Monthly Archives: February 2023

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)

Have you recently received disappointing news from the Department for Work and Pensions in relation to a PIP claim? Have you had some experience with a PIP review, do you have on going concerns in relation to PIP either in a professional or personal experience capacity?

If so, then we would like to hear from you about your views on Personal Independence Payment as we understand there has been a recent surge with individuals suffering from bad experiences (including the loss of a PIP claim) in Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin.

Please share any information you may have by completing the form below. (Please note that the deadline for submitting your information has now been extended to Friday 28th April 2023).

Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub

Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub – How You Can Have Your Say!

NHS Shropshire Telford and Wrekin are keen to offer as many opportunities as possible to hear views about the Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub.

From 16 January to 31 March 2023, a further round of engagement will take place for the proposal which will focus on groups we have so far heard less from.

These include:

  • Youth (16-24)
  • Elderly and in particular those 80+
  • Males
  • LGBT+
  • Ethnic minority groups
  • Disability groups
  • Expectant and new parents.

To support this, we will be holding online and face-to-face focus groups, as well as attending numerous community meetings across the town.

Our approach will be flexible and will work to suit what is best for those groups of people we would like to hear from. As such, we will be happy to discuss how best to hear views by attending any community group meetings or activities that are already planned.

All feedback provided will be reported on and will feed into the work of the Programme Team responsible for developing the proposal.

If you would like to get involved, please let us know and we will plan our approach around your needs. Contact Sara Buckley at stw.getinvolved@nhs.net to start the conversation or to find out more information.

Further details about the Shrewsbury Health and Wellbeing Hub can be found on the NHS Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin website.

Review of Members Meeting February 2023

The first Members Meeting of 2023 was held of 15th February at Freemasons Hall Shrewsbury which saw a good number of members attend to hear three very interesting guest speakers. The business update of the Management Committee involved a detailed update by Webmaster Dan Watkins on how he was progressing the development of a brand-new web site for SDN which will solve many of the historic problems we are experiencing with site and will ensure we have a fresh modern site for members to easily interact with.

The Chair Russell Price outlined the progress the committee had made in recovering from the Covid Pandemic and reported the fantastic news that SDN had received a £2,000 donation from the Salopian Lodge of Charity.

The first speaker was Sara Buckley who gave an interesting talk on the proposed Health & Wellbeing Hub and the current consultation process. Sara was closely questioned by members on the implications for people with disabilities and its impact on how they could access important health care. Further details are contained in this link. https://www.shropshiretelfordandwrekin.nhs.uk/get-involved/current-work/shrewsbury-health-and-wellbeing-hub/

Sara Buckley was also asked some questions by the members the current consultation being carried out. Please see the questions and answers below:

  • Is there any representation on the Stakeholder Reference Group from those representing those with disabilities?
    • Yes, we have representation from the Shropshire Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly which bring together groups including those with disabilities, and they feedback information from these meetings to their groups.

 

  • Can the group be involved in inputting/contributing to plans for the hub?
    • We are engaging with groups including disability groups and want to continue to engage with all groups and welcome their ongoing input.

 

  • What is the timeline for the consultation/hub?
    • This is not known at this time.

The second speaker was Richard Pulford who is the Disability Support and Liaison Officer at Shrewsbury Town Football Club. He detailed a long list of initiatives he was driving forward with the club to make match days more easily accessible. He also invited SDN members to join him for an exclusive open day session at the club to see first-hand what happens on match days. Further details will be posted on the SDN web site when known.

The third and final speaker was Wendy Marston, the Community Engagement Lead for the Shropshire Community Leisure Trust who manage leisure facilities across the County including the Quarry Swimming Baths and Sundorne Sports Village. Wendy outlined the existing facilities on offer that cater for a wide range of abilities and provided insights into the current uptake and users of the leisure services. This included new activities such as a Quiet Gym, Chronic Pain management groups and Social Prescribing.

In summary all three speakers gave very interesting and informative talks that were enjoyed by all present. There are certainly lots of new initiatives happening in the County for SDN Members to get involved with.

SDN Members Meeting

Start Date:
15th February 2023

End Date:
15th February 2023

Start Time:
11:30

End Time:
1:30

2023 Feb SDN Members Meeting AgendaEvent title: SDN Members Meeting
Venue: Freemasons Hall Crewe St. Shrewsbury
Name: Russell Price
Email: chair@shropshire-disability.net
Telephone: 07794497704
Event description: Members Meeting for Shropshire Disability Network Agenda

3 fantastic Guest Speakers

Sara Buckley Senior Engagement Officer NHS Shropshire – The Shrewsbury Health & Wellbeing Hub – how it is intended to get the views of everyone about this project

Richard Pulford Disability Officer Shrewsbury Town Football ClubRichard will talk about how STFC are working at making the ground more accessible to fans.

Wendy Marston Community Activist Officer from Shropshire Community Leisure Trust who operate facilities such as The Sports Village at Sundorne and The Quarry Swimming Baths will give a brief on her role and future activities.