A New radio station created for people with dementia has become
the “station of choice” for some Care Homes.
The new internet radio station was launched by charity Music for
Dementia during the coronavirus pandemic to lift the spirits of people
living in lockdown with dementia.
It is free to listeners and available 24 hours a day, every day.
https://m4dradio.com/

​Economy Minister announces £1.7m to support online learning for people impacted by Covid-19
Date published: 12 June 2020
Topics:
·         Employment and skills programmes (including apprenticeships)
 
·         Skills strategies
Economy Minister Diane Dodds has announced an investment of £1.7 million for a range of online skills interventions to upskill and retrain people whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19.

£1.7m to support online learning for people impacted by Covid-19
The funding will be used to deliver a range of online learning for individuals whose jobs have been impacted by Covid-19.
This initiative will create almost 2,000 free places on short courses, delivered by the local further education colleges and universities.
 
These courses are fully accredited and include opportunities from entry to postgraduate levels, focussing on skills identified by industry, including digital skills, essential skills, employability skills, and leadership and management.
In addition, a range of courses aligned to work in the health and social care sector have been funded. This is in direct response to the demands placed on this sector throughout the public health emergency.
All courses will be delivered online and participation will be flexible to fit around the busy lives of individuals, many of whom may be working from home or providing support to children or vulnerable relatives. All courses include an accredited qualification and be complete by the 30 November 2020.
Courses will be advertised directly by the colleges and universities and a full portfolio of the available courses will be included on nidirect website

Online Webinar
Wednesday 24 June  11am - 12pm
Volunteer Now is delighted to be partnering with
Change Your Mind and Inspire to deliver this webinar
 
WHO FOR?  The webinar is aimed at organisations that are supporting volunteers who are making or receiving calls with people who are vulnerable.
 
During COVID-19 many services have had to change their delivery methods or indeed new services have been developed.  These have included helplines, telephone befriending or check in and chat calls.  Volunteers have been instrumental in all of these services and organisations have had to deal with a variety of difficult issues arising from the calls.  Having the right policies and procedures in place as well as good systems for ensuring the emotional wellbeing of the volunteers is essential.  We are delighted to be partnering with Inspire to deliver this short webinar to explore 3 key themes:

1. Emotional support: supporting those who are giving and receiving advice, guidance and assistance.
2. Effectiveness: assessing the impact of dealing with specific issues through telephone support.
3. Ethical considerations: the importance of quality governance in administrative and clinical management (such as procedures/ policy documents, confidentiality, risk assessment, evaluation, training initiatives).

For each of these themes the emphasis will be to engage in ways to improve effectiveness of telephone support.  There will be time to share experiences and learn from each other with the aim of improving practice and the support we can provide to volunteers.
 
We would also like to explore with attendees the potential for a webinar with volunteers themselves to help them deal with challenging calls and look after themselves.
 
Please register your interest with Julie-ann.ashe@volunteernow.co.uk and joining information will be sent out the day before the event.  Numbers are limited but please express interest as we will run this again if there is demand.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, RoSPA have launched Accident Free, Avoid A&E, a new campaign aimed at helping our amazing frontline NHS workers by keeping people free from accidental injury.
We have accident prevention hints, resources and information for everyone, no matter their current situation.
😰Trying to look after children while working from home? Check out our keeping kids safe pages.
👵Worried about an older relative who's self-isolating? Find out how to ensure they don't have a fall.
🚴‍♀️Cycling more as part of your daily exercise? Then discover how to check your bike is in working order.
Remember: Prevent accidents, Protect your family, Help the NHS.
Check out www.rospa.com/AccidentFree

​The Southern HSC Trust bereavement helpline is now live. This has been developed by the bereavement team; a collaborative partnership across practitioners in bereavement, social work and nursing services brought together in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 
They are so aware that grief is difficult under ‘normal’ circumstances, but the current context brings added challenges at the time of death, limitations to our rites of mourning and when social distancing restricts our capacity to be with family and friends.
 
They have a team of colleagues from social work, nursing and allied health professionals with knowledge, skills and insight into grief and loss responding to calls.  The helpline aims to come alongside bereaved people, to hold their grief and offer emotional support through compassion and empathy. We hope, in some small way, it will prove beneficial for some people at this time.

​

The grant scheme is targeted at businesses with one to nine employees facing immediate cash flow difficulties due to Covid-19 – this includes eligible social enterprises.

Minister Dodds said:
"The Hardship Fund will provide much-needed support to micro-businesses which have so far been unable to access other regional and national coronavirus support measures.
“This new fund should mean that over 40,000 businesses in Northern Ireland will have been eligible to apply for support under the Northern Ireland Covid-19 grant schemes."
The funding is available to businesses unable to access the £10,000, £25,000 and Covid-19 Childcare Support grant schemes.
 
The eligibility checker, further information and some Frequently Asked Questions are available at@ nibusinessinfo Coronavirus: NI Micro-Business Hardship Fund page
​

Currently, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging.
However, it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when handling or preparing foods. You should always wash your hands and surfaces often, separate raw meat from other foods, cook to the right temperature and put food in the fridge as soon as you can. 
Food shopping advice
·         Please don’t go shopping if you have COVID-19 symptoms. You can order your groceries online or have some family or friends drop them off instead.
·         When you go food shopping, you should wash your hands before you leave the house, avoid touching your face when you’re out and follow social distancing. 
·         When you come home, you should wash your hands straight away. Wash them again once you have unpacked and put away your shopping.
·         It is not necessary to sanitise the outside of food packaging. While there is some evidence that the virus can survive on hard surfaces, the risk from handling food packing is very low and there is no evidence that the illness can be transmitted in this way.
·         If you are sanitising surfaces or shopping bags, follow the manufacturer’s instructions about how much time is needed before wiping the sanitiser off.
·         Gloves can give a false sense of security. They would need to be changed very frequently to be effective. It’s better to wash your hands often and avoid touching your face.
 for Questions and Answers follow link
 
https://www.safefood.eu/Food-Safety/Groceries-and-COVID-19.aspx?gclid=CjwKCAjwte71BRBCEiwAU_V9h7l9FZz9jUyEXpCxfHFB_HFvy4DffVG6kOLEQkHy3XXwEFU66hjv6BoC7dgQAvD_BwE

A dedicated programme of support has been launched by the Plunkett Foundation to help rural community businesses across the UK as they battle the unprecedented challenge of the coronavirus lockdown.Thanks to funding from the Co-op, Plunkett will offer a dedicated package of free Covid-19 support for open and trading community businesses, as well as those developing groups that have been affected by the pandemic.
The new scheme will focus on getting one-to-one support to groups that need it the most. This will include free practical support from Plunkett’s national network of specialist community businesses advisers. All forms of community business – including woodlands, farms, bakeries, pubs and shops – will be able to get support, advice and guidance on a range of issues such as;

• developing short – medium term cash flow,
• reviewing business plans,
• applying for funding,
• upholding good practice governance,
• utilising community shares and accessing government support.

Those developing groups that were working towards opening their business will also be able to access adviser support to help these projects navigate this challenge.

​https://plunkett.co.uk/new-support-available-now/
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New Programme