Free HIV Conference Places

posted: 12/01/2011

There are some free places reserved for people living with HIV, at 'Positively Together' a conference in Sheffield in late February. If you want to attend please ask for a free place as soon as possible, because they will give the free places to whoever asks first.

Positively Together is a conference 'Promoting the Health and Well-being of People Living With HIV' on Wednesday 23rd February 2011, in Sheffield (about an hour from Manchester by train or coach).

The aim of this one day conference is to bring together people living with and affected by HIV, as well as services responsible for planning and delivering HIV treatment, care and support in order to raise awareness about how to promote the health and well-being of people
living with HIV.

Apply for a free place

Free places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

To apply, please email Liz Wilson, Training Manager by January 26th 2011.

Please feel free to pass this information onto anyone you feel may benefit from attending.
 

More about the conference

It will be chaired by Baroness Joyce Gould, and keynote speakers include Sir Nick Partridge (Terrence Higgins Trust), Dame Denise Platts (Chair of National AIDS Trust), and Silvia Petretti (Positively UK).

There will be a range of workshops to choose from including

• HIV stigma and discrimination,
• the role of the voluntary sector,
• clinical care pathways, 
• service user involvement.

People from George House Trust will be among those presenting at a workshop.

The conference is aimed at a wide audience, including:
 

• People living with and affected by HIV
• GPs and primary care staff
• GP Consortia
• HIV Support Organisations
• Sexual Health Clinics
• GUM staff
• Health Promotion Teams
• Commissioners
• Other relevant clinicians

Positively Together conference

More Disability Tests for Benefits

posted: 08/12/2010

All 3 million people with disabilities and long term conditions such as HIV, including pensioners and children, who are getting Disability Living Allowance will soon be forced to have medical tests.

Ministers announced yesterday plans to end the automatic right to disability living allowance, worth up to £70 a week for care and up to £50 a week for travel needs. This benefit will soon be called the 'personal independence payment'.

Waiting and testing

Claimants will have to wait for a year for the new "personal independence payment" and then face a series of medical and other tests focusing on "an individual's ability to carry out a range of key activities necessary to everyday life".
 

Medical tests already under fire

The existing system of medical tests that are used to judge people claiming sickness and disability benefits (Incapacity Benefit and Employment Support Allowance) is already under review after mounting evidence that people with serious illnesses like HIV are being judged fit to work, when they are not. The tests for the replacement 'personal independence payment' will be based on these.

Many claim that the disadvantages of the medical tests will outweigh any benefits. The medical tests system is often very wrong and very inefficient. 40% of people who appleal the decision win their appeals.

"We have fundamental concerns that the cost of the administration will mean there is no saving here. Claiming these benefits mean at the moment filling out a very long form. I don't think the answer is a whole new process of interviews, which many disabled people may find intimidating," said Guy Parckar of the Leonard Cheshire disability charity.
 

Do what we say

Welfare support will also be conditional on disabled people acting on government instructions to "better manage or improve their situation if appropriate".
 

Behind the changes - cuts of £1 billion from Disability Living Allowance

Charities said they were "deeply concerned" about the proposals – the government plans to save £1bn from DLA in the June budget.
 

"There's no evidence of widespread fraud and no evidence to back up claims that the benefit acts as a barrier to work," said Richard Watts, of the Essex Coalition of Disabled People.
 

Department of Work and Pensions announcement 

Consultation proposals

Consultation on the proposed changes - response deadline 14 February 2011

Source

Positively Together HIV Conference

posted: 07/12/2010

A conference in late February will promote the health and well-being of people living with HIV. The ‘Positively Together’ conference aims to bring together people living with or affected by HIV, as well as services responsible for planning and delivering HIV treatment, care and support, in order to raise awareness of how to promote the health and wellbeing of people living with HIV.

Chaired by Baroness Joyce Gould of the Sexual Health Independent Advisory
Group, confirmed speakers include:

• Sir Nick Partridge, Chief Executive, Terrence Higgins Trust
• Dame Denise Platt, Chair of the Commission for Social Inspection
• Silvia Petretti, Positively UK

There will be a range of workshops to choose from including:

• HIV stigma and discrimination
• The role of the voluntary sector
• Clinical care pathways
• Service user involvement

The conference is for people interested in this including:

• People living with or affected by HIV
• GPs and primary care staff
• GP Consortia
• HIV support organisations
• Sexual health services and Commissioners of sexual health services
• GUM staff
• Health promotion teams
• Social services
• Drug agencies

Positively Together is organised by the Centre for HIV and Sexual Health and The Forge Centre, Sheffield City Council’s HIV and Hepatitis social work support service.

Wednesday 23rd February 2011, Sheffield
Cost: £190
Limited bursaries available for people affected by HIV (please contact them for details)

For further information, please contact them on
Tel: 0114 226 1900 Fax: 0114 226 1901 e-mail

Book before 28 January, the closing date.

To register please complete the application form 

Join the Disability Benefits Survey

posted: 26/08/2010

We are keen to find out what people living with HIV think about how the benefits system works. The survey is organised by the Disability Benefits Consortium (DBC), a network of different disability charities and campaigns, including NAT (National AIDS Trust). George House Trust supports the coalitions study.

Please take part in the survey here

Finding out about you and work, Employment Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Disability Living Allowance

The survey asks what you think about work, and if you have ever claimed Employment and Support Allowance – the new benefit for people who cannot work due to ill health or disability. It also asks about Housing Benefit and Disability Living Allowance.

The government is planning major changes to benefits, and already we know many people with HIV have serious problems with disability benefits. To campaign well for people living with HIV we need to know more about the experiences of people living with HIV, good and bad.
 

The survey ends on 20 October 2010. Take part in the survey in here please

If you have any questions about the survey or NAT's work on benefits, contact Sarah Radcliffe, NAT's Policy Officer 

Disability Benefits Consortium 
 

Help Create Living with HIV Website

posted: 20/08/2010

Are you interested in helping to create a new website for people living with HIV? You can join a Reader’s Panel to review proposed pages and make suggestions.
 

A new living with HIV website is being set up. This is funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and will give people living with HIV information and tools to help manage living with HIV better. This website project is run by Terrence Higgins Trust.
 

The new website will have information and more to meet people’s needs and interests. The contents and images will be aimed at the main groups affected, including African communities, gay men and young people, and it will have a neutral tone so it works for everyone.
 

Help through Reader’s Panel
People living with HIV are asked to help make the new website a success by joining the Readers' Panel to help review the content and suggest how it can be tailored to fit your needs better. They want a large number of people with HIV to get involved and it's a great way for you to have a say in how the new website works and make sure it has the greatest impact.
 

People who'd join the Reader’s Panel will be emailed pages one at a time and asked to fill in a short online form after reading each page. The pages are short - about 300 words - and it only take a few moments to read and comment. They want the Panel to look over about 20 pages each, spread over a couple of weeks. You can read and comment in your own time at a rate that suits you.
If you'd like to be involved please apply here