Fed Centre for Independent Living
GIG Open Space Meeting
Tuesday 2nd September 2014
2pm – 5pm
Space For Change, 14 Windlesham Ave, Brighton, BN1 3AH
Agenda
No
Item
1.
Lead
Present:
Graham Oulton, Olive Taylor, Wendy Woodland, Stan Pierce,
Madeline Peasegood, Richard De Costabadie, Andy Stiller, Lorna
Elwick, Robin Pickett, Lilly Storey
Apologies:
Pat Zielinska, Pat Hamilton, Chris Doleman, Dawn Baldwin
2.
3.
4.
5.
Minutes of last meeting
No comments
Approval of minutes from last meeting
No comments
Open Space Meeting
The GIG hold 3 types of meetings:
- Focus Group
- Consultation
- Open Space
Today is open space where we will talk about anything and
everything, a chance to bring up any items, and identify focus
points for future meetings.
GIG Updates
BBQ.
Thank you to all who came to the BBQ, cheffed by Richard and
Stan. It was well attended, and a really great event!
NHS on record Sharing.
CCG are suggesting that we share our full medical history
between our GP and all healthcare professionals. The aim is to
find better joined-up care, giving a fuller history to health
professionals. However, the question is how much of this is
needed to be seen or shared by all doctors? Not all medical
history is relevant to every health issue, so will we be losing our
privacy? Do we feel we want to share, and if so, then how much
do we want to share, and who decides this? Visit our online link
on the website to fill in a questionnaire on this issue. This needs
to be completed by our next meeting on 17th September, when
there will be a consultation meeting on record sharing.
Robin
Robin
Blog updates.
A website to get more info on GIG is being developed for people
who want to discuss topics and keep in touch in between
meetings, as we don’t always want to wait 6 weeks in between
discussions. Here you will be able to comment on any previous
meetings, as well as view minutes and reports from consultations.
Users, the public and funders all have access to this, and we want
to make it feel like something you own. Any issues you have, or
suggestions, please let Robin know. There is also a Facebook
group and Twitter, too. All feedback is welcome!
6.
Actions from the last meeting
Robin
- North Street Reckie. We made contact with Ian Higley from
the council to have a say on development, e.g. street
furniture, bike racks, trees, pedestrian crossings, etc. Robin
is still waiting to hear back from Ian regarding further
updates.
- Stanmer Park. We have suggested there to be graded
routes, scented trails, accessible toilets with left and right
side transfer. The minutes can be seen on the website for
further information.
7.
Open Space Topics
Go-To Person to replace Expert Advisers (EA). For each topic
of discussion, one person identified themselves as the Go-To
Person and help users on a particular subject matter. This person
will be the point of contact for the rest of the group to give updates
and feedback, so look out for the GTP names below each of the
subjects.
The topics that attendees of the meeting wished to discussed
during Open Space are:
- Suitability of healthcare providers, and feeling comfortable
with your healthcare professional / NHS continuing care
options
- Where are the wheelchair-accessible routes in Brighton and
Hove? Improvements needed.
- Street furniture, pavements / curbs not being user-friendly.
- Cyclists / skateboarders on walkways. What is the law and
how is it being enforced?
- Uncut grass becoming hazardous, and cracks and grass in
between pavements. Public bins are also obstructive.
- General ignorance / attitudes to disability.
- Buses – priority seating, handy card, stoppage times to sit
down.
- Better-designed accessibility equipment.
- How can we get more people to come to GIG and disability
discussion groups?
Robin
The group split into two to discuss a variety of topics, and
feedback was presented to everyone.
How to approach care related issues, and change of
specialists.
We should not be frightened to ask for a change of specialist if
uncomfortable. Everybody has a choice in the NHS, and you
should be able to see a different person if you choose to do so.
NHS staff need to be trained to deal with disabled people,
including how we are spoken to and bad body language.
Richard – I feel like the higher someone is, the more detached
they can be.
Andy – This isn’t always the case, but this is a common problem
throughout healthcare staff.
Richard – If you feel rushed in your appointments, you can ask to
have a longer appointment when you book if you have more than
one issue to discuss.
ACTION – Disability awareness training for NHS staff to change
attitudes and behaviours.
GTP – Lorna to draft an email about training NHS staff.
Cyclists and other wheels / accessible routes
Cyclists are still causing a great nuisance, often causing
hazardous situations.
What is the law? Who do we contact – is it council or police?
What is ‘accessible’? Everyone has different needs.
It’s difficult to know which streets are accessible and appropriate
for disabled users, but Google cycle routes show gradients, which
can be very useful.
Graham – roots of trees can disturb pavements, but can anything
be done about this? Even if the tree is cut down, the roots will still
stay. Perhaps we need to ask the council?
ACTION – How often do the council check pavements, particularly
previously worked-on sections to check that they’re still flat?
ACTION - Could someone from the council come to GIG for a
focus group meeting on the topic ‘pavements and free
management’?
GTP – Richard, particularly on cyclists issues. Diane Marks may
have more information on how guide dog users cope with these
issues? Perhaps a local MP could help us tackle some of these
problems?
Street furniture / uncut grass
Uncut grass is causing problems particularly for wheelchair users.
Street furniture, including scaffolding and café chairs and tables,
often causes problems when people are trying to get around in
Brighton and Hove.
Wendy
Lorna
Richard
Lorna
Lorna – there should be a visible license on all scaffolding to show
that they have permission for street furniture, including exact
measurements, so look out for them.
GTP - Graham – The RNIB have asked David Cameron to walk
along the pavements to show the street clutter problems. Updates
to follow.
Accessible toilets / venues
It’s very difficult to find a list of accessible toilets in different towns.
There are lists from each council but they’re not always updated
often enough.
Robin – the Accessible City Guide is available for Brighton and
Hove but only covers venues. Under the Equalities Act, all venues
must comply with ‘reasonable adjustments’, which is a loose term
that doesn’t always ensure that it’s completely accessible.
ACTION – We want a map of accessible toilets and routes.
GTP – Graham to contact the council through email regarding
uncut grass, as well as an accessible toilet guide.
Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday 17th September 2pm – 5pm
Space For Change 14 Windlesham Avenue BN1 3AH
Consultation Meeting on Record Sharing
Becky Gaylor of the CCG is attending to hear our views on how
our GP records are to be shared between GP and healthcare
professionals to enable more joined-up care. Surveys to be
completed by 17th September can be found on the website.
Graham
Graham