf education. Together with other deaf organisations we are campaigning for a BSL Act and have a seat on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Deafness. We have a Yorkshire youth group – the DEX Deaf Youth Council (DDYC) and run projects when we are successful with funding applications.

Shop Mobility Halifax is based at Age UK Calderdale & Kirklees’ shop at 4-6 Square Woolshops in Halifax (postcode HX1 1RJ).

They hire mobility equipment to members of the public at very reasonable rates. This service is open to anyone, young or old, whether their disability is temporary or permanent. You do not need to be registered disabled or resident in the area. You can rent for a few hours to do your shopping or you can rent longer term for holidays or recuperation.You have a choice of:

• Powered scooters for use in town
• Small scooters that can fold up and fit into the boot of a car
• Manual wheelchairs and electric wheelchairs
• Wheeled walkers
• Ramps

When renting a scooter for the first time they will ask you to bring a form of identification. Full training is given to new users and everyone is escorted on their first visit to ensure their safety.

How much does it cost?

£5 for up to 3 hours in the town centres and 50p for every additional half hour. Up to 6 month rental also available on all products.

See price list below for full details.

Mobility scooter servicing and repair

They also provide a breakdown, servicing and repair service for your own scooter.

Price list

Download information and price list for their Shopmobility Service, Scooter Service and Repair and a selection of products including  scooters, rise and recline chairs, power chairs and stairlifts

Halifax office information and price list