Nottingham Community Network
Linking the voluntary sector and neighbourhood renewal
Community Network open meeting, July 2008
Helen Voce welcomed everyone and gave special mention to Caroline Vickers who recently joined the Network as an admin worker. There was a quick round of introductions - click here to see who came along.
Helen began by giving an update about Nottinghamshire Black Partnership (NBP). Their contract for Community Network work will cease at the end of July. One Nottingham withdrew the funding for this BME element of the Network's contract and will be consulting with communities and partners across the city to draw up a tender specification for future work.
Helen highlighted some of the achievements of the staff which include securing funding to support black educational achievement, running the equalities shadow board and supporting the voluntary sector shadow board for the childrens partnership, and the establishment of a street pastors project through the Crime and Drugs Partnership. The elected BME representative on the One Nottingham Board remains Afzal Sadiq from the Racial Equality Council.
Self-directed support
Angela Hayes came along to talk about Self Directed Support (SDS). The manager for this service is Helen Jones, but she is currently away. SDS is based in Adult Social Care in Nottingham City Council.
What is it?
SDS arose from campaigning by disabled people who wanted more control to ensure that they got the care and support that they needed. The basic idea of SDS is personalised care, with each person having an individual budget and a choice over how to spend it. There have been 13 pilots of this scheme across the country.
SDS is seen as a step on from direct payments. The client group is mainly those eligible for social care. Here's a step by step guide.
How does it work?
The service user and their frontline practitioner, such as an occupational therapist, work out a financial entitlement (based on need, and their ability to contribute) and then the service user can choose to buy which services they want. This empowers the person in need of support. Under this system a broker will be involved in helping the service user to find the support that they want, whether it is something small like a gardener, or big like a support group.
Questions
Helen was keen that all questions and suggestions were made, even though we didn't have time to hear all the answers.
- How do community workers get the information and funding to be able to help people they work with who need support?
- What if people cannot make choices for themselves, e.g. those with dementia?
- How do we ensure the same level of service? What about economies of scale?
- Some services are badly funded at the moment, so what will happen when the amount of money needed to be spent increases?
- Who decides what is given? If you get a different provider, will you get a different package? Will the priority be client or profit?
- Doesn't this have implications for the city council? If people don't go to day centres, that will mean staff cuts.
- Who will regulate it? How do we protect vulnerable adults?
- What is the timescale for this? How do we keep communication going?
What next?
A big event will be held in September, and a lot of attention will be given to working out the details. It was suggested that the voluntary sector be involved in the whole process, rather than a single event. A shadow board, similar to that of the Children's Partnership, may be set up.
Introducing Self Help Nottingham
Barbara-Anne began by introducing the organisation as the only one of its kind in the country. It is a specialist infrastructure for self help, which receives funding from the PCT.
What is it?
Self Help Nottingham is a support and development agency for self help support groups. Every self help group is different and deals with all sorts of issues, such as disability, life issues and long term illnesses. There are many peer support groups, perhaps the most well known is Alcoholics Anonymous. Self Help Nottingham works with over 200 groups.
Self help organisations contribute to less use of social care and less hospitalisation, reducing the strain on the NHS. Self help groups aim to put people in control of their condition, and the better supported the self help group, the more help they can provide.
Information prescriptions
The NHS is starting to realise the potential of self help and they are starting to use information prescriptions. This is where people with long term conditions are not only given a prescription for medication but also a prescription for information, essentially a list of agencies who could help them. This is a very good example of the voluntary sector working with the NHS, giving a co-ordinated approach to health and social care and giving people access to a wide variety of services.
Self Help Nottingham also provides a phone line to link local people to self help groups, as well as an annual directory of self help groups in Nottingham. They also provide services to the groups they work with, such as a mailbox service, training and networking, and meeting rooms.
Environment for a thriving third sector
Environment for a thriving third sector is one of the national indicators chosen by Nottingham as part of the Local Area Agreement. Summary sheet.
Helen went through this summary sheet, and asked for feedback. The Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership would be making decisions in September about the tender. Send your feedback to info@ngcn.org.uk and we'll make sure it gets to the Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership.
Speedy updates on the theme partnerships
One Nottingham - Helen Voce
- Key focus is the LAA equalities targets - these are for everyone to report on
- The next meeting is on 25 July
Communities and Neighbourhoods Partnership - Mark Bowyer
- Research into people's thoughts behind the LAA targets - what are people thinking about when answering questions, e.g. whether they can influence decisions
Crime and Drugs Partnership
- Still working to influence commissioning by the partnership
Children, young people and families partnership
- Shadow Board is a very useful way to influence the partnership
- Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) - this identifies the current and future health and well being needs of Nottingham’s population, by combining evidence from the City Council and PCT. Read more here.
Health Partnership
- Patient public involvement team (PPI) want to make closer links with the voluntary sector. Their forums are advertised in the e-bulletin or find out more here.
- Nottingham Local Involvement Network (LINk) - this is like Community Network, but for health and well being services
Skills Board
- Items on their agenda at the moment include commissioning, learning champions and volunteering as a way into work
Any other bits n bobs
Jo Dean - Small Grants Celebration Event. This was a sparkling celebration event at the Council House on 26 June to celebrate the work of all the groups who received a One Nottingham Small Grant over the last year. Arkwright Meadows Community Gardens came top in the live vote, and walked away with a laptop. Look out for our next newsletter to read more.
Jo Dean - Community Network Annual Meeting. This will focus on neighbourhood management, how the Network works, and how we can keep everyone up to date. Rob Huskinson requested we get a representative from Nottingham City Homes along to our annual meeting to discuss what their role is. Jo will arrange this.
Hannah Wharton - we need a representative for the Skills Board. Watch the e-bulletin for details.
Jo Dean - Beginners Guide to the LAA. This is a training event from Community Network, on 18 July, to help staff and trustees get to grips with the Local Area Agreement.
Come along to our Annual Meeting
Our next meeting will be our Annual Meeting. Keep this date free in your diary:
Monday 8 September 2008
11am to 4.00pm
Venue to be confirmed shortly
