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SEVENOAKS DISTRICT SENIORS ACTION FORUM Newsletter Issue 17 October 2014

The gathering place for the interests of people aged 50 plus

OUR NEXT MEMBERS MEETING will be on Friday, 21st November at 2pm at the Sevenoaks Community Centre near Bat and Ball. This will be a Committee Meeting to which Members are invited. Daniel Shaw from the District Council is also coming to speak to us about the Sevenoaks Switch and Save – see the next paragraph. If you would like to see if you can save money, bring your energy bills along and Daniel will help you there and then! You could save a LOT OF MONEY.

SEVENOAKS SWITCH AND SAVE Unlike many other comparison sites, this one is totally impartial. They compare all the energy suppliers in the UK highlighting where you could switch suppliers and save £££s! It’s quick, impartial and straightforward.

Visit sevenoaksswitchandsave.co.uk or call 0800 410 1147 today and start saving! It’s as easy as switching on a light, putting on the toaster or making a cuppa! Simply enter your postcode, personalise the search and start comparing!

Savings on average have been £148 per year - that’s worth having! The maximum saving someone made was a massive £1744.

REWIRING PUBLIC SERVICES They tell us there’s no money. A couple of SDSAF people went to the Rewiring Public Services event put on by Sevenoaks District Council. Local authorities need to find new ways of doing things to save money. These new ways can be better ways - not just cuts. Grass verges like this one are appearing all over the country. Are they in Kent yet? I’m told they save a lot of money.

SCAMS - YET MORE SCAMS Unbelievably (?), someone has been making phone calls and pretending they are from the District Council Tax Department. Then of course, they

ask for your bank details and then they rip you off. BE AWARE that Councils and other similar groups never make phone calls like this. Hang up. Call the Council.

EXPERIENCE GROUPS We would like to strengthen the opinions we present to the big decision makers. With nearly 600 Members we must have dozens and dozens of people who have rich experience and expertise. Could we tap that experience? Would you like to be a part of an Experience Group? Perhaps our Doctors, Nurses and Consultants, retired or not, could advise us on how best to communicate Members’ opinions to the right people. Perhaps you know about Transport and could advise on our Transport to Hospital Campaign? Even if you feel your expertise is a little old hat now, you probably know more about it than most of us. Please help us to be even more effective.

AND WHO WANTS OUR OPINION ANYWAY? Our Members know that we listen to their opinions and pass them on to decision makers. Some decision makers want our opinions and some get them anyway. Right now, we talk to all these;

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Clinical Commissioning Groups; Dementia Groups; Medical developments like internet links for diagnosis; Air Quality advice for COPD sufferers; Information on health services and their availability; Healthwatch Kent; The Health Action Team at Sevenoaks District Council including NHS, CCG, mental health charities, the Library service, Churches Together, West Kent Extra; The Inclusion Hub Advisory Group of SE Coast Ambulance Service; Several parish councils concerning public access defibs; one-off meetings at which committee members represent the Forum, e.g. at Edenbridge ARA, Rockdale, and Town and Parish Council annual meetings; the Sevenoaks Children's Local Operational Group (a child protection group) which includes local councils, Social Services, Police and more.

Our newsletters are also delivered to a huge list of people whom we feel need to know what our Members are thinking, including; Age UK and Age Concern; Rockdale Housing; Sevenoaks Chamber of Commerce; Sevenoaks District Council; Churches Together; North West Kent Volunteer Centre; CROP Kent; Kent Police; Kent County Council; Family Mosaic VAWK; Kent Fire & Rescue Service; Michael Fallon, our Member of Parliament; West Kent (including Lifeways Emerald Service).

Our Membership Secretary also sends out the newsletters to lots of other organisations – sorry no room for all of them this time.

DEMENTIA EVENTS A Memory Event will be put on in Swanley on the 13th November and a Swanley Dementia Friendly Community event at The Orchards Academy in Swanley on Friday 15th December. If this area of work is of interest to you, put a note in your diary and look out for more details. Indeed if you receive this newsletter by mail, you may find flyers for various events included.

CONSULTATIONS Members will be aware that the Committee of SDSAF pass on Members’ views to decision makers whenever we get the opportunity. We are also asked to contribute to

consultation processes. Sometimes this can be a problem if it looks as though decisions or firm proposals have been made already. One wonders why we are being asked for our opinions! At the moment, there is a very important consultation on Community Wardens – see elsewhere in the newsletter. The details are so firm that they are detailed proposals being put forward by Council Officers. If you want your County Councillor to change them say so NOW!

END OF LIFE CARE We have been asked to ask you if you would like to contribute to a consultation on this difficult subject. There are four questions at www.surveymonkey.com/s/TheBigQuestions or you could call Ferne Haxby on 07768 428328. Have you planned ahead? Those who have had to make arrangements for our loved ones know the importance of this and how even more stressful it is when arrangements have not been made. Ferne’s article is in the Trident magazine for the Eynsford, Farningham and Lullingstone areas.

AGE UK KNITTERS AND KNOWLEDGE The Big Knit campaign from Age UK and Innocent drinks is looking for 800,000 bottle top hats for February 2015. A 25p donation will go from each to help Age UK’s Spread the Warmth Campaign. Call AGE UK advice on 0800 169 6565 or go to their website for further details.

TRANSPORT TO HOSPITAL Our Transport to Hospital survey showed the difficulties that older (and younger) people have in getting to Darent Valley, Pembury and Maidstone Hospitals. At our meetings with the health authorities,