LTCAS bulletin May 2007

Dear LTCAS supporter

Welcome to the first of our full-length Bulletins updating you on our work and on wider developments relating to long term conditions in Scotland. I hope you find this useful and relevant and would welcome any feedback about its content or format.

With best wishes
Shelley

Shelley Gray (Development Manager, LTCAS)

LTCAS

Thank you to those of you who have become members of LTCAS. We now have over 40 members and counting. If you have not joined you can download a membership form at www.ltcas.org.uk or contact [email protected] and we can email or send you a paper copy. For more information on membership please contact Lisa Kember, part-time Administrator ([email protected] or 0131 474 8016)

LTCAS members will soon be receiving information briefings and opportunities to be involved in taking forward specific issues through short term working groups.

We plan to have our website fully up and running within the next couple of months. This will include features that allow LTCAS members to share information and expertise. It will also signpost to other resources and will have a searchable database of what is provided across Scotland to support people living with long term conditions. To put this information together we need your help. I will shortly be sending you a form asking for a range of information about: what you/your organisation does; any expertise you would be willing to share with other LTCAS members; examples of good or innovative practice that you are aware of; and any useful resources you know of. If you are able to fill this in and return it we would be very grateful and it will help us enormously in building a website that is of real value to all involved with long term conditions.

We have developed a Business Plan to guide our work for 2007-09 and you can view this at www.ltcas.org.uk. This provides background to the Alliance and sets out our aims, objectives and planned activities for the coming couple of years.

LTCAS' AGM will be held on Thursday 30 August 1.30pm in Edinburgh. Members (including Associates) will receive full details shortly.

Long Term Conditions - national update





As you will know we worked in partnership with the Scottish Executive to hold two open space events to inform the development of a national strategy for long term conditions. The events were held in Glasgow and Aberdeen and included people living with long term conditions, unpaid carers and people involved in delivering services. The events produced a wealth of information and the report will be sent out in late May / early June. We are very grateful to you for helping get information about the events out to your networks and for supporting people to participate. The strategy is being taken forward by a steering group chaired by Chief Medical Officer Harry Burns and LTCAS is represented on this group. We will be keeping you involved and informed as this work develops.

The Scottish Executive is currently looking at how the self management agenda can be taken forward and LTCAS will be playing a key role in this. We have put together a short term working group to begin taking this forward. The work will be informed by what people said at the Gaun Yersel conference (held last November) and at the open space events as well as on the expertise of our network - we will therefore be back in touch with you about this over the summer to seek your views.

The Scottish Executive are currently putting together the Scottish Health Survey for 2008 onwards. They are inviting views on the questions that will be included in relation to long term conditions. I have attached the email from the Scottish Executive which contains a number of attachments. LTCAS will be submitting recommendations - if you would like to feed in to these please email me your comments.

I have attached a letter from the Scottish Executive Health Department that talks about strengthening the role of MCNs and includes updated guidance.

Scottish Parliament News

Events, training and resources

There are still a few spaces left at Epilepsy Scotland's conference on Thursday 24 May in Edinburgh. For more details and to book please call 0141 427 4911 or visit http://www.epilepsyscotland.org.uk/news_events.htm

Men's Health Week runs between 11th June and 17th June and this year will focus on long term conditions. To find out more please visit Men's Health Forum Scotland at www.mhfs.org.uk

The Scottish Huntington's Association are holding their second palliative care conference on Friday 8 June in Glasgow. Full details are attached to this email.

This day is being held by Revive Scotland MS Centre in Glasgow on Friday 22 June. For more information please go to http://www.revivescotland.org.uk/

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) have recently published the findings of this study looking at why there are links between ill health and poverty, and why the consequences appear to be worse among minority ethnic groups. To view the report please go to http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialpolicy/2060.asp

The Disability Rights Commission have a website giving information about the rights of people living with a long term condition at work http://www.drc.org.uk/usingyourrights/landing/

We would welcome your feedback - if you have any comments about this bulletin, good or bad, please let me know. You can reply to this email or contact me at the details below.

Shelley Gray
Development Manager
LTCAS
Mansfield Traquair Centre
15 Mansfield Place
Edinburgh
EH3 6BB

Direct Dial 0131 474 8023
[email protected]

www.ltcas.org.uk

LTCAS is a company registered by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No.307731 Charity number SC037475.

An estimated 2 million people in Scotland live with one or more long term condition. A long-term health condition is one of prolonged duration, generally longer than a year that may affect any aspect of the person’s life. Symptoms may come and go. Usually there is no cure but there are often things that can be done to maintain and improve quality of life.