News

Lincoln Site

A Message from FareShare Midlands about the Consolidation of Sites

At a time when the external environment continues to challenge our ambitions to support the most vulnerable members of our communities, and after much deliberation, FareShare Midlands has made the difficult decision to consolidate the number of sites that we currently operate from, which unfortunately means closing our Lincoln site. Any staff or volunteers leaving due to the closures will be fully supported during this process. While this is understandably a tough decision, we are confident that this will strengthen our overall financial position and long term sustainability.

It is important to impress our commitment to remaining in Lincolnshire. We are focused on continuing to supply our Community Food Members in the county, and are confident that we can integrate the majority of the food that is currently re-distributed from Lincoln to operate from either our Nottingham or Leicester sites.

We will continue to work in partnership with Lincolnshire organisations to unlock more surplus food for the benefit of those most vulnerable across the county and beyond.

For more information, please visit our website.

Just 6 weeks to go before our It’s All About People 2023 Conference which takes place at Boston United Football Club.   Which means… only 3 weeks left to nominate people for the It’s All About People Awards!

Do you know someone who supports people to make more informed choices through shared decision making?  Or perhaps they connect people to support in their wider community?  Maybe you know a team that makes creative use of their personal health budgets or direct payments?  

You can nominate anyone who has helped to embed personalisation across our health and care services.  It doesn’t matter if they are a member of our workforce or they work unpaid, all good work deserves recognition.

It doesn’t take long to complete the online nomination form here and tell us what they’ve excelled at and why you believe they deserve the recognition.   Or if you feel like being creative, why not film your nomination and send us the video – we’d love to see and hear them!   Simply email lhnt.itsallaboutpeople@nhs.net with your video clip or WhatsApp it to 07849 832584.  Please make it clear who you are nominating and why, and which category you are nominating them for.

The closing date for nominations is 17^th April 2023.

Click here to nominate or here for more details.

Measuring wellbeing inequalities and progress in reducing them

The News-Linc is the best way to find out about what we here at Lincolnshire Community Foundation have been up to and what funding we have available.

With information about the Cost-of Living, Load Sharks, Citizens Advice, Anglia Water, Health Watch Lincolnshire, GamCare, His Church, Connect to Support, and more, you’ll find a packed edition this month.

You can subscribe to Lincolnshire Linc-ed together here subscribe on our website .

Lincolnshire people have made it clear that NHS dentistry needs to be improved so it’s affordable and accessible.

Access to NHS dental care continues to be one of the main issues Healthwatch Lincolnshire hear about from the public. Difficulties getting support has led to many people living in pain.

As far back as 2015, the number of poor experiences shared with by residents about substandard dentistry has been continuous, and Healthwatch Lincolnshire has been raising these concerns about the decline on behalf of our residents. During this time, Healthwatch have consistently worked closely to raise concerns with Lincolnshire MPs and Councillors, NHS Lincolnshire ICB, NHS England Midlands Dental Commissioning Team, Healthwatch England, as well as with local and regional dental networks. Healthwatch Lincolnshire also contributed to the National Parliamentary NHS Dentistry enquiry and provided evidence for the Health Select Committee.

Dean Odell , Healthwatch Lincolnshire Contract manager said:

“We know that people from the most deprived communities struggle the most to access dental care because they cannot afford it. Although we welcome NHS England’s recent changes to the dental contract, we believe further reform is needed to fix the issues.”

In the latest report Lincolnshire residents told Healthwatch…

1. The lack of NHS dental care is having a negative impact on peoples’ immediate and future health

2. Existing NHS patients are finding their NHS practice is now solely private

3. Other patients throughout the county have never had the opportunity to have an NHS dentist due to lack of services

4. Patients are being left with no alternative but to pay for private treatment (however, many cannot afford this)

5. Individuals are routinely travelling to other counties for NHS dental services

What needs to happen?

Healthwatch Lincolnshire believe that action in four areas needs to be taken to address the issues that people have shared.

1. A more rapid and radical reform of the way dentistry is commissioned and provided
2. Address the twin crises of access and affordability
3. Provide better information about NHS dentistry
4. Create dental hubs to provide more holistic health care,

Healthwatch Lincolnshire continues to monitor the feedback received to find out whether changes are making any real improvement for people – particularly children and adults who require urgent treatment. Healthwatch will continue to work with NHS England to ensure that people’s views are able to influence the future of NHS dentistry.

Healthwatch will also be focusing their attention on those who are living in deprived and rurally isolated areas, cancer patients, wheelchair users, pregnant women, parents, those with sensory loss as well as the dental workforce themselves.

If you would like to share your views on NHS dentistry in Lincolnshire contact Healthwatch by email info@healthwatchlincolnshire.co.uk or call 01205 820 892

You can read the full report here: https://www.healthwatchlincolnshire.co.uk/report/2023-03-14/improving-dental-services-across-lincolnshire

Free Online Training

New dates for our online training for individuals and organisations across Lincolnshire. This training is well received by different types of organisations as we continue to raise awareness of how women are disproportionately affected by gambling related harms and how hidden these issues can be.

Sessions currently available:

FREE Online Training: Women and Gambling-Related Harm

As you may already know, GamCare is a national provider of free information, advice and treatment for anyone affected by problem gambling. There are around 500,000 problem gamblers in the UK, up to 20% of whom are women. For every person who has a problem with gambling, up to 10 other people can be affected, and women are disproportionately at risk of experiencing gambling-related harm. Gambling-related harm can include debt, relationship difficulties, housing issues, gender-based violence, health problems, depression and anxiety, feelings of isolation, and suicidality.

Our FREE training can be accessed online via Zoom. We offer a 2 hour session which individuals can register to attend at their convenience, using a mobile phone, tablet, or laptop. Book your place using Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-and-gambling-related-harm-free-online-training-tickets-104981366092?aff=ebdssbonlinesearch

During the training session, we will explore what gambling is and how it turns from a fun pastime into something that is harmful as well as talking about gambling-related harm, risk factors, impacts, and how to recognise and support people affected. Learn about our treatment network and how to refer clients to our free treatment services. This training is essential for any professionals who work with women and families.

GamCare also offers face-to-face sessions and bespoke sessions specific to your organisation’s needs, if you would prefer this approach, please do get in touch for more details.

If you or anyone you know has been or is affected by Long Covid, please complete the survey in the link below.

You can access the survey here – https://forms.office.com/e/M8wmyj5teQ

Sortified are currently working with JUST Lincolnshire on a piece of work looking at the impact of anti-social behaviour, prejudice and hate crime on people living in Boston, Skegness, and Spalding.

We really want to hear about people’s experiences and look at ways that we can share stories and reduce the impact of negative behaviours. Ultimately, what we really want to do is make our streets and our communities safer for everyone.

There are lots of ways for people to get involved, and these can all be found on the project page on our website – www.sortified.com/saferstreets

The easiest way for people to share their views and experiences is by filling in the online survey here. 

If people would rather message us directly they can via info@sortified.com or through a DM on any of our socials – @sortified However, we are also happy to come out and talk to individuals or groups directly. If this is something you think could benefit the people you work with then please let me know.

Thank you for your help. Your support is really appreciated.