Skip to main content

Attention LINks - this is how to do it


Tuesday afternoon I went to Loddon, the small rural town town 3 miles from where I live. I went because the timetable said the service I was interested would be there then. And there is was: in the public car park in the centre of the town was a motor home converted into a mobile showroom/surgery. It clearly announced its presence to the general public, having a prominent flag flying and bill boards around it.

This was the Norfolk Deaf Association's “Listen Here” Mobile Clinic. Funded by, I was told, a grant of about £80,000 from the National Lottery this apparently service user run free service reaches out to twenty such small rural area towns, on a regular timetable covering the whole of Norfolk. People know about it not just by the Clinic's visibility but also in advance by the published timetables which are advertised clearly in GP surgeries, public libraries and community notices.

In contrast, if I lived in the city of Norwich in the centre of Norfolk, I might just have an inkling about the existence of LINks – 'might' and 'inkling' because the Norfolk version of LINks is so insular, so incestuous, that amongst even residents of Norwich only those already aware of the Norfolk LINks navel are able to contemplate it.

Living where I do, in a rural area, as the majority of people in Norfolk do, the mere existence of LINks is totally invisible. If they are really serious about their statutory responsibility to engage service users and carers (of both NHS and social care) in local communities, WHY CAN'T THEY FOLLOW THE EXCELLENT NORFOLK DEAF ASSOCIATION MODEL?


Comments

Post a Comment

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
2 comments
Read more

Mental Health Labels?

I read this valuable little report yesterday. It presents issues and dichotomies around disability labels, models of disability and rejections of the disability label by mental health service users/survivors. The report makes positive recommendations about furthering the debate but, in my opinion, the user contributions muddy rather than clarify matters. The subjects are seminal to the work being carried out to integrate physically, sensory, mental health and intellectual disabilities - essential if we are to progress further in our strivings for human and statutory rights. For me, the report is enormously helpful in providing a foundation for discussions of what are important questions and perhaps, if properly distributed, it could bring a better focus towards some resolution. Heddwch. Mike.
Post a Comment
Read more