Hello and welcome I am delighted and very proud to be welcoming you all to our first edition of 'News Matters'. It s been a really busy and exciting year for us since we spun out of Norfolk County Council in November 2013 and this first edition gives you a flavour of what our fantastic staff, customers and carers have been up to. There are so many exciting things happening in the services we provide that we cannot possibly capture them all in a few pages, so please keep up to date and follow events on our website, Facebook page and through local services newsletters. I d also like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your support over the last year and wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Sarah Stock Managing Director, Independence Matters Norfolk Care Awards 2015 Congratulations to our team at Laburnum Grove Dementia Hub who have been shortlisted for the Promoting Dignity and Respect category at the 2015 Norfolk Care Awards. This recognises the importance we place as an organisation on understanding our customers as individuals and ensuring each person is supported in a way that respects their particular needs. The nomination is a great achievement for the team who will attend a gala evening at the Sprowston Manor Hotel on 26 th February to find out if they have been successful. Launching Independence Matters and our new brand Independence Matters was officially launched in April and celebratory events were held at our locations across the county. Over 100 people attended our Dereham Head Office event where guests joined customers and carers to enjoy a barbeque, bake off competition and attend a performance by the Hub s drama group. The local press were on hand to report on the event and Sarah made a guest appearance on Radio Norfolk talking about the success of the social enterprise and the transition of services to Independence Matters. The day was also an opportunity to announce our new patron, wheelchair racer and paralympian Will Smith, who lives in Norfolk. We are proud to have someone who is both high profile and inspirational taking on this important role and we look forward to continuing to work with Will during 2015. The launch event was also a chance to showcase our new branding. Its distinctive magenta colour gives us a strong, yet fun identity and makes us instantly recognisable in the marketplace. Our photo shows Sue Whitaker (Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care), Philip Field (Stakeholder Director and parent), Will Smith (Patron), Sarah Stock (Managing Director) and Lewis Maund who is a customer at the Hub.
Independence Matters signs up to ethical charter On 10 th November, Independence Matters became the first social enterprise to formally adopt the UNISON Ethical Care Charter. The Charter provides a baseline for the safety, quality and dignity of care by ensuring employment conditions which do not short change customers through the recruitment and retention of experienced staff. Independence Matters is passionate about its staff and delivering high quality care, and signing up to the Charter demonstrates our commitment to providing our employees with good working terms and conditions. Our photo (right) shows Sarah Stock with UNISON Regional Manager, Ann Glover. New IM Board members We re delighted to announce the following appointments to our Board. Davina Tanner Chair Davina runs the hugely successful Britannia café at Norwich prison and brings a wealth of commercial business experience to the role. Karen Hester Non Executive Director A former East of England business woman of the year, Karen is Operations Director at Adnams, where she is also an Executive Board member. Paul Slyfield Finance Director Paul joins IM following a career in accountancy where he worked for a multinational steel producer before switching his focus to the charity sector. IM Board celebrates first year of trading at AGM Independence Matters held its first Annual General Meeting in November, recognising a full year of trading independently following our spin out from Norfolk County Council in 2013. The meeting was an opportunity to reflect on the last twelve months of trading and celebrate the successes achieved. It also confirmed the election of members to the Board including Karen Hester, Paul Slyfield and newly appointed Chair, Davina Tanner. Together they bring considerable commercial experience to the Board and their input will help us to take IM forward and grow it to benefit both customers and staff.
25,000 funding for garden at Suffolk Road Back in November we were delighted that our Gardens Matter campaign was successful in securing Big Lottery funding through The People s Millions public vote. Our teams at Great Yarmouth put in an incredible effort leafleting and talking to the press to promote our bid. The money will be used to create a specialist sensory garden at Suffolk Road, providing a safe, outdoor space which will help build closer links with the local community, breakdown barriers to disability and increase understanding of dementia. Local MP Brandon Lewis attends Rosewood opening Earlier this year, Rosewood Hub moved into new premises at Suffolk Road in Gorleston where it sits alongside our Great Yarmouth Community Hub. The move provides more spacious, up to date accommodation and improved facilities for those with dementia, as well as increasing the range of opportunities and activities available to them. The new Rosewood Hub was officially opened at a launch event in August, attended by Brandon Lewis, MP for Great Yarmouth, who cut a ribbon to officially welcome customers and their families. Exciting news in Sheringham Independence Matters will be working alongside Norfolk County Council to develop a new Community Hub in Sheringham. The centrally located site is at the rear of Tesco and provides easy access to all the facilities Sheringham has to offer, including the mainline station, steam railway, swimming pool, beach and a host of small shops and local cafes. The building will also include a Changing Places toilet facility which will be available 24/7 to the local community. Customers have been invited to contribute to the design of the Hub and work is due to start early in the new year. Changes to our services in the King s Lynn area After 40 years, Bryggen Road in King s Lynn closed its doors for the final time in December. The building has seen many changes over the years, having been an Adult Training Centre, a Day Service and finally, a Community Hub. At its peak it provided work experience to 140 people, but in recent years models of support have changed with personal budgets and increased choice, and customer numbers had reduced to just 50. The last of our customers have now moved to smaller hubs in Downham Market, King s Lynn and Terrington. Our staff have worked hard to help them retain links with each other by visiting the other hubs, meeting up for activities and arranging get-togethers.
Norfolk Industries goes from strength to strength It s been another great year for Norfolk Industries, with five new products and two additional sales outlets to shout about. Pets Corner has 92 stores across the UK and currently stocks four Norfolk Industries products. Animal Dreams is an online-based wholesale company selling UK-wide and is a supplier for Norfolk Industries Snooze Tubes - a tube nest complete with bedding material suitable for hamsters, gerbils, mice and rats. Our customers get creative for Christmas Back in the summer we held a competition inviting customers across our services to design a Christmas card for Independence Matters. We had over 70 fabulously glittery and diverse entries featuring Santas, reindeer, angels and even a Norwich City canary! With so many lovely images to choose from, judging the entries was a difficult job, but eventually two designs were selected. Congratulations go to the PAS East Art Group for their collage snowman which features on our Christmas card (and at the end of this newsletter), and to Alison Lethbridge from King s Lynn, whose hand drawn snowman was selected for our festive email footer. Thanks to everyone for entering. We look forward to running the competition again in 2015 and may even have packs of cards to sell! Norfolk Industries has also retained contracts to supply a number of major UK stores including Tesco, Sainsbury s, Asda, Morrisons and Pets at Home, as well as exporting to Cunipic in Spain. The company is proud to be providing quality products at a good price, whilst employing people with disabilities and providing placements to others with various barriers to work across Norfolk. To find out more about Norfolk Industries visit their website at www.norfolkindustries.co.uk Flexible Dementia Respite Service pilot a great success In August, we launched our Flexible Dementia Respite Service (FDRS) in the Norwich area. Created as a pilot in response to a request from Commissioners, the service provides assistance to people with dementia, and their carers, who are experiencing a crisis with their existing care arrangements. It offers a 'pick and mix' range of respite options, from day services to crisis interventions into the home, allowing people to choose the best fit for their individual needs. To date, the service has prevented acute admission to hospital or residential care for 15 people and has helped families to remain independent by giving them the opportunity to take a break and recuperate. We are grateful to the fantastic team of staff who have taken part in the pilot and helped make it such a success through their ability to quickly build relationships, get alongside families in times of crisis and work with them on their dementia journey. The pilot has generated a huge amount of interest and we plan to build on its success by rolling out FDRS across the county during 2015.
Karin enjoys tea at the House of Lords We are delighted to have assisted Karin Seeley, a customer at Great Yarmouth Community Hub, with her visit to the House of Lords for afternoon tea. Karin attended as a special guest of pioneering psychologist, Dr Janet Carr and hostess Professor Dame Sheila Hollins. Dr Carr (pictured right with Karin) has recently completed the world s longest-running research project into people with Down s syndrome, and Karin was one of a select number of people invited to share the celebrations. Karin s escort for the day was support worker Irene Houston, who travelled from Caister to London with her and made sure she was dressed for the occasion. We were also able to help by providing care for Karin s 92 year old mother while she was away. Developments to watch out for in 2015 N-able collaboration During 2014 we ve been working with N-able to make it easier for customers to purchase assistive technology and care equipment items. Providing a retail outlet at hubs has demonstrated real benefits to customers, including: Direct access to product information, costs and suitability for purpose. Help with the ordering process. Access to N-able demonstration sessions at our Hubs. Following a successful trial, the service launched at the Vauxhall Centre in December and will be promoted in early 2015. Independence Matters makes a small amount of money from each purchase and this will used to provide community grants to individuals who need equipment. Care Navigator Pilot We are excited to have jointly won this bid, worth 60,000, and will be working with Age UK Norfolk to set up the Care Navigator Service in the Western Locality. This is a one-year pilot, working alongside GP practices, with the aim of helping people over 75 to self-manage their situations by accessing health and social care support services in the community. Reablement Project (Western Locality) This is a joint project working in partnership with Norfolk County Council, the District Council and Integrated Commissioners. It aims to identify the causes of social isolation and find possible solutions. We have provided a questionnaire for distribution to older people in the west by Norfolk First Support and other providers. Recognition for Holt Community Hub The team at Holt Community Hub has received official recognition from North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, for their work at Holt Country Park. A group from the Hub, including customers and staff, have been assisting rangers at the park where they have also helped to create a sensory garden (pictured right). Team Leader Caroline Walton said: The team are very much respected for the work they do, so to receive this letter was brilliant for the group.
Update on our Stakeholder Board and Local Stakeholder Groups A meeting was held in October to discuss the development of the Stakeholder Board with our existing stakeholders. It was agreed that our priority should be to first embed the Local Stakeholder Groups, ensuring these provided a fair representation of Independence Matters customers across the county. With a Local Stakeholder Group already working well at Dereham, the focus will now be to develop two further groups operating out of Sprowston and Ipswich Road Community Hubs. The Sprowston Stakeholder Group met in early December and the Ipswich Road Stakeholder Group will meet in January. Once these are up and running they will provide additional representation and bring us a step closer to creation of the county-wide Stakeholder Board. If anyone is interested in joining a Stakeholder Group then please contact Shaun Wilson-Gotobed on 07771 978807 or email shaun.wilson-gotobed@independencematters.org.uk Independence Matters Stakeholder Board Made up of people who represent their Local Stakeholder Group. It represents the views of our customers and carers across the organisation, with two stakeholders sitting as Directors on the IM Board so they have a voice and can contribute to the decisions we make as a company. Local Stakeholder Groups Made up of customers, family carers or volunteers who represent each of our services at local level. Each group has a representative on the Stakeholder Board. We d love to hear from you So much has gone on across our services in 2014 that it would be impossible to cover it all here. There s been an amazing amount happening from skydiving fundraisers to the Special Olympics. Don t forget you can always keep up to date via our website and Facebook page. And if you ve enjoyed our newsletter, or have suggestions for future editions, please get in touch. Send your feedback and news stories to us at: IMComms@independencematters.org.uk