Skip to main content

Norfolk LINks

In my second stage complaint (see below) one of the further questions I’d asked to David Hayman’s revelation that:

Interim LINks support is by Voluntary Norfolk.”

was:

“Voluntary Norfolk?? Who, where, how was this arrived at?”

Knowing an answer from NCC wouldn’t be the epitomy of swiftness I googled ‘Voluntary Norfolk.’

It turns out to be an organisation I had, until then and for some years, known (along with everyone else) as the ‘Norwich and Norfolk Voluntary Services’ - a Norwich based organisation running various voluntary services, primarily in and around Norwich - certainly not here in this area - and which just happened to be the organisation appointed to provide the Forum Support Organisation for most of the Norfolk PPI forums.

Why or when it changed its name I don’t know but the change must have been roughly coincidental with the advent of LINks. But who knows whether or not that may be significant?

What I do know is significant is that us volunteers here in our area of Norfolk didn’t know who ‘Voluntary Norfolk’ was - AN UNDERLINING OF HOW CITIZENS, PARTICULARLY DISABLED CITIZENS, LIVING IN SOUTH EAST NORFOLK ARE SUCCESSFULLY EXCLUDED FROM SERVICES IN GENERAL AND FROM VOLUNTEERING TO CONTRIBUTE TO SERVICES.

No Surprise there then!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

SURVIVOR HISTORY NEWSLETTER

>From Andrew Roberts Secretary Survivors History Group http://studymore.org.uk/ studymore@studymore.org.uk telephone: 020 8 986 5251 home address: 177 Glenarm Road, London, E5 ONB Survivor History Group Summer 2012 Newsletter The July London meeting of the Survivors History Group will be held on Wednesday 25.7.2012 from 1pm to 5pm at Together, 12 Old Street, London. Everybody is welcome and refreshments will be provided. The September meeting has had to be moved from a Wednesday to Thursday 27.9.2012 (subject to approval by this Wednesday's meeting) because of the availability of a room at Together.   -------------------------------------------------------------------- The agenda for the July meeting will be drawn up at the beginning of the meeting, but it will include Peter Campbell's regular report back on the research he is leading on the history of Survivors Speak Out and discussion of material received from other people about Survivors Speak Out.  Rick Hennelly has se...

The DLA and Workfare Scandals.

This ConDem Coalition is exploiting the apparent helplessness of disabled people by taking essential money away from them and forcing vulnerable people, for example, people with mental health difficulties. I remember, when I was a practising social worker, the horror experienced by service users when they received a letter summoning them to undergo a medical examination (25 miles away in Norwich). Some became absolutely terrified at the prospect and the stress of having to get to and face the appointment led to one or two relapses and hospital admissions. Against local authority policy, I always took them to the appointment, went in with them and supported them through the interview acting as advocate. The doctors at these reviews were employed by the Benefits Agency and usually retired from practice. They were also usually empathic with the service user and mostly helped to reduce the terror of the interview. The new 'Workfare' reviews which every DLA claimant will have to und...

inappropriate!!!

I tried to respond to a Patient Citizen Exchange blog by Laura Greene today. I said: Hello Laura. Welcome - and my admiration? for you "single-handedly representing the entire health voluntary sector and 1000+ PCX membership..." My first question has to be: what is the composition of the Strategic Advisory Board? And my second question: what proportion of service users to professionals is there on that Board? There are indeed millions of impatient citizens out there. They are called Service Users (primarily because 'Patient" carries the labels 'One that has things done to her/him'; 'One that is subservient to the "We know what is best for you" approach'; 'One that is at the wrong end of an imbalance of power.' etc). The Americans prefer the term 'consumers', but whatever, we should avoid the term with the negative connotations. I was listening to the 5 Live debate this morning on the Strictly Come Dancing row about whether...