Penny French  on  07776 245726

From our  Village Agent:-

Helping older people in Gloucestershire have a better quality of life - working with the over 50s, providing easy access to a wide range of information that will enable them to make informed choices about their present and future needs.

Beware bogus telephone callers

With the days gradually growing longer, and the beautiful spring flowers appearing in our parks and gardens, we could be forgiven for thinking that all’s right with the world. Sadly, however, there are still people around who would seek to alter that optimistic view by taking advantage of us in one way or another. I have been alerted to one such scam that somebody recently experienced in the local area. I will tell you about it because the more we know about such things the more likely it will be that we will recognise if a scammer comes our way. This particular scam applies to people who have a computer. The individual in question received a phone call. The caller said that they were calling from BT and that the householder’s router would be out of order for three weeks. The caller then asked for the individual to turn their computer on. Luckily the individual guessed that something wasn’t right and so ended the call. They then phoned up BT who confirmed that the information they had been given was untrue and that it wasn’t them who had made the phone call.

I phoned Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and gave them the details of the attempted scam which they then forwarded to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau for further investigation. The lady I spoke to suggested that a call to the TPS (Telephone Preference Service) may help to stop similar fraudulent calls in the future.  The TPS number is 0845 070 0707 or online www.tpsonline.org.uk.   She also told me that Tesco and Argos stock cold-call blocking handsets, as do most telephone providers. These cost approximately £20.   As well as the Action Fraud phone line here is a website that gives useful information, including a link to support and prevention: www.actionfraud.police.uk

Help at Home

It’s nice to be independent but sometimes, ironically, the only way to retain that independence is by recognising the fact that we need a little bit of help, just now and again, from others. Sometimes, when I visit people, they ask me about getting help at home. Often they aren’t sure of how exactly to go about getting it, or to what help they may actually be entitled. There is a wide range of different types of help available and a person might actually be legally entitled to services which meet their needs.  Services available to help people stay in their own home include: help getting in and out of bed, bathing and washing, preparing meals, cleaning, the fitting of equipment and adaptations to a home to help with day to day activities, or assistance in visiting a local day centre. These are usually set up by the local County Council’s Adult help Desk.

To begin with, a Care Assessment is made; this would usually take place at the individual’s own home by an occupational therapist or social worker, whereupon a Care Plan is drawn up. There is no charge for this Care Assessment. The assessment would very much reflect the individual needs and wishes of the person concerned. There could be a charge for the services provided but, before charging for any services rendered, the council would means test how much the person in question could afford to pay, any amount arrived at still leaving a reasonable level of income. The Adult Help Desk can be contacted on 01452 426868.  

Age.UK also has a leaflet available that explains things in more detail. It is called Getting Help at Home and can be obtained from Age.UK on 0800 169 65 65.

In some cases a person may just want occasional help with cleaning or gardening and there are many ways of setting this up too. If contacted I am often able to help in finding this sort of informal help.  

Penny French. Mobile: 07776 245 726.    Email: pennyf@villageagent.grcc.org.uk