Have Your Say - Manchester Cuts
posted: 17/05/2011
People living in Manchester are asked for their views on the future of adult social care services in the city. The council has to save £109m this year, rising to £170m next – 25% of its whole budget.
The council’s plans for making cuts in adult social care are now available and there are 24 local events in May and June where council staff can explain the proposals, answer questions and help fill in questionnaires.
There are four main things the city council is asking residents about
- Supporting people services
- Cuts and changes in voluntary and community sector
- Changes to social care services
- Charges for social care services.
The city plans to change the way it allocates money to the voluntary sector and for supporting people, by assessing the quality and cost of services, and make more use of Telecare and equipment, and change the way it allocates money.
Manchester also proposes to change its charges for social care, for example, by ending its maximum charge so people who can pay more will pay the full cost, whatever that is.
How to have your say
You can read the proposals and then answer questions online, or you can visit one of the 24 events being held over the next three weeks.
Please take part
The more people with HIV living in Manchester who take part the better.
The main proposals and consultation for people with HIV is here. The last public event where you can ask questions is on Friday 3 June and you must send any comments in on this one by Wednesday 6 July.
Some of the documents are PowerPoint presentations that show you what they propose and you will need a computer programme to see this. Here is a link to the free Microsoft PowerPoint Viewer for you to download and install if you need this.
Councillor Glynn Evans, executive member for adults services at Manchester City Council said: "Manchester looks after a large number of vulnerable and elderly people who need support and care, and we remain committed to ensuring that we provide the best possible services, despite the very challenging circumstances.
"These proposals will affect people’s lives, so it is vitally important that all carers, residents and people who use our services themselves, tell us what they think and have their say.
"The council has to make significant savings to balance our smaller budget and we have seen a massive reduction in our budgets like supporting people. We believe these proposals are the fairest we could draw up in these very difficult times, but this is an open and genuine consultation process and all views and ideas will be considered."
Events across the city now
The adult social care consultation events began on 9 May and the last is on Friday 3 June.
Deadline for public comments varies with each of the consultations, two are on 14 June, another is 6 July, the last is on 8 August:
Social Care Consultations or phone the Contact Service on 0161 234 5001.
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Changes to Our Services
posted: 18/04/2011
There are some exciting changes to services at George House Trust. Some of the group spaces will happen less often, but we will have three new services for everyone. People using George House Trust services have asked us for more chances to meet with a wide mix of people living with HIV – opportunities to meet others that are not based on gender, race, or sexuality.
Saturday Space is every month and will stay the same.
Weekly Gay Men’s Space
For the time being Gay Men’s Space will stay weekly on Monday evenings. This will be reviewed over the next 5 months. For now the gay men’s space is funded by the Elton John AIDS Foundation but this funding will stop at the end of September. We have already talked about this at the space and all changes will be discussed fully with men at the space before changes are made.
African Space on 1st Tuesday of every month
The African Space will become monthly starting in May. African Space will be the first Tuesday of the month. It will be just like the African Space is now.
Coffee Morning on 2nd Tuesdays of every month
There will be a new Coffee Morning, run by volunteers on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, starting on the 10th of May. This will be from 10.30 – 12.30 and there will be a crèche. Coffee Mornings are for all people living with HIV. The Coffee Mornings will be run by volunteers and during the Coffee Morning there will be no access to staff, the reception, computers, phone nor emergency payments.
Women’s Space on 3rd Tuesday of every month
The Women’s Space will become monthly starting in May. Women’s Space will be the third Tuesday. It will be just like the Women’s Space is now.
Health Information Sessions on 4th Tuesday of every month
There will be new monthly Health Information Sessions, on the 4th Tuesday of the month. These will be from 12 noon – 2.30 and open to all people living with HIV. There is no need to book. These sessions will usually be led by George House Trust staff and each month there will be a different topic. There will be a crèche and some food.
When there are five Tuesdays in the month there will be no space or other service on the 5th Tuesday.
Monthly HIV Workshops - dates and times vary
In addition to the Tuesday services we will also be offering a monthly HIV workshop. There will not be a regular date because our training room is sometimes booked. The Monthly HIV Workshops will last about 3.5 hours. There will not be a crèche but we can help with child care costs if you ask in advance.
The next workshop will be about Disclosure, telling other people about having HIV, on Friday 27th May. We have not set the exact time yet.
You will need to book a place at these workshops in advance - please contact Nathan Perry the George House Trust Health Trainer for more details
Computers and Phone in reception
If you want to use the computers in our reception, please ring and book if you have credit on your phone. If you have not booked and just arrive you will be able to use the computer if one is free.
No appointment?
We want to strongly encourage people to always make appointments. The services team will only be able to see people without appointments if it is most urgent.
Check the website diary for more details and dates
The website diary has the dates and details of all services until the end of May, and for some services for after this. We will add all the dates and details for the rest of the year to the diary before the end of April. See our services diary
Tell us what you think
Lynda, our director of services is happy to receive feedback on all aspects of our work and services, please email her It is really important that we have your support and backing - we want to provide the services that you want and need.
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Positive Teens to Adults
posted: 17/02/2011
Imagine being in your late teens living with HIV, having to swop the comfort and friendliness of the children’s HIV clinic for the strange unknown world of adult HIV services.
It’s tough enough being a teenager growing into adulthood, but with a stigmatised lifetime condition like HIV there are often extra challenges.
Older teenagers with HIV are learning to be pioneers and deserve our respect for that.
Health workers helping teenagers
Health professionals talk about helping teenagers with HIV make the change from teenager to adult and growing older with HIV in the 200th issue of HIVTreatment Update.
Teens talking life with HIV
Two young people making these changes talk about their lives. JD Bailey (20, female) talks about growing up with HIV, and Max, (19, male) talks about telling others about HIV.
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Domestic Abuse Attitudes
posted: 15/11/2010
Domestic abuse harms many people as well as wider society. People living with HIV are affected by domestic violence as much as any other people in society. The Greater Manchester domestic abuse organisation, Independent Choices, wants people’s views about domestic abuse problems and what services are needed.
The survey asks just nine questions and takes just 5 minutes. Join the survey here.
Please share the survey
Please circulate this to people you know in Greater Manchester, because they want as many people answering the survey as possible.
Findings
The survey results will be published and help develop and support high quality domestic violence support services for Greater Manchester region into 2011.
Copies of the finished report will be available by searching their website in January 2011.
Questions?
Questions about the survey to the research student, with the email heading ‘Research’
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Want to Have a Say?
posted: 11/10/2010
George House Trust wants four people to join our SMART group to have a say about our services. The deadline for applying is Monday 1 November.
We believe involving people with HIV in our services is really important. As part of our Service User Involvement Strategy, our SMART group, the Service Monitoring and Review Team, is a key way for people to have a real say in our services.
African and gay men wanted especially
SMART is a team of 16 people who use George House Trust services. SMART reports directly to the Board of George House Trust. We want 4 people to join SMART and we particularly want HIV positive African and gay men to apply, as both of these are under-represented on SMART.
SMART group meets every 2 - 3 months. You will be sent copies of papers to read and think about before the meeting. SMART meetings discuss all aspects of our services. SMART agrees a work plan for what we will discuss each year.
What does SMART do?
SMART involves people with HIV who use services to examine how we deliver services and suggests ways to develop and improve services.
Why get involved?
SMART is one way to be more involved in George House Trust and put something back. Involvement informs you about service delivery and developments as well as how we monitor and evaluate services. Becoming involved in SMART builds your skills and experiences.
What skills and experience do I need to join SMART?
Here are the things we expect of people in the SMART:
- Ability to maintain confidentiality and keep our ground rules at all times
- Being committed to service user involvement and providing feedback
- Making the time to read all the papers before the meetings
- Interested in all services George House Trust provides
- Being committed to working together as part of the SMART team
- To broadly support the work of George House Trust
Deadline: applications must be returned to Lynda by Monday 1st November .
SMART application pack
- Information and what we are looking for
- SMART Terms of Reference
- Application form
Information from and applications to Lynda Shentall, Director of Services by email or phone 0161 274 4499
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