Pugwash

According to documents, my next door neighbour has a dropped kerb which is designated to be a 'green' bay. Currently my neighbour has a fence across his front garden. He only needs to remove the fence, push aside a couple of large plant pots in order to be able to park a vehicle in his front 'garden'. The dropped kerb was granted over 20 years and only reason why the fence was erected as at one point as a previous tenant had young children and wanted to protect them from running out into the road. The property was also designated as a fully accessible flat for a disabled person with various aids installed and for the last decade has been inhabited by elderly/disabled tenants. None of them have owned a car, but a new tenant moving in may require this. I have spoken to many local residents and nobody in Barry Road have indicated that there is a need for CPZ in this area. We are all aware that some parking spaces will be lost due to traffic calming measures drawn up by Southwark. I cannot see any benefit or needs for a CPZ area from Chrystal Palace Road right through to Barry Road. I believe that some residents are undertaking petitions as they have discovered that not every household received the consultation documents.

I vaguely remember noting when we had dogs, that one of my house insurances had a section relating to injuries caused by pets - must be the contents insurance.

Just been informed that there is a speaker on Monday 28th as follows:- 'We have a speaker from ?Hearing Care? to talk specifically about managing, maintenance and adapting your hearing aids use to various situations ' What I forgot to mention is that the group is for those of 50 plus.

I agree what a nightmare!. It looks as though social services may have undertaken an assessment in 2015. Is it the same social services now as was in 2015? By the sounds of things - Dad has dementia (which may or not affect his mobility) and your Mum may have reduced mobility as a result of her fractured hip. If you calculate each parent's income and add on what social services may contribute each week - how much of a difference is there in terms of the fees? Given the fact that your parents appear to have been in the same home since 2015 -3 years plus - there may be a bargaining situation with the care home. Have they mentioned anything to you about the situation? You may feel that you need an independent advocate to liaise between yourselves, social services and care home. More so if your father's dementia is such that he lacks capacity to determine his needs (Mental Capacity Act 2005). I have always found these professional advocates useful and you should be able to find a recognised advocate organisation in the region/area/county of your parents care home. Good Luck

Also went to the group - very informative with suggestions for speakers, topics, aids and adaptations - all to be covered in the next few weeks

Hi Pugwash, I guess CPZ permits could be avoided for Home Care Workers if they time their visits to be outside the hours of operation and the hours of operation were limited. o you know if the Herne Hill CPZ operating Mon-Fri 12-2pm caused problems for Home Care Workers visiting people there? James, the info pack state that approved home care agencies may have a maximum of 5 permits only. Whilst many home care workers use public transport, others rely on their cars. In the summer I was informed that rehab support workers working for Southwark and NHS had been informed that they would be required to pay towards their parking permits - given that care workers are relatively low paid, this would have caused considerable hardship. Not sure how this was resolved. Care Plans operate from around 7.30/8 am until around 9 pm 7 days a week plus all bank holidays- in some cases it is essential that specific care has to be given at set times i.e those taking Parkinson Disease medication have to administer it at certain times and should not be varied as will impact on the management of the condition. Regardless whether a paid carer, or relative coming in specifically at these times to administer medication - costs of permits would deter visits being made. Whilst Barry Road does have parking problems - many multi occupied premises (sometimes 5/6 flats in one house) and one car per flat - CPZ will not make any difference in my opinion.

Kings College Hospital Audiology dept used to do all my testing and hearing aid supplies but some years ago opted out this service and I am now under 'In Health' and attending the audiology clinic in Chadwick Road. I have to have a GP letter re referring me to In Health every 3 years before I can be retested and usually get an appointment within a month. Last time my aid broke down, I was given an appointment within 3 days as I was prepared to go to an emergency clinic in Streatham on a Sunday.

Prior to your parents going into residential care, were they assessed by social services? If they were, the assessments would have indicated the level of care that they needed at that time. In most LA it would usually start as needing care at home from home carers and frequency. As their needs increased, a further assessment should have been undertaken and the care package changed. As a rule of thumb most LA social services have a ceiling as to the number of hours and cost of weekly home care. A financial assessment would have been undertaken as to the extent of weekly contributions based on each parent's income. If an assessment of need was undertaken which indicated that at that time, neither of your parents NEEDED 24 hour care in a care home, social services will not pay. If however your parents WANTED to move to a care home (with or without an Assessment of Need) they would need to be financially responsible for all the care home fees. I have dealt over the years of many older people who decided that they would rather have the companionship of others and 'care' than staying in their own home with weekly practical help. A few years down the line they realise that savings are running low and care home fees had increased. Since there were no social services assessment of need prior to care home admission, the older person had to now request the social services in the area of their care home now undertake an assessment which would determine as to whether they qualify on the basis of Needs for 24 hour care. The Care Act 2014 lays down the 'eligibility criteria' in terms of an individual's well being, care and support. This is a detailed Act and defines the basis of all Adult Social Care Assessments undertaken by local authorities. You mention that savings will run out in a few months time - will they be left with less than approx. ?23,000 each?. As part of the assessment they each will need to complete a Financial Assessment form giving a breakdown of their income from state and occupational pensions, income from investments etc. Also were they getting Attendance Allowance after they moved into the care home? As many social services have a long waiting time for appointments, it may be wise to book a date for yourselves, social worker and parents asap. Even more so if their individual savings are less than approx. ?23,000. Care Home fees vary from area to area - some starting around ?600 pw and other around ?1000 pw. Nursing home fees are usually a couple of hundred more per week. Each LA will have a ceiling as to how much they will contribute each week to costs, Age UK and Independent Age leaflets explain this much better than I can. The ceiling in West Sussex for instance may be ?660 pw but in East Sussex ?600. Having had 3 relatives in care and Nursing homes, I am well versed. My father due a unforeseen circumstances was forced to live in a care home - he was at that time self caring but partially blind and getting doddery on his feet. His level of savings were such that he paid the full cost of the care home fees. I had Lasting Power of Attorney to deal with his financial affairs, so when he was getting to the 'cut off point' (which at the time was around ?21,000) I contacted West Sussex Social Services for a full assessment of need. As his needs had increased - needed help with personal care, supervision with walking, also early stages of dementia - he was assessed as requiring 24 hour care and following a financial assessment - I paid on Dad's behalf around ?500 per month towards his care with LA paying the remainder. The care home fees were within the LA's ceiling. Years later, with my stepmother going into care- we needed to sell their bungalow, which meant that Dad was back to being self funding. At the time of my father's death, he had severe dementia, blind, deaf, incontinent, wheelchair bound and would under most situations requiring nursing home placement costing almost ?1000 pw. However as a long term resident at his care home, they felt that his needs could be met by them and increased their fees by ?50 pw. - their argument was that this was dad's home and they had the staffing and knowledge to care for him until be died (which was a few weeks later). Without this care home I would have been forced to find a nursing home within his financial means and whose fees would have been acceptable to the LA should his savings fall below the threshold. Did you parents want to live in a particular area? It may well be that adjoining areas/counties have a wider range of care homes which cost less. It may be wise to find out what else is available in the area and if there are any waiting lists. Sometimes care homes will reduce their costs when self funders savings fall below the threshold. Generally speaking, self funders are charged at a considerably higher weekly fee by some homes, partially as the risk of debts is higher also they are subsidising others who are having part local authority funding. I have known care homes reduce the fees once LA part funding is guaranteed. In the rare event that both of your parents are found not to be eligible on the basis of their needs, not to require 24 hour care - ask social services about extra sheltered housing in the area and could they be classed as priority need.

As someone who has been deaf since the age of 2 years (through measles) I am well adapted to hearing loss and have tried to encourage others with recent loss to make the most of aids and adaptations which can improve their well being. If there is poor attendance at this course it will need to close. Please inform your friends and relatives.

More details Free Course Mondays from 10.45 - 12.45 at East Dulwich Community Centre. Covers hearing loss and how to live with it. hear about resources that can help and support you. Variety of lecturers from your area to give tips to aid communication, advances in technology, equipment, tinnitus, talk about diet and much more. refreshments included email. [email protected]. 0208 315 2550.

Home Care Workers will need to get their agencies to apply for individual permits - this will affect the availability of care workers if the agencies refuse to apply. This will have an impact on those who rely on daily visits for personal care and practical assistance.

New group meeting at the East Dulwich Community Centre - if you or a relative is concerned about loss of hearing please attend.

I never use my car when visiting any part of Lordship Lane as there is no need as bus service is good and I can walk up NX road to purchase goods. I have a car and it is essential - I use it to visit my children and grandchildren who live outside London. I have relatives who are not in best of health and I need to get to them quickly at times. I am a volunteer who regularly provides lift for less mobile older people throughout ED. Car parking is bad in my street mainly because houses are multi occupied (2 - 4 flats) Many of the residents have 2 cars each. I am against CPZ as having worked in borough's where these are in place - they are not the answer that many people feel.

having looked at the Phoenix by Denmark Hill Station menu there is a link to the allergens page of their routine meals which was very helpful.

I have always tipped hairdresser but not if I had a really bad haircut etc. (Rare)

I studied the benefit systems in Holland as part of my degree many moons ago. (1990s) and their system was that if people were receiving a sickness/disability benefit and were accepted for work, that benefit would continue until they received their first month's wages. Also, if the person could not work the full time hours, they could continue to do reduced hours and their benefit would automatically be paid to make up the difference. I was lucky to be able to interview the local DHSS/DWP equivalent manager who explained that (at that time) their was a minimum wage for all which also included benefits. At that time taxation was around 50% for all workers. What was interesting then was that if your annual salary was above a certain amount, you had to pay a compulsory additional 'national insurance i.e if income was more than say ?30.000 pa you paid a % of NI on income in excess of that amount but that allowed you to top up any benefits you may later have to claim. However, the Dutch system eventually proved too expensive after a few years and they abandoned much of the above but it would be interesting to know what replaced it and how it worked. Although in theory the Universal Credit system is a good idea, the implementation has not been thought out and I have met people who have been frozen out of their benefits for several months and relying on help from friends etc to get by.

This is an opportunity for local residents to meet with their local team and generally discuss any problems/concerns, seek information etc.

Next meeting of Dulwich Hill SNT will be Monday 10th December 6 - 7 pm at Christ Church Barry Road. (Access via gates - and to door on right had side) Discussion will include Burglary and Bike Thefts plus any other items you wish to raise.

We live on the corner of a main road and bus route and frequently have litter blown into our garden. Every so on I gather it up and bin it, also at times clear the pavement in front of my house. If everyone can do a little each week, that would assist.

I was advised by my decorator to contact Gary Vu, I had in mind this guy when I discovered that my usual contact had work for another 3 weeks and could not fit me in. Gary was busy but when he heard that my decorator was due to commence work with me within a week, and needed the work to be done before painting - he offered to come in on a Saturday. Was a small job ( rewiring a ceiling light and replacing a broken socket outlet) and completed within an hour. very reasonable cost (paid cash)

Brad and Michael recently decorated our bedroom - (paint and wall papering plus repainting ceiling) As always helpful, tidy and reasonably priced. They have now done 4 rooms in our house plus complete exterior repaint.

Melbourne Tyres - have used several times over the years - very helpful and allow you to park on their small forecourt so that you are not on the yellow lines

Christ Church have a box for donations to a food bank - they do not operate a food bank. I think the nearest is PECAN in Peckham

Many of the local police teams meet up for social chats/information sharing etc at set times and days. However, if they have been asked to follow up a reported crime etc, they make this their priority. the Dulwich Hill SNT tries to meet up on Wednesdays at Christ Church.

Our brown bins have always been emptied fortnightly