Newsletter 2nd October
I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. In this week’s email, we include news about our Information and Advice Service, the forthcoming Malnutrition Week, and an update on our real life and virtual activities.
Coronavirus in Bury (2/10/2020)
The good news is that the number of positive coronavirus cases in Bury this week has started to slowly decrease and Bury is no longer in the national Top 10 of areas reporting positive cases.
However, Bury remains in 'red alert' territory, like other Greater Manchester areas. As we have seen elsewhere, it does not take much for things to change quickly.
The Greater Manchester restrictions still apply and the rules are at this Bury Council link: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15594
Our Information and Advice Service
Our Information and Advice service is now running at full strength and can help anyone needing relevant local information and advice on older people’s issues.
Louise and Ruth are trained to help you on the following topics.
- Social care - such as finding a care home or getting some help at home, and how it is funded.
- Your income - including free benefits checks, help with applying for benefits and pension advice.
- Your home - information on staying warm at home, home adaptations and how to prevent falls.
- Legal issues - such as wills, Power of Attorney, and how to deal with an estate.
Our specialty is helping people fill in application forms for Attendance Allowance which helps with extra costs if you have a disability severe enough that you need someone to help look after you. You could get £59.70 or £89.15 a week to help with personal support and this can make a real difference to ensuring you can live safely and independently at home.
Because the 30-page form is difficult to fill in, many people are deterred from applying and this is where we can help. Louise and Ruth have helped older people in Bury claim millions of pounds in benefits.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, we are offering help by telephone and video conferencing. When it is necessary to see people face to face, we can see people at the Jubilee Centre meeting room, where we have installed new screens to protect all parties.
Please email info@ageukbury.org.uk or call 0161 763 9030 for more details. Our service is free but we welcome donations to keep us up and running.
Malnutrition Awareness Week ¦ 5-12 October
Did you know that one in ten older people suffer from malnutrition?
Next week is the UK’s 3rd consecutive Malnutrition Awareness Week, which aims to increase understanding of malnutrition and dehydration.
Malnutrition impacts on the immune systems of people affected and increases vulnerability to the effects of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.
The Greater Manchester Nutrition & Hydration Programme is hosting a live webinar on Wednesday 7th October. This free webinar will provide a general overview of malnutrition, how to spot signs and symptoms and how to promote a self-care approach to reducing preventable malnutrition in older adults.
The latest version of Eat, Drink, Live Well is available at https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bp-assets/globalassets/salford/forms/nutrition-and-hydration/eat-drink-live-well-v3-21092020.pdf
Pavement Parking
Cars parking on pavements can cause real problems for pedestrians, but particularly for wheelchair users, people with visual impairments and those with prams or buggies.
The government has launched a consultation and is requesting your views on some options to help local authorities to tackle this problem.
For more information, go to https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/managing-pavement-parking/pavement-parking-options-for-change
Domestic Abuse
If you were to ask the simple question of “how many people aged 75 and over are victims of domestic abuse in the UK”, no one can give you an answer.
The Crime Survey of England and Wales (the survey that gathers data on people’s experiences of crime) only gathers data on domestic abuse from people up to the age of 74. This means that we have no reliable figures for older people aged 75 and above who might be experiencing domestic abuse.
This lack of representation undermines the way resources are allocated to help older victims and survivors of abuse. It also means that older victims are not being identified nor being seen by specialist support services in the numbers that we would expect. Services are not effectively targeted at older victims, and do not always meet their needs.
Our national partner, Age UK, is calling for the Domestic Abuse Bill, when it returns to Parliament, to legislate that data on domestic abuse must be gathered for all ages, not just people aged under 75.
The newly published report No Age Limit: the blind spot of older victims and survivors in the Domestic Abuse Bill is available at https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/campaigning/no-age-limit/
Help for Internet Newbies
If you are reading this email, you are most probably confident with using the internet. If you know someone who is starting from scratch, and needs a guide on how to do the basics, without the jargon and waffle you find in other books, the Stroke Association has published a guide for people It is free to download at this link https://www.stroke.org.uk/what-is-aphasia/communication-tools/getting-online-people-aphasia
This book was specially written to support people who experience aphasia, a condition which affects your ability to speak, write and understand language, and a lot of care has been taken to make the guide clear and easy to understand.
NHS Covid-19 app for Smart Phones
The new NHS COVID-19 app, now available to download for free in England and Wales, is the fastest way to see if you are at risk from coronavirus. The faster you know, the quicker you can alert and protect your loved ones and community.
The app has a number of tools to protect you, including contact tracing, local area alerts and venue check-in. It uses proven technology from Apple and Google, designed to protect every user’s privacy.
For more information go to https://covid19.nhs.uk/
The Jubilee Centre Cafe
Our cafe at the Jubilee Centre will be open every weekday from 10.30 to 2.30, offering fresh food, and seats with a wonderful view of the Clarence Park Lido.
Changes in Government restrictions means we must implement new rules which include:
- Our cafe will now be table-service only.
- All customers must wear face coverings when entering the building and going to the toilet.
- You may only sit with people who live in your household or are part of your support bubble.
For a full set of the rules and the menu, please click on this link.
If we must close our cafe, we will communicate this by an email newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook.
The Bury Shop
Our shop at 91 The Rock, Bury is now open on Wednesdays from 10.30 am to 3 pm and Thursday - Saturday: 10.00 am to 3.00 pm.
Customers to our shop at 91 The Rock must wear a face covering when entering the shop unless you are carrying proof of exemption. We are asking all customers to sanitise their hands before coming in.
We can accept a limited amount of donations at the Bury shop. We must store all donations for 72 hours before we can sort them and space in the shop is limited. Please phone 0161 761 2780 to check we have space before you set out.
We are unable to collect and we cannot receive and store items at the Jubilee Centre.
Foot Care Appointments
Dougie, our Foot Care Practitioner, will be at the Jubilee Centre from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm on Tuesday 6th October.
Each appointment costs £20.
Please call in advance to make an appointment. Call 0161 763 9030.
Online Activities
Diana will next be live on our Facebook page on Monday and Wednesday next week.
- Monday: 11.00 to 11.30 am: Gentle Exercise
- Monday: 11.40 to 12.10 Chair Based Exercises
- Wednesday: 11.00 to 12.00 am: Pilates
These sessions are free and many thanks to Diana for setting them up. Please tell your friends they are welcome to join us. If you can not make these times, Facebook will let you watch at a later time. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/ageukbury/
Sue holds a Tai Chi class online on Fridays at 11.00 am. This class is aimed at those who attend the 12.15 Tuesday class and 11.00 Friday class at the Jubilee. Send an email to taichi.college@yahoo.co.uk or message Sue via Facebook at m.me/taichiandwildgooseqigongbury for the access code.
The Quiz
The last quiz was anagrams of UK TV presenters and Programmes. Click on this link to find the answers.
This week’s quiz is on the topics of Food and Quotations.
The quiz is just for fun. We sadly don’t have any prizes but you get the warm glow of success, if you get all the answers right. Good luck!
And a big thank you to Eleanor for putting these quizzes together for us.
The Essential Stuff
For help with getting food deliveries and prescriptions, please phone Bury Community Hubs on 0161 253 53 53, every day of the week.
Our Keeping in Touch telephone service offers older people in Bury a regular friendly phone call from one of our volunteers. For more information, call 0161 763 9030 (Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm) or email jane@ageukbury.org.uk to sign up. Alternatively, call Jane Lees, our Befriending Coordinator on 07541 741891.
The Age UK Advice Line is 0800 678 1602 from 8 am to 7 pm, every day of the year.
If you would just like to have a friendly natter with another person, please call The Silver Line 24 hours a day on 0800 470 80 90.
Our previous newsletters are online at https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/about-us/coronavirus/
For all those questions about Coronavirus, and how it affects your life, please check out the Age UK FAQ website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/coronavirus-guidance/coronavirus-faqs/
We are in the office on Monday to Friday and our phone lines will be open from 10.00 to 2.00. Call us on 0161 763 9030.
We now have over 300 people receiving this newsletter. If you know of anyone who would like this newsletter, please send this this link, where they can sign up. https://mailchi.mp/38cd71011527/age-uk-bury-newsletter
Thanks for reading and I hope you have found the newsletter useful. If you have any news you would like to share to our readers, please send onto news@ageukbury.org.uk
Stay safe, keep strong.
Andy and all at Age UK Bury
