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March 2022 newsletter
Your monthly update on all things Inclusion Barnet, as well as local and national goings on which impact the lives of disabled people in Barnet, including people with mental health issues and long term conditions.
March marks the beginning of Spring and we welcome the lighter evenings and an end to the cold. At the same time, we will all be aware that this is a difficult time in terms of world events, and it is unsettling to hear of a new war in Eastern Europe. This can be hard to process as we go about our daily lives, and I appreciate that it can have an impact on our mental health. However, it’s really important to focus on making an impact where we can, rather than worrying about things we can’t control.
One of the ways we’ve tried to make a difference is by researching and writing about GP charging for letters in support of benefits claim – more details below.
This is something we’re trying to
influence locally, so please do come to the User Voice meeting about it and add your voice to the call for change. We hope this is an area where we can make a difference for disabled people in Barnet. I look forward to seeing you there.
Caroline Collier
Chief Executive Officer
Get involved!
Are you paying for GP letters?
Have you had to pay your GP for medical evidence in support of a benefit claim or appeal?
If so, we want to hear from you. Join us on Wed 9th March at 6pm to talk about this and other issues impacting Barnet residents.
Anyone who is based in Barnet can join if you are disabled, have a mental health condition or long-term health condition or cares for someone else that does.
Get the Zoom link below to reserve a place.
Job vacancy!
Do you have experience of living with high blood pressure or similar long-term condition? Do you have an understanding of South Asian, African, or Caribbean heritage communities in the UK?
If the answer is yes, and you’re looking for a new job, then we are looking for you too!
Healthy Heart Peer Worker (part-time) £25,000 per year pro rata, actual salary £15,000
Contract to 31st March 2023, extendable subject to funding.
Application deadline Monday 7th March.
FREE Disability awareness training
Learn from experts with lived experience.
Do you want to be a better ally to your disabled colleagues, friends and service users? Are there questions you'd like to ask without worrying that you might say the wrong thing?
We are offering FREE training to voluntary and community sector organisations in Barnet. Whether it's an informal Q&A or a deep dive on a particular topic, we can deliver a session tailored to your needs.
Contact: eve@inclusionbarnet.org.uk
or phone/text/SMS: 07719 105 107
Inclusion Barnet news
The impact of GP charges
Our latest research looked into the impact of inconsistent GP charges on disabled people who are seeking medical evidence to support benefit claims.
With help from the Disability Benefits Consortium Steering Group and the National Association of Welfare Rights Advisers (NAWRA), we found that charges for GP letters to support disability benefit claims varied between £5 & £150 for a letter.
We’ve sent our report with recommendations to local partners and will report back on outcomes in due course.
Barnet Together partnership update
Barnet Together, a partnership between Young Barnet Foundation, Volunteering Barnet and Inclusion Barnet since 2020, have formally announced a wider alliance with Barnet Council.
This demonstrates the council’s recognition and commitment to Barnet’s Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) sector.
Together we are the official infrastructure support service for Barnet, helping grow and develop Barnet's community groups through direct funding and by providing free advice, support and opportunities.
Welcome to three new team members
Last month we welcomed three new staff members to the team.
Mariella Hill, Comms and Admin Support Officer - Grange Big Local. A new contract for us to oversee a resident-led, lottery funded community project working in a small pocket of East Finchley.
Melvin Lyons, Project Lead – Winter Wellness. Part of our Healthwatch Barnet team working on the NHS Winter Wellness Project. This is part of a community outreach and engagement campaign on behalf of the North Central London CCG.
Shelle Wilson, Touchpoint Enquiries Peer Worker. Our Touchpoint service is our main public facing offer here at Inclusion Barnet. Run by staff who have lived experience of disability, we help other disabled people on a one-to-one basis to access services they need.
Goodbye to Margaret
At the end of this month, we say farewell to the lovely Margaret Smith, who has been working with us over the past year as a project assistant.
Margaret told us:
“I wanted to thank everyone at IB for making me feel so welcome. I’ve met some lovely people during my time at IB and I’ve really improved my skill set. I have really improved my skills in admin and customer service which I think helped me secure my new role.”
We thank Margaret for all her hard work and huge congratulate her on securing a great new job as a housing administrator.
Advanced Care Planning report
Do you know what ACP is?
If the answer is no, you’re not alone.
For our latest report, researched and produced by our Healthwatch Barnet team, we put this same question to a group of Barnet residents and discovered that most people had never heard the term.
In fact, ACP stands for Advance Care Planning, and it is one of the most important things you’ll discuss with your GP.
Advance Care Planning conversations are held between patients, of any age, who may have significant health issues, and their family and healthcare professionals.
More info: Snapshot Insight Report: the Barriers to Advance Care Planning | Healthwatch Barnet
End of an era for Enablement
The end of February saw the last day of our Enablement Partnership with Barnet Enfield & Haringey Mental Health Trust (BEH-MHT).
As part of this four-year project we supported the growth of the peer workforce. We arranged coproduction projects and training; advised and supported the voice of people with lived experience; and developed the Trust’s first ever Recovery Strategy, which launches in the spring and was coproduced with 250 people using services.
We are proud of all that we achieved with the BEH team over the last few years, it has been a great opportunity to work in partnership and spread the word about peer work.
Stay well campaign
Despite the welcome signs of spring, winter hasn’t finished with us yet. This year more than ever it’s important to stay warm and well through the colder months. Our team at Healthwatch Barnet, in conjunction with North Central London Clinical Commissioning Group, have advice and information to help Barnet residents ensure they stay well this winter, whether through vaccines against COVID and flu, or by getting the right medical appointment at the right time.
Contact Healthwatch Barnet info@healthwatchbarnet.co.uk if you would like to receive printed materials (available in different languages) or if a visit from a team member would be useful for your organisation or community.
Meet our team
Ellen Cheshire, Voluntary & Community Sector Support Lead
Our Voluntary and Community Sector Support is the Inclusion Barnet offer within our Barnet Together Partnership. We provide free support to non-profit organisations in Barnet in any way we can. Whether offering free bespoke
business development advice or helping you with a funding application, training and more, we help you to adapt and thrive in this ever-changing landscape.
1. How long have you worked at Inclusion Barnet?
I joined the Barnet Together team here at Inclusion Barnet in August 2020. Initially I was here on a 6-month contract, to provide extra fundraising and business development support for Barnet’s voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) organisations. The sector was reeling from the additional demands the covid-19 pandemic had brought in terms of providing services, finding funding and working out new ways to deliver their support. This demand hasn’t come to an end, and I’m still here a year and a half later!
2. What is the main thing you are working on right now?
In February 2022, Barnet Council announced that it was increasing its support to Barnet’s VCFSE through an Alliance with Barnet Together, a partnership between Young Barnet Foundation, Volunteering Barnet and Inclusion Barnet. This enhanced partnership will provide many more ways in which we can support local not-for-profit organisations providing such much-needed support and services for those who live and work in Barnet. Behind the scenes there are many projects underway to streamline this support and ensure that we are providing the best advice, resources, training and support to over 1,000 such organisations.
3. What motivates you in your current role?
As well as having the honour and privilege of supporting organisations in their work, I have also been keen to share the importance of inclusion which is central to everything we do here. I have learnt so much from my colleagues with lived experience and remain determined to champion the social model of disability wherever and whenever I can.
4. The best thing about working at Inclusion Barnet?
In my previous roles I have only ever been able to provide fundraising, marketing and business support for one charity at time. But here, I am working with 100s, helping them to realise their ambitions. I can in one day be providing some kind of support to half a dozen or so different organisations. The variety of support needed, the types of people being supported, and the kinds of projects or services being provided always keeps me on my toes, and my fingers flying across the keyboard.
5. Favourite way to spend time when you’re not working?
I love to go for bracing fresh-air walks and breath-taking swims. During the first year of lock-down I found a group of other women who enjoy wild swimming and I am now in my second year of swimming throughout the year. Yes, we do swim outdoors during the winter! I also love watching and writing about films, and it’s a bonus when commissioned to write or lecture about something I enjoy doing.
Campaigns, consultations and more
Recording of PIP assessments
New guidance issued to health professionals states that providers have the facility to audio record telephone and face-to-face consultations and that this should remove or reduce the need for claimants to record consultations.
So, you can ask in advance for your assessment to be recorded, and it should be done.
However, if you want to make your own recording on your phone, just in case, it is completely lawful for you to do so – for your own information, to share with an advisor or use as part of an appeal.
Ward boundary changes
Barnet’s ward boundaries have changed, which means the polling station where you go to vote in May this year might have changed.
There are changes to the number of councillors too.
More information is available on Barnet Council website, including accessible documents.
Barnet’s pharmacy services
Let's make sure the voices of disabled people are well represented in this important local research led by our Healthwatch Barnet team.
What can be done to make Pharmacies work better for us in future?
Please take the survey today. Thank you.
Vote by post deadline
If, like many of us, you continue to be concerned about keeping safe from Coronavirus, you may want to consider registering for a postal vote this year.
The deadline to do this is 19th April.
About us
Membership
Why not become a member of Inclusion Barnet?
Membership:
• Is FREE
• Connects you a growing network of disabled people in Barnet
• Gives your voice a boost where it counts
• Gives you a say in the future of Inclusion Barnet
Inclusion Barnet services
Have you heard about some of the other community services that we run? Click on the logos or buttons for more information.
Independent Living Centre, c/o Barnet & Southgate College,
7 Bristol Avenue, Colindale, London NW9 4BR
Inclusion Barnet is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation.
Registered Charity Number: 1158632
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