Category Archives: Norfolk
Call for Norfolk groups to work together to give louder voice for cancer patients
“We will not settle for the status quo”.
Cancer summit meeting at the Assembly House in Norwich. Jean Mossman. Photo: Bill Smith
Adam Gretton, Health correspondent Wednesday, September 25, 2013
6:30 AM
“We will not settle for the status quo”. That was the message from cancer patients, carers and support group officials yesterday at a cancer conference in Norwich.
Forty delegates from a host of charities and support groups gathered for the first Norfolk Voices for Cancer event, which is aimed to give patients a stronger voice by joining forces.
The summit at the Assembly House was organised following the disbandment of the Anglia Cancer Network earlier this year as a result of a major reform of the NHS.
Norfolk charity to pioneer care home volunteers scheme
Norfolk charity to pioneer care home volunteers scheme
Volunteer Mary Knights, right on one of her visits to see Thorpe St Andrew pensioner Beryl Forkes. Photo: Steve Adams.
Mark Shields Thursday, September 5, 2013
5:36 PM
A new scheme being pioneered by a Norwich-based charity could see the lives of care home residents enriched by visiting volunteers.
The programme will see volunteer activity coordinators placed in homes to get residents relieve pressure on care staff and allow unpaid workers to take responsibility for getting residents involved in social activities.
Norfolk County Council and Voluntary Norfolk, the two bodies behind the scheme, believe it could not only help older people to get more out of life but help the next generation of professional carers to develop.
The coordinators will start work at some private care homes in north Norfolk next month, and though they will be specifically trained for the role, they will not replace paid staff or do any of their duties.
Linda Rogers, Voluntary Norfolk’s head of operations, said: “While placing volunteers in private care homes is something of a new step, many of Voluntary Norfolk’s existing volunteers already help older people in the community with social and leisure activities, so to some extent the new scheme is an extension of something that we know works well and is greatly appreciated.
“The new scheme will benefit the residents, the volunteers themselves and, we hope, the caring profession in years to come.”