Heath steps into the role having spent two years with the charity as its Director of Integrated Services, overseeing a diverse range of programmes within the organisation including its residential and care at home services.

Before joining Enham Trust, Heath worked for the NHS for ten years, where he was involved in developing and delivering a range of clinical and non-clinical Mental Health, Learning Disability and Social Care services.

With a MSc in Leadership and Management in Health from Kingston University, Heath’s experience also includes commercial and operational experience from the motor and construction industries, which together with his time in health and social care adds up to over 20 years of operational management and leadership experience.

Professor Khalid Aziz, Chairman of Enham Trust, said:

“We are delighted to be appointing Heath Gunn as Enham Trust CEO following a robust interview process against strong competition. Heath’s knowledge of our sector and understanding of our client’s needs are delivered with real passion and commitment.

“Under his leadership and direction the board and I are confident that the charity will go from strength to strength, providing a high quality of service to our clients and offering a full range of services that support clients throughout their journey to greater independence.”

For more information about Enham Trust, please visit: www.enhamtrust.org.uk.

Susan Kent

Hampshire care and disability charity Enham Trust has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of new financial director, Susan Kent.

Susan joins the charity with a wealth of expertise as a financial director in the charitable sector, and was brought on board due to her extensive background in building developments, and Enham Trust’s own area of strategy and endeavour, social housing.

A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales, and an Oxford University graduate, Susan began her 30-year career training as an audit manager with international accountancy firm, BDO Binder Hamlyn.

In her most recent role as director of finance for St Christopher’s Fellowship, a registered charity for children and young people, Susan had overall responsibility for all aspects of the Group’s financial strategy, via budgeting, management accounting, reporting and processing.

With experience of regulatory matters, Susan was both a board member and chair of the audit committee for the Wessex Housing Partnership that brought together Kingfisher and Hampshire Voluntary Services, a registered landlord specialising in rural housing provision and care.

At Enham Trust, Susan’s responsibilities will include looking after the financial strategy for the whole organisation, managing the loan procedure for major projects the organisation wishes to undertake, and internally assisting Enham’s staff, to improve the performance of individual teams and the organisation as a whole.

Heath Gunn, interim CEO of Enham Trust, said:

“Susan’s impressive, in-depth experience is perfectly suited to the demands of the role at Enham and having her on board will take our organisation’s vision and values from strength to strength. I look forward to working closely with her.”

For more information about working with Enham Trust, please visit: www.enhamtrust.org.uk.

Newlife Foundation for Disabled Children and its supporting business, Newlife Trading Ltd, have merged to become ‘Newlife, the Charity for Disabled Children’.

Newlife CEO Sheila Brown, OBE, said:

“Working together as one charity we can concentrate on our mission to support more disabled and terminally ill children around the UK. Simply put, we want to change lives.”

Newlife has provided more than £17million of specialist equipment for nearly 15,000 children around the UK. Right now, the charity is working with a further 722 families with combined equipment needs of £840,820. To find out more about how Newlife supports local families in your area, go to: www.newlifecharity.co.uk and click on the County Map.

The charity offers a range of services: Equipment Grants make permanent provision of items like wheelchairs and walking frames for mobility and specialist beds and car seats for safety; Emergency Equipment Loans, often within 72 hours, provide a fast response for families of life-limited and terminally ill children and those sleeping in unsafe environments; Play Therapy Pods offer loans of sensory toys for children with complex needs; Comfort Capsules help families of terminally ill children make memories together.

All of the charity’s services are accessed through the Newlife Nurse Helpline – 0800 902 0095; email nurses@newlifecharity.co.uk.

A house showcasing a range of assistive technology that can be used to support vulnerable adults to increase their independence has opened its doors in Liverpool.

The mobile, purpose built Smarthouse, created by the Hft, the national learning disabilities charity, is on display at Aintree Racecourse as part of the newly launched Peter O’Sullevan Community Hub which will be the focal point of Aintree’s Community Programme.

It marks the start of a year-long partnership between Hft and Aintree Racecourse aimed at raising the profile of the work the charity does to support adults with learning disabilities, in particular its work using personalised technology – all of which is funded by charitable donations.

Over the next 12 months, visitors to Aintree will be able to visit the Smarthouse and experience an interactive demonstration of the types of technology used by Hft to help the people they support to live the best life possible, in a ‘real-life’ setting.  Gadgets include a telephone with a picture dialling-system, a talking microwave, safety sensors to prevent flooding or injury and fingerprint locks and video-entry systems which replace the need for keys.

Emma Sambrook, Hft’s Director of Fundraising said: 

“We are delighted to be partnering with such a prestigious organisation as Aintree Racecourse and are looking forward to working together on a range of exciting opportunities.

“We believe everyone has the right to live the life they choose, and people with learning disabilities are no exception.  They face obstacles that are hard to imagine.  We raise funds to pay for charitable projects like personalised technology, so the people we support have a chance to live life on their own terms.

“Having the Smarthouse on display is great opportunity for people to find out more about the work Hft does and see how vital fundraising is to support people to live with more confidence and dignity.”

Grant Rowley, Jockey Club’s NW Communications Manager, said:

“We’re delighted to partner with Hft – a fantastic charity that does such great work for people with learning disabilities.

“We’re thrilled to have launched our new Peter O’Sullevan Hub at Aintree recently – a great on site facility that will be the focal point of all of Aintree’s community outreach work and which is designed to be a fun and engaging educational environment for all ages and abilities. Hft’s Smarthouse is an excellent addition to this and we look forward to working with the team over the next 12 months.”

To find out more about Hft and the work that it does visit www.hft.org.uk.

With many of us looking forward to enjoying the festivities this holiday season, a new study by national disability charity Revitalise has worryingly revealed that many carers have far less reason to be jolly this Christmas.

The charity’s research found that 4 out of 10 (37%) of the UK’s carers will be lonely, over a quarter of whom (30%) were aged 70 or over.

Worse still, at a time when most people are looking forward to relaxing with family and friends, the Revitalise study found that 6 out of 10 (60%) of carers feel unable to ‘switch off’ from their caring role, with more than two thirds saying they are always tired (69%), feel mentally exhausted (63%) and over half (61%) admitting they have trouble sleeping.

And, with the New Year fast approaching, it’s evident that the plight of unpaid carers all across the UK does not lend itself to an optimistic outlook for the future either. More than half of carers (52%) did not know how they would be able to cope if things continued the way they were. 4 out of 10 (40%) also expressed concerns that they would end up ill, in chronic pain or disabled themselves; not surprising since more than 5 out of 10 (55%) of carers had been caring for 10 years or more and a shocking 45% had sustained injuries or chronic health conditions as a direct result of caring, the survey revealed.

In light of the study’s findings, Revitalise is calling for more funding from central government to enable local authorities to give unpaid carers all the support they need and is renewing its call for sufficient funding for respite breaks to be a fundamental element of all social care provision.

Revitalise is also delighted to have the support of Revitalise Vice-President, Dame Esther Rantzen, who is fronting the charity’s 2016 Christmas Campaign, ‘Shining a light on loneliness’. Those wishing to make a donation to Revitalise’s work are kindly asked to visit: www.revitalise.org.uk/christmas-campaign. Every penny donated will go into the Revitalise Support Fund to help those struggling to afford a break.

Picking up on the key issue of loneliness, Dame Esther Rantzen, added:

“It is thanks to the dedication and commitment of the 6.5 million carers in the UK that not only are our parents, siblings and children looked after with love and compassion, but also the UK economy benefits enormously. So it is somewhat depressing to find that 4 out of 10 carers feel lonely.

“This feeling of isolation must be felt even more keenly at Christmas, a time of year devoted to family and togetherness. That’s why I’m urging you to support Revitalise’s campaign to give unpaid carers the recognition they deserve and help combat the damaging effects of loneliness. Please, give what you can – and help us rekindle the true spirit of Christmas.”

Revitalise is a national charity providing respite holidays for disabled people and carers. Revitalise provides short breaks, with 24-hour nurse-led care on-call and personal support, at three accessible centres in Chigwell in Essex, Southampton and Southport. Each centre offers a wide range of accessible activities and excursions in a holiday environment.

Hft

More than 3,850 people have signed the petition which was launched in response to the introduction of the National Living Wage (NLW), as part of Hft’s It Doesn’t Add Up campaign, to raise awareness of the funding pressures faced by social care providers.

The NLW, which became law in April 2016, entitles anyone over the age of 25 to a minimum of £7.20 an hour, rising to £9 an hour by 2020.  While Hft fully supports the payment of the National Living Wage, the charity is campaigning to have the Government meet the shortfall faced by providers from the increased salary costs. The charity believes this is vital to ensuring the range of care and quality of support offered can continue so vulnerable people with learning disabilities are not left without support.

Today (Tuesday 6 December) three members of Hft’s speak out group, Voices to Be Heard, which represents the views of the people supported by charity, travelled to London to stress to the Government that the current funding measures, including the introduction of the social care precept, do not go far enough.

As the responsibility for social care has now been split between three secretaries of state the group visited each of the relevant ministerial departments to demonstrate their concerns.  The tour began at the Department for Work and Pensions where a copy of the petition was left for the Minister for Disabled Persons, Penny Mordunt.  Copies were also left at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for Margot James and The Department of Health for David Mowat.

In the afternoon the members of Voices To Be Heard attended a Parliamentary reception where they had the chance to share their concerns about the funding deficits.

The event centred around the charity’s newly launched report, undertaken by independent economics consultancy, Cebr, analysing the impact of the financial pressures facing the adult social care sector, with a specific focus on learning disabilities.  Among the key findings of the report, which combines survey analysis from social care providers and financial modelling, is that based on the current level of service an uplift of at least five per cent per year is required to meet the rising cost of adult social care services.

Billy Davis, Policy and Public Affairs Manager for Hft said the Parliamentary event was an opportunity to bring this issue to the forefront of the government’s agenda.

“I would like to thank everyone who signed the petition, which provides a clear demonstration of the strength of feeling around this issue.   Despite repeated warnings from regulators and industry bodies around the fragility of the sector, the absence of social care from the Autumn Statement, means the need for additional funding is now greater than ever.

“While we fully believe in seeing our staff paid more for the excellent work that they do, the current funding measures, including the introduction of the social care precept, do not go far enough to address the shortfall.

“We hope that our petition shows ministers the growing support for a properly funded social care sector to ensure that some of the most vulnerable people in our society are not left without vital specialist support.”

To find out more about Hft please visit www.hft.org.uk.

New research shows thousands of jobs could be put at risk unless additional funding is found for the social care sector.

As many as 30,000 jobs in the learning disability sector could be at risk in the next four years, warns newly published research by the national learning disabilities charity, Hft.

Without additional funding to meet the rising costs of the sector the report indicates that ten percent of the workforce could disappear.

The research carried out by leading independent economics and business consultancy, Cebr, examines the impact of financial pressures on the viability of the adult care sector, with a specific focus on learning disabilities.

Among the key findings of the report, which combines survey analysis from social care providers and financial modelling, is that based on the current level of service an uplift of at least five percent per year is required to meet the rising cost of adult social care services.

The full report, launched at a Parliamentary event yesterday (6 December) and to mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (3 December), highlights:

• The National Living Wage (NLW) will add an extra £460million to wage bills in the learning disability care sector by 2020.
• The social care sector has the highest proportion of staff over 25, meaning it is more adversely affected by NLW due to an older workforce.
• In order to just break even, a funding increase of at least five percent per year is needed.
• Without additional funding, of the providers surveyed who responded, more than half (55 per cent) will be running into deficit within three years
• In response to cost pressures, a third of providers surveyed had already cut back on staff while just under half (48 per cent) had started to curb future investment

Since February 2016, through its It Doesn’t Add Up campaign, Hft has been actively raising awareness around the funding pressures faced by social care providers due to the NLW not being properly factored in to local authority commissioning rates.

Robert Longley-Cook, Chief Executive of Hft, said in the wake of the Autumn Statement which saw no additional funding allocated for social care, the need is greater than ever.

“Our report is the latest in a growing body of work warning of the dangers facing adult social care if the current funding climate remains unchanged.  The two percent precept has proven to be an inefficient strategy for plugging the funding gap.  At a time when demand continues to grow year on year, our research shows that based on current levels of service, at least a 5% uplift is needed just to keep the industry breaking even.

“Our research shows that without this, the providers across the sector simply cannot break even and will be forced consider redundancies, which could result in a 10 percent loss in the workforce, or closing services.

“Hft wholeheartedly supports the introduction of the NLW as we believe staff should be rewarded for the excellent work they do.  However we have grave concerns about its implementation at local and Westminster level. The social care sector is an industry facing increasing demands and decreasing margins. This situation is simply unsustainable and could ultimately lead to some of the most vulnerable adults in society ending up without the vital support that they need.”

Alasdair Cavalla, Senior Economist at Cebr explained: “Deep and prolonged cuts to the social care sector have left this vital part of our economy severely underfunded. This puts many vulnerable people’s care at risk as well as tens of thousands of jobs in the sector. While the National Living Wage should be beneficial to the economy overall, clearly it cannot be implemented within largely state-funded sectors without a corresponding increase in the funding going to these sectors.”

Hft is now calling on the government for a minimum of a 5% uplift per year in funding for the sector through to 2020 and asking the public to show their support for some of the most vulnerable adults in society by using the hashtag #GiveMe5.

A petition, which was launched in response to the implementation of the NLW and has gathered more than 3,500 signatures, will also be presented to MP’s by some of the people supported by the Hft.

To find out more about the campaign please go to www.hft.org.uk/it-doesnt-add-up.