‘Anjali is a dance company with a difference – all of its performers have learning disabilities. They are currently in training with top choreographers ahead of a Uk and world tour.’ –BBC News, Sept 2017.

Watch Anjali on the BBC HERE!

Anjali are one of many dance companies springing up around the country aimed at and formed by dancers with learning disabilities. They really are showcasing the joy of dance!

Dance is perhaps one of the oldest ways of expressing ourselves, emotion playing a large part in pushing our bodies to move to rhythm.  Used for centuries as a social communication and bonding tool, in ceremonies and rituals, for healing and as a method of expression, dance is a constant in our lives whether as watchers of Strictly, participants of ballroom dancing classes, the first dance at our weddings or simply alone in the kitchen with a spatula in hand.

Communication, bonding, healing, expression…What about health benefits, our mental and physical wellbeing?

Health Guidance remind us that most of us are not active enough to maintain a really healthy body. We have become a sedentary world of watching TV, playing video games and doing activities that don’t involve activity. There are those of us too for whom going to a gym, a game of squash or long forest bike rides are not physically possible or we can’t afford it or we simply don’t have time. We may have a disability that precludes us from running or weight training and, let’s face it, those are not necessarily fun!

Think then of the health benefits of dance. The social interaction and the fun element of dance means that not only are our bodies being exercised, weight controlled and muscle tone improved, but we are feeding our senses with music which in turn has proven benefits to our mental wellbeing.  Dance causes our bodies to release happy hormones, endorphins, natural antidepressants. There are studies that prove dance helps our memories and prevents the onset of dementia (the science bit refers to dance increasing the volume of the part of our brains that naturally shrinks leading to memory loss and dementia).

Dance is good for all! 

We don’t need to be super fit to in some way participate in dance.  Whatever our ability, dance will help awareness of our whole bodies.  It will give us spacial awareness and balance – all of these benefits transferring into everyday lives outside of dance.

We all have the right to experience the joy of dance…

“Paying for sleep-ins at an hourly rate means that the sector is faced with a real and potentially overwhelming funding crisis.” — Mencap, July 2017

Apple House, as a responsible employer, has been paying its sleep duty staff the NLW since its introduction.  This had a huge impact on our staffing budget.  We, like most providers, see scant if any increases in fees in spite of the introduction of compulsory pension schemes and a further hike in the NLW this April.  So, while employment costs spiral, fee increases are not forthcoming from local authority funders while inflation soared and led to, in real terms, a reduction in fees in comparison to escalating costs.  Surely a recipe for disaster…an economic ticking bomb?

Local authorities are struggling too! Their pot of money is finite and already allocated to meeting the essential needs under a duty of care.  

A report by The Independent this month stated, ‘Uk on brink of social care crisis, Government warned.’ Although the article focuses on care of the elderly, its stark warning has been echoed across all corners of social care including learning disability care provision.

Whilst this blog post isn’t a political rant, I think we all see that funding for social care in the UK has to be increased, ring fenced, targeted to the front line if a real crisis is to be averted and the most vulnerable in our society are to be respected, supported, protected, empowered.

So, what’s the real situation with funding sleep duty, with rightfully paying staff the NLW?

Good question!  At a providers’ forum I attended some months ago, approximately 60-70% of care providers stated they were not paying the NLW hourly rate for sleep duty.  They continued to use the old model of paying a fixed wage to night staff for the sleep element of their shift.  Ah ha! some exclaimed, Be careful! It’s only a matter of time before you’re hauled before a tribunal and forced to back-pay those sleep staff. Humph! replied some.  We’re not paying people by the hour to sleep!  I listened and felt rather relieved that we had taken it upon ourselves to bite the bullet, to pay by the hour right from the get-go.  Yes, it was painful, but to us it seemed logical and fair and right.

Now, those tribunals have started.  Care providers are facing an HMRC crack-down, are being told to pay up to six years back pay.  Mencap are calling for HMRC to hold a stay of execution, for a definitive answer on the whole issue of sleep-in pay.  Meanwhile, what of agencies, of care homes and domiciliary care? What of Grandpa’s sleep-in support worker, your neighbour’s sleep-in support worker, of the workers who sleep-in to keep people safe and cared for, to assist their independence and aid wellbeing…at night in care homes, nursing homes, our parents’ homes? 

What happens to that tier of critical support if the cost of sleep duty increases exponentially while there is no additional funding available to pay for it?  What becomes of the rights of the disabled who are seemingly adrift amidst this brewing storm that everyone is warning is inevitable?

“Already chronically-underfunded care providers and local authorities have to find additional money that simply isn’t there currently.” — Mencap, July 2017

What can we do?

Share share share on social media.  Raise awareness of the impending crisis and please do support Mencap’s initiative to have a stay of execution for social care providers who haven’t been paying the NLW for sleep duty, who face crippling back-pay costs which could lead to home closures.  Lobby your MP so that there is an inquiry that will lead to a definitive decision on sleep duty pay and additional funding for social care.

And, to end on a positive note, let’s not forget all the wonderful and dedicated support workers who work the sleep duty: Thank you!  

— Jane Montrose, Managing Director

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What is ‘John’s Campaign?’

“John’s Campaign is named after Dr John Gerrard, who died in November 2014 after a catastrophic stay in hospital.

Shocked at how much damage disconnection can wreak on people with dementia, his daughter Nicci Gerrard and her friend Julia Jones co-founded the campaign with a single, simple principle: We should not enforce disconnection between carers and those who need care. When someone with dementia is hospitalized, the medical staff should do all within their power to make access easy for family carers and utilise their expert knowledge and their love. The principles of John’s Campaign are applicable everywhere when a person with dementia cannot live in their own home. Whether someone with dementia is living in a mental health unit, a nursing home, a rehabilitation unit, supported housing or a care home, their families must be welcome to support them as often as they are able. Families are more than “visitors” to a person with dementia; they are an integral part of that persons life and identity and often their last, best means of connection with the world.

In the two or so years since it was founded, overwhelming support has been shown from across the UK.  Nearly 400 wards, hospitals and other institutions have pledged their support.  Nearly 58 MPs from across political parties signed an Early Day Motion tabled by Valerie Vaz MP in December 2014.  In January 2015, the then PM David Cameron voiced support on the Andrew Marr show.  A year later, NHS England officially endorsed the campaign, including it in their 2016/17 Commissioning for Quality and Innovation (CQUIN) payment framework.” — John’s Campaign Website.

Today the campaign continues to grow, with care homes such as Apple House now pledging their support via a family friendly ethos that underpins each home, and with recognition that connecting with families benefits not only those with dementia.

Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive for Care England, says, “There is really good evidence that people who maintain their relationships have much greater well-being, and better quality-of-life. It is for these reasons that John’s Campaign, is fighting to ensure that there are no restrictions on when people can engage with their loved ones.”

The Division of Clinical Psychology states, “Carer involvement and support is essential to providing best care, for example, by obtaining a person’s life history.”

With support from The Guardian newspaper and The Observer newspaper too, awareness of the vital connection between those receiving care and their families and friends can only increase further.

Here’s our certificate:

Read our blog post about being ‘family friendly, HERE

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Receiving no government funding for their research, they are completely dependent on the generosity of supporters to fund their pioneering research programme.

“Alzheimers is a disease that causes dementia. It is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for about two-thirds of cases in the elderly”–Alzheimers Research Uk.

Typical early symptoms of Alzheimers include:

• Regularly forgetting recent events, names and faces.
• Becoming increasingly repetitive.
• Regularly misplacing items or putting them in odd places.
• Confusion about the time of day.
• Disorientation, especially away from your normal surroundings.
• Getting lost.
• Problems finding the right words.
• Mood or behaviour problems such as apathy, irritability, or losing confidence.

Alzheimer’s gets worse over time, but the speed of change varies from person to person.

As Alzheimers progresses:

• People will find that their ability to remember, think and make decisions worsens.
• Communication and language become more difficult.
• A person’s behaviour may change and some people can become sad or depressed.
• Anxieties or phobias are quite common.
• People may experience hallucinations, where they may see things or people that aren’t there.
• Problems with sleeping and restlessness at night often occur.
• Anger or agitation become more common.
• People may become increasingly unsteady on their feet and fall more often.
• People gradually require more help with daily activities like dressing, toileting and eating.

At Apple House, we have first hand experience of the debilitating effects of the above symptoms; this is a degenerative disease that doesn’t only affect the very elderly.  We know that by supporting Alzheimers Research Uk with a monthly donation it is still not enough.  They need your support too, to help them continue their pioneering work that focuses on prevention, treatment and a cure.

DONATE HERE

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