CBS Connect - January 2020 ⋆ Community Based Support Tasmania

CBS Connect – January 2020

Jan 10, 2020
By Gustav Lammerding
In CBS Connect, News

Hello everyone,

I’m delighted to write this report as the incoming CEO of Community Based Support. At the time of writing I’ve been in the saddle for just one week. I’ve been welcomed with open arms by all at Community Based Support and I’ve spent a week learning as much as I can about the business and about our very important people – our clients.

I am excited to be here at a time where due to its strong balance sheet, growing revenue streams and solid governance, CBS is well placed to expand and roll out more services to Tasmanians who need our help.

You were recently advised about the implementation of a new client management computer system (AlayaCare) to be implemented in January 2020.

The system implementation is on hold at present whilst we work on some finer details to ensure a smooth transition across systems, so as to not interrupt the support provided to you. I will keep you informed when we have firmer plans on the new dates.

Community Based Support has a new strategic plan setting the direction for the next three years. In formulating the plan carers, clients, stakeholders, government and staff were consulted.

The four main areas of focus include our participants/clients, our people, our processes and our potential.

I look forward to working with our Board of Directors and leading the entire team here at CBS to deliver on our strategic goals.

I wish you and yours a Happy New Year.

Allyson Warrington

Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability

In April 2019 the establishment of the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability was announced. The purpose of the Royal Commission is

to prevent and protect people with a disability from experiencing violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation;
achieve best practice in investigating and reporting these experiences and;
promote a more inclusive society that supports the independence and rights of people with a disability.

Community Based Support has a zero tolerance attitude towards violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation for all our clients and participants and strongly supports the formation of this Disability Royal Commission.

How can I contact the Royal Commission?

CBS encourages anyone who may have experiences with or evidence of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation towards an individual with a Disability to contact the Royal Commission. You are able to bring forward your experiences in a couple of different of ways:

Through submissions by telephone (1800 517 199), email (DRCenquiries@ royalcommission.gov.au), post (GPO Box 1422, Brisbane Qld 4001), or website https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au.
Through community hearings open to the general public. At community forums, people can hear about the work of the Royal Commission and share their stories. The Royal Commission will be holding hearings in every state across Australia and held two forums in Hobart in late November 2019.

What has the Disability Royal Commission done to date?

The Royal Commission has held several community hearings in different areas across Australia, listening to, and gathering evidence on individual and group experiences of violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation. The Royal Commission held two forums in Hobart in late November 2019.

Currently the Royal Commission is holding community forums in Melbourne looking into treatment in group homes. A group homes issues paper outlining key issues experienced by people with a disability living in group homes has recently been released and is available on the website
https://disability.royalcommission.gov.au.

The Royal Commission are currently encouraging responses from individuals and organisations on the issues paper presented by 28th February 2020.

The Disability Royal Commission ends in April 2022, at which time they will issue a final report of their findings.

Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety

The Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety was established on 8th October 2018 by the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd).

The Royal Commission has held hearings all over Australia, including every capital city and a number of regional locations, and each hearing focused on a different area of aged care, covering themes such as:
– Aged care at home
– Dementia care and residential care
– Access and inclusion
– Clinical care
– Regulation
– Younger people in residential care
– Workforce

Witnesses included people receiving aged care, family and friends of people receiving care, experts, advocates, researchers, service providers and representatives from government departments and agencies.

The Commissioners delivered an Interim Report on 31st October 2019, titled ‘Neglect’. This can be found at https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/publications/Pages/interim-report.aspx

The report contains information the Royal Commission has gathered and some of the conclusions they have reached over the course of the hearings held since February. They have identified a number of areas which require urgent action, including:

Providing more home care packages to reduce the waiting list for higher level care at home;
Responding to the significant over-reliance on chemical restraint in aged care, including through the seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement;
Stopping the flow of younger people with disability going into aged care and expediting the process of getting those younger people who are already in aged care out.

More recommendations are expected in the final report, which is due to be handed to the Governor-General on 12th November 2020. However, the Royal Commission advised that ‘it is clear that a fundamental overhaul of the design, objectives, regulation and funding of aged care in Australia is required. This will be the central purpose of our Final Report and it also informs our approach to this Interim Report.’

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a $537 million funding package in response to the Interim Report to fund more home care packages, dementia training, education and improvements to medication management programs and removing younger people with disabilities from residential care.

2019 Annual awards

Each year, CBS recognises its staff for their years of service and dedication to providing care and support to you, the people in our community.

This year, we had the privilege of presenting awards to 25 of our staff members. 22 of these received 8 years of service awards, and 3 received 20 years of service awards.

You probably know some of these loyal, caring people:

8 Years of Service

Angela Warren
Catherine De La Torre
Christine Slater
Curtis Coleman
Damian Mansfield
David Adair
Deann King
Dianne Jackson
Elaine Williams
Jackie Gangell
Jaimee House
Joanne Briggs
Karen Cackett
Kate Towndrow
Leah Clark
Malar Slater
Mandy Pierce
Melanie Cruz
Rachel Parremore
Roy Mathew
Susan Reid
Tania Dare

20 Years of Service

Leanne Smith
Tamzin Dean
Vicki Shipway

It is the care, commitment and passion of our staff that sets CBS apart from the rest!
And we are so grateful.

“A Company’s employees are its greatest asset and your people are your product” – Richard Branson

Dementia Awareness with Dr Jane Tolman

For many years, Dr Jane Tolman has partnered with CBS to deliver Dementia Awareness Information Sessions at our office in Moonah.

The sessions are free and incredibly informative. Jane has a unique way of taking her audience on a journey that provides remarkable insight and informal education to those who are interested in Dementia, its 3 main phases and how to support a person with the disease.

Here are the upcoming sessions available for you to attend:

Monday 24^th February 2020
Monday 30^th March 2020
Monday 27^th April 2020
Monday 25^th May 2020

Each session goes for approximately 2 hours and can be attended more than once, it’s entirely up to you.

If you would like more information, or to RSVP to a session, please contact Taylah or Simon at the Hobart Office on 03 6208 6600.

Please note that these sessions are currently offered at our Moonah office only.

Healthy living with Jodi

How will you stay cool this summer?

So summer is upon us now and, I don’t know about you but, I’m excited to get down to the beach and soak up some sunshine with friends, family or just on my own for some quiet time. While this is a lovely way to spend the summer time we always need to remember to stay hydrated and keep cool.

Six ideas to keep cool this summer:

Ice Cream keeps you cool
Cook outside under the shade
Take cool showers
Iced drinks
Fans and Ceiling Fans
Wearing loose clothing
Misting spray bottle filled with iced water
to spray your skin to keep cool

If you’re keen to get in the garden in summer here are some suggestions:

(Please note: This is just a guide that is suitable for Tasmanian and cool-climate conditions, please make allowance for temperature differences, especially areas that are frost-prone or frost-free, be flexible and see what works for you)

JANUARY

PLANT: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, capsicums, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, leek, lettuce, parsnip, pumpkin, silverbeet, late sweetcorn and tomato.

SOW: Beetroot, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, winter cabbage, kale, carrot (main winter-spring crop), kohlrabi, spring onion, silverbeet, late swede, turnip, lettuce (chill seed in fridge first), late sweetcorn.

FEBRUARY

PLANT: Seedlings of broccoli, Brussels sprouts, winter cabbage, kale, cauliflower, celery, leek, lettuce, silverbeet and spring onion.

SOW: Broccoli, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, late Brussels sprouts, leek, turnip, beetroot, Chinese brassicas, Asian roots, parsnip, and silverbeet.

Let’s talk Mulch!

In our cool temperate climate, its best not to mulch the annual garden beds over winter as the soil gets so cold. We want to encourage the sun to hit it directly and warm it up as much as possible. Plus, mulching in winter creates the perfect habitat for slugs that’ll ravish your plants.

However, with the heat of summer time we mulch to prevent evaporation, slow down any weeds and provide organic matter for our soil food web.

In nature the soil is never left naked. There is always a plant that will fill the void of bare soil; these are what we could call living mulches. Rather than only relying on buying mulch you can also grow living mulches that have multiple benefits. They reduce evaporation, can provide nutrients to the soil, attract bees, fix nitrogen and help stabilise steep slopes.

Here are some examples of plants you could use for living mulches here in Tassie:

Vetch – Vicia sativa is a nitrogen-fixing ground cover. It fills in any gaps between plants and will add to the colour of the area with its beautiful purple flowers.

Comfrey – plant it amongst orchards and near compost bins. Known as a dynamic accumulator its deep tap root can “mine” minerals into its leaves which we then chop and drop beneath fruit trees as a mulch and can also pop into the compost bin where they release these mined minerals into the top layers of the soil and deep within the compost bin layers. NOTE: NOT TO BE EATEN.

Clover – This quick growing, nitrogen-fixing ground cover is super hardy and popular amongst the honey bees. NOTE: never plant this in your annual veggie patch as it’ll become invasive and you’ll never get rid of it!

If you are interested in the permaculture way of life then here are some great reads to get your eyes and hands all over. Two of my favourites!

Earth User’s Guide to Permaculture by Rosemary Morrow
Can be purchased online or Fullers book shop in Hobart have copies too.

Milkwood, Real skills for down-to-earth living by Kirsten Bradley (who now lives in Tassie.)

Can be purchased online or Fullers book shop in Hobart have copies too.

I hope everyone has a safe and happy year ahead

Jodi x

References:
https://goodlifepermaculture.com.au/living-mulches/

https://www.southernharvest.com.au/sow_now?month=09

http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2008/07/07/2296755.htm

https://seedfreaks.com.au/sow/

https://permaculturenews.org/2015/04/10/the-facts-about-dynamic-accumulators/

Craig’s Recipes

Craig has been busy trying out the recipes that have been sent to him so far and, given its now summer and Craig has a sweet tooth, he thought this one was the best to share with you.

Wendy’s favourite summer slice

Ingredients:

One packet of malt biscuits
600 ml cream
1 can of condensed milk
Fruit of your choice or choc chips or mint slice smashed. (The sky is the limit here as your fourth ingredient. You can also leave it out to make the best vanilla ice-cream.)

Method:

Line a tray with baking paper and set out your biscuits.
Whip your cream in a bowl.
Fold in the condensed milk along with your chosen fourth ingredient. Don’t whip, just gentle fold is best.
Gently spread evenly on top of the first layer of biscuits.
Top with more biscuits and put flat in the freezer. It’ll be ready in around 1-2 hours.

Take out, slice and serve. This is great for small or big kids!

Thank you to Wendy, who so generously shared this with us.

Wendy also noted that “If it lasts long enough for the biscuits to soften it’s like heaven.”

If you have a recipe you would like us to share, please email Craig at craig.anderson@cbsaust.org.au or send it to Craig Anderson, c/- Community Based Support, 24 Sunderland Street Moonah 7009

CBS Services

Would you like to learn more about what CBS can offer you and how we can help you to live the life you choose?

CBS provides a vast array of individually designed support services that help to maximise your independence. From simple house cleaning to more complex case managed services, we provide solutions that are tailor made to suit your specific needs.

We invite you to come along to an information session where we will explain the services that CBS offers, and how we can assist you to get them.

All you need to do is call our lovely Carer Respite team, who will assist you by taking your details and booking you into one of the sessions below.

We will provide you with some light (but tasty) refreshments and our experts will be on hand to have a chat and help you with any details you might need.

Sessions dates and times are as follows:

Launceston
42 Canning Street, Launceston
Option 1: Wednesday 26th February, 2020 at 4pm
Option 2: Thursday 12th March, 2020 at 6.30pm

Hobart
24 Sunderland Street, Moonah
Option 1: Tuesday 3rd March, 2020 at 4pm
Option 2: Thursday 26th March, 2020 at 6.30pm

Please feel free to invite a friend or family member to join you.

Spaces are limited and RSVPs are essential, so please call our Carer Respite Team on 03 6208 6600 to RSVP.

CBS Connect – January 2020