October 2023 Newsletter - Adults, Health and Wellbeing

ADULTS, HEALTH AND WELLBEING

A Word from Aled.

Around a week ago, my diary was telling me that I had a full day. A series of five meetings one after the other in the morning on Teams with the afternoon being spent back and forth between two further meetings which were held face to face in two locations 3 miles apart

The morning was relevant and genuinely very useful in terms of achieving and contributing towards the effort to maintain and improve services The time invested was worthwhile. But I truly enjoyed the afternoon.

The aim of the sessions is to thank everyone for their hard work but also to meet and have conversations with staff and give them the opportunity to ask any questions as well as to share information on what works well or otherwise and make suggestions to us concerning matters that need our attention as leaders. The sessions were fascinating and lively with personal and valuable contributions from everyone who was present

The first meeting was part of a series of sessions with front line staff with Dylan the Director, cabinet members Dilwyn Morgan and Elin Walker Jones, head of the Children’s department, Marian, as well as training and corporate support staff. The aim of the sessions is to thank everyone for their hard work but also to meet and have conversations with staff and give them the opportunity to ask any questions as well as to share information on what works well or otherwise and make suggestions to us concerning matters that need our attention as leaders The sessions were fascinating and lively with personal and valuable contributions from everyone who was present.

The second meeting concerned one of the main challenges facing care services in Gwynedd and beyond at this time, recruitment and staff retention This meeting focused specifically on the challenge in our residential homes, with home managers, human resources staff, the Workforce Development Unit and Adults Department staff contributing. There was no expectation of finding answers to all of the recruitment problems in the meeting but it was a good use of time to improve our understanding of the challenge and to shape our next steps in the effort to achieve a full and effective workforce

Both meetings had in common the value obtained from having the conversations rather informally and, more importantly, outside of the office and face to face I got more out of the meetings thanks to us being in the same room with the opportunity to hold group conversations openly, discuss present challenges as well as options for the future. We must also remember the worth of the informal conversations over a cup of tea - an opportunity to discuss work but also the 1:1 conversations with co-workers.

The use of technology and meeting over Teams facilitates many aspects of our work and is of great benefit to us as we seek to use time and resources effectively. But as we move more formally towards ‘hybrid’ work arrangements, we must not forget the worth of face to face contact. It is beneficial and healthy for us all and is certainly valuable for managers to be outside of main offices talking with the staff that carry out the most important we have, which is to support the most vulnerable people in our County. This gives us a better chance to understand and respond to challenges and strengthen care provision in Gwynedd.

Thanks to those of you who planned the sessions and to those that attended and contributed to the success of the meetings.

New Faces

Several individuals have joined the Adults department since the last newsletter in June. Between health and social care apprenticeships, administrative work to support business and care co-ordinators, it's clear that these new colleagues have set out on an engaging and diverse set of roles. What better way to start this newsletter than to introduce and welcome these new faces to the rest of the department?

About myself:

Hello, my name is Iwan Roberts I am 25 years old and have been working for Cyngor Gwynedd for about three months now. The time has gone quickly and I'm glad to have the opportunity to work to serve the community in which I was raised, especially as I have lived in England for much of the past few years during my university education. I finished a master's degree in History and Politics with the University of York last December, a challenging yet fascinating experience. This certainly reflects some of my interests, I enjoy reading and learning about things like history, politics and sociology, as well as walking, biking and writing.

My job:

I am working as a Business Administrative Assistant within the Workforce Support team in the Adults, Health and Wellbeing Department Since starting, I have gained experience of contributing to many aspects of the team's work, including inputting data, contributing to the June and September newsletters, arranging meetings and doing further administrative work as needed, as well as researching how best to make the department more effective and efficient I am also proud to have the opportunity to work outside of the Workforce Support team and draw great satisfaction from my work helping the new Autism Team as well as the Learning Disabilities Team with many of the above tasks

What I hope to accomplish in my job:

I am looking forward to continuing to serve the people of Gwynedd, and am especially proud of the work the Workforce Support team does as it helps people doing vital work such as social workers. I'm also certainly looking forward to continuing my work with the Autism Team as it is new and therefore there is a lot of exciting work to do in terms of establishing the team and spreading awareness of the important work that they do

Cadi Parry

About myself:

Hello! My name is Cadi Parry and I have been working as an apprentice with Cyngor Gwynedd for around two months by now. Before coming to work for the council, I was in the sixth form in Ysgol Dyffryn Nantlle, where I studied Art, Social Services, Psychology and the Baccalaureate. After two years of studying, I feel that I learn better through experiences and get more satisfcation from having responsibilities and tasks to complete, which explains why I have decided on an apprenticeship rather than university. I have an interest in social services and the ways people’s brains work, I was able to learn a lot about this through studying psychology I enjoy trying to find ways of helping people in various situations, be it support in the community, or supporting one of my colleagues.

My job:

My job title is Business Support and Social Care Apprentice I work within the Workforce Support Team in the Adults, Health and Wellbeing department My job is very broad and means that I am able to experience a wide variety of tasks through the apprenticeship. I have had the experience of going out to shadow support workers as they work, and have been part of many external meetings. Not only that, but I have been given many responsibilities including arranging meetings, working on Cyngor Gwynedd’s stall in the Eisteddfod, as well as working to promote events and requisitioning goods I am also involved with the day to day work around DOLS, financial and monetary arrangements and I am on the verge of undertaking engagement events where I have contributed to every aspect of the preparation.

What I hope to accomplish in my job:

I look forward to learning new skills that will raise my confidence in the workplace in terms of work and professional terminology. I feel that I have had a great deal of experiences up until now so it’s exciting seeing what’s ahead. In moving forward, I hope to work with the Mental Health Team, and understand what they do in their day to day jobs. I have an interest in the Mental Health Team’s work and I believe that I am aware of some of their work due to my A Level in Psychology With that said, I am certain the Workforce Support Team is pushing me to reach targets and learn different things every day.

Barrie Wyn Owen

My name is Barrie Wyn Owen and I started working for Cyngor Gwynedd twenty years ago when I started in a job that was completely new at the time, Planner/Supervisor with a home care service in Caernarfon. I enjoy reading, especially autobiographies, walking and wandering, watching open-air dramas, and collecting ‘Ladybird’ books and magazines in languages other than English (the series has been translated to almost 50 different languages, including titles in Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Arabic, Afrikaans, Esperanto, as well as more familiar languages ) I enjoy listening to world music and listening to the eclectic music of Georgia Ruth’s show on Radio Cymru.

I started my career with the council in 2003 and was responsible for distributing various services to allow individuals to live in their local communities; and in Caernarfon I was responsible for over fourty five home carers, many of which had worked since the days of home help, providing over a thousand hours of care per week. I had management experience in the catering field as well as years of experience in the care sector Before starting my work with the council, I was a member of a team that helped autistic individuals learn independent living skills in a halfway house after they had left long-term care facilities. I have worked in several areas within Arfon over the years; by now I am on secondment from my administrative assistant job since the beginning of February as a co-ordinator in the Eifionydd area (Porthmadog and Cricieth mainly, when I’m not ‘borrowing’ workers from other areas.)

Zara Williams

My name is Zara Williams I’m 38 years old and I live in Bal my spare time I love spending time with friends and famil

I’ve been working as a social care co-ordinator since Ma helping to organise care in the Bermo and Harlech area, an absolutely incredible team in Dolgellau

I love my new job and enjoy every aspect of it. I’m very th to everyone in the team for their support and patience sometimes!!! I learn something new every day, and my confidence is growing. Every day is completely different t next and that is exciting to me, and I look forward to wor every day.

I started working for Cyngor Gwynedd 8 years ago after working behind bars in local pubs and feeling like I neede big change I started as a carer in the community, and m regret is that I didn’t go for it sooner I am delighted with care sector and am very proud to do my part in the comm and to further develop my career.

Margaret Ranson

My name is Margaret Ranson, but everyone calls me Mogz.

I am 36 years old.

I have four amazing children that keep me very busy outside of work hours.

I live in Corwen but I’m originally from Bala. My hobbies are running, surfing and indoor climbing

I started my new role, community care coordinator, in the Tywyn area back in March. I have joined a team of incredible workers.

Before starting my new job I worked as a social carer in Bala for 8 years

Ffion Wynne Edwards

I would like to introduce myself. I am Ffion Edwards, and I have been appointed as the first Young Carers Officer within the Council.

The purpose of my role is to adapt resources available to young carers in our area, and to raise awareness of carers.

There are now over 76 young carers open to help here in Gwynedd, and we all work for the children and support those who are open to us.

Despite this we understand, according to the census, that as many as 1,000 hidden Young carers exist, living hard lives with no support

With this in mind there is work to be done to bring those who are not aware that they are young carers to the front. I have prepared a school trip to start in the new educational year to raise awareness

There is now a special app available for young carers with discounts offered on showing the app or ID card in local companies, including McDonalds and byw’n iach.

I already give presentations to teams on how to identify and support young carers but I'm worried that I'm missing some. Therefore, if you would like more information or would like to discuss further please contact.

I have added some information to this email for you, including an infograph, the website of our work and here is a link to the youtube website, with the video that was created for the 'social care accolades' awards.

The 2023 Awards - Carers Support Project - YouTube

https://www aidi cymru/en/

You are very welcome to get in touch if you want to talk further about my work.

Lyndsey Marie Owen

I am originally from Llanrug but live in Penisarwaun with my husband Ian and my 4 year old daughter Madi.

My job’s purpose as a Social Work Practitioner is to help residents live at home as independently as possible I am here to encourage independence and to provide support according to people’s needs.

I have worked in the Adults Department for 19 years as an administrative officer and have developed many skills that have allowed me to transfer to this job. After showing an interest in developing my career I was very lucky to have the opportunity to shadow various workers within this field that serve the people of the Couty. I also had an excellent opportunity to go to Birmingham in 2022 with many of the occupational therapy team to the annual OT show. All of these experiences gave me the confidence to apply for a social care practitioner role. I feel very fortunate to have been offered a secondment with the team for 6 months that has now been extended for a further 6 months, until March 2024 During my period as a social work practitioner I have taken advantage of many training opportunities to develop and I will begin studying an Introduction to Health and Social Care course with the Open University next month.

I truly enjoy my role and the opportunity to meet so many of our county’s residents. The ability to support individuals to continue to live independently at home gives me the drive to continue to develop in my role I am very glad that I have made a difference to individuals and appreciate every opportunity I have to develop in my role

Llio Leadbitter

About myself:

I am Llio Leadbitter and I live in Caernarfon I have just bought a house which needs a lot of work and attention so between this and my two year old daughter, Cadi, and Meg the dog I have enough to keep me busy!

My job: Learning Disabilities Provider and Development Manager (or the easier way to describe it, the New Olwen!)

I am responsible for the Arfon Learning Disabilities Provider Department which includes Frondeg, Housing and Support, Support Services, Cynllun Cymunedol, Gweithdy Glynllifon and Hwb Arfon in the Leisure Centre. The department is wide-ranging, with every manager dealing with a different aspect of the field, which makes my job a fascinating one with every day in every service being different.

My professional background:

I have a degree in Psychology, and I have completed NVQ Level 5 Leadership and Management Health and Social Care. I started in the Learning Disabilities field as a volunteer with Antur Waunfawr before being offered a full time support role, and then went on to do a role in an office dealing with residential and day services before moving on to do complaints with Adra (exactly as fun as it sounds!) and then joined the Council in 2018 in a transforming role, trying to improve co-operation between Adult Social Services and the Health Board. From this I got a job as a Quality Assurance Officer and got all kinds of experiences with a great team.

What I look forward to doing or achieving in my job:

Very happy to be back in the Learning Disabilities field, and working in the Provider Department which requires me to draw on all my experiences from different fields over the years. I have so many ideas and projects for the future, but firstly my biggest project will be to have baby number 2, who is supposed to arrive at the end of October!

Care Sector Recruitment Campaign

by Gwenno Angharad Williams

Can you help? As part of the ongoing Recruitment Campaign for the Care sector we are always looking for different ideas of places to promote jobs and Services and are always on the lookout for events to attend Do you have ideas of different spaces we could target? Somewhere to share pamphlets and promotional material? We’re also trying to draw up a list of local events – shows, festivals, fairs across the county where we can have a presence to showcase different Services and jobs in the sector. We had a stand at the Eisteddfod this year with different Services hosting different activities every day – it was great to generate interest and start a conversation What’s going on in your area in terms of events? What are the dates these events are normally held? And even better, do you have a contact to organise a stand? Contact Gwenno to share your ideas –GwennoAngharadWilliams@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

The Eisteddfod in Gwynedd!

Since the last newsletter we in Gwynedd have been incredibly lucky to host the National Eisteddfod From August the 5th to the 12th, around 150,000 visitors came over to Boduan on the Llyn peninsula to visit the biggest cultural festival in Europe Over at the Gwynedd Council tent it was a great advert for Gwynedd and the vibrant culture and proud communities that define our county, but more importantly for us, it was a great advert for Caring Gwynedd. There were many activities during the week, but mainly on the last Friday, in order to promote the magnificent work of the Social Services departments.

Our activities opened with a session focusing on Young Carers and introducing the idea of social catalysts. The Active Dementia Team also came together to highlight the many activities they have to offer - from chair aerobics to reminiscing about sports. By the end of the week, there were more opportunities for the social service to raise awareness of our work amongst the community. A highly successful event was held in order to encourage people to think about protecting their mental health. Even Cyw and friends joined!

Also, we must not forget about the launch of the new autism team - you will hear more about that later. We also heard about job opportunities in the service a crucial task considering the staffing

Mental Health

Chair aerobics above, and Ffion Edwards entertaining the children

Introducing the Autism Team

by Iwan Roberts

Also on Friday in the Eisteddfod, the Council was very proud to formally launch the Autism Team It proved to be a very successful event - following a presentation by Councillor Elin Walker Jones, there was an opportunity for the team to chat with the public as well as Cyngor Gwynedd staff from other fields. Representatives of the Integrated Autism Service also attended, reflecting the co-operation that persists between the Council and other services in order to ensure the best possible service for autistic people. It is certainly an exciting time within the field of autism at the moment. In the past years, awareness around autism has been gradually rising in the community and an increasing amount of people are aware of the need to serve this community and help them join the wider community Awareness has risen on a political level too, as we see with the recent investment the Welsh Government has made towards autism services. Cyngor Gwynedd has also recently updated our Autism Strategy, setting out our commitments in terms of establishing and expanding autism services. In this exciting context, the Council established a new Autism Team to provide autistic people with specialised service. Part of the Adults, Health and Welllbeing Department as well as the Children and Supporting Families Department, and under the Autism Practice Leader, Lucy Hemmings, the team also contains 4 key workers and one social worker, as well as administrative staff. I am personally also very proud of having the opportunity to work outside of my usual team with them, and draw great satisfaction from being able to share my perspective as an autistic person in the hope that this input will make the team’s work as conscientious and sensitive as possible.

Every member of Cyngor Gwynedd staff can be glad that we have committed to distributing specialist services towards autism. It proves that the Council is serious in terms of working towards a Caring Gwynedd that gives a fair chance to every member of the community. Some of you will have already met the team or will be meeting them in the near future as they host the Autism Bus training in the coming months, a striking experience that is sure to leave you with an appreciation of some of the difficulties faced by autistic people It will be fascinating watching the team develop as time goes on, and very satisfying seeing the results of the team’s work on the wellbeing and happiness of the autistic people of Gwynedd.

Covid Vaccinations for Care Staff

We can all be glad that the worst of the Covid pandemic is behind us by now. Despite this, it is especially important for us to maintain a vigilant attitude towards this disease Cyngor Gwynedd’s care staff will therefore be asked to get vaccinated in order to secure ourselves and the public as winter approaches. Social Care staff will receive letters during the week beginning on the 18th of September and can expect to receive the vaccination during October.

Adults, Health and Wellbeing Webpages

As you are likely aware by now, Sian Pritchard, Public Relations and Communications Manager for the Department, has been working on updating our pages on the corporate website. We hope, by the time this newsletter is released, these new pages will be live. You can see them here. We would love for you to take a look over these pages and get back to Sian with any feedback, be it positive or negative and mention any aspects that need to be adjusted. (angen checio hwn)

Updating the Department Hub

By now, the Workforce Support Team has begun the task of updating the Hub of the Department of Adults, Health and Wellbeing on the council’s Intranet. The goal is to make vital information more obvious to the department's staff, to ensure there is a convenient, central location to offer answers to frequently asked questions We hope this will have the effect of improving the performance of the department and ensuring our workforce is as aware as possible.

There will be at least four different pages focusing on various informaton that is vital to any Adult Deparment staff, including protecting vulnerable individuals, staff

health and safety, sickness and holidays, performance, finances and departmental priorities. We are intending to create a central page that will act as a doorway to the information, including a quick introduction of this new part of the hub as well as providing links to the pages focusing on specific aspects

This information will be displayed in a convenient and accessible way that will target the answers you need to know as members of the Department's staff We plan on incorporating useful information that was previously in less obvious places within the council's intranet, such as the Policies section, and therefore better distribute this information and ensure that our staff benefit from it.

Cyngor Gwynedd Engagement Group

We would like to draw your attention to the new 'Cyngor Gwynedd Engagement Group' for staff, a group that focuses on all consultations throughout the council, with the hope of reducing doubling and facilitating co-operation on all kinds of public consultations

The response to public consultations has fallen substantially over the past months, and one reason for this is the substantial number of times we as a council have gone out to ask the public for advice. We hope that by making this group we will be able to think more strategically on consulting and plan ahead more effectively.

Sian Iolen Pritchard, Public Communications and Contact Leader, will be acting as a point of contact on behalf of our department.

Sian will be attending the meetings and reporting back with any updates but Sian will also be reporting back to the group concerning any plans we have in terms of consultations We advise therefore that you contact Sian if you have any intention of doing work of this kind, and she will be more than ready to assist you.

Occupational Therapists’ Training

Many members of Department’s Occupational Therapy Team recently had the opportunity to attend a two-day Right Sized Care Moving and Handling Training course delivered by A1 Risk Solutions

The training was excellent and has empowered the team to deliver improved manual handling assessments and interventions, with the aim of reducing pressure on care staff, and providing care, dignity and independence in manual handling.

Llwybrau Llesiant steps forward

In conjunction with Byw'n Iach, Llwybrau Llesiant arranged a 'Wellbeing Day' at the Glaslyn Leisure Centre in Porthmadog on 10th July, an event which attracted well over 90 service users.

All activities arranged on the day were free of charge with the main aim being to get individuals to use their local leisure facilities on a more regular basis As can be seen from the attached pictures and video, the day proved a great success and brought plenty of smiles to plenty of faces!

Venturing o w

Llwybrau Llesiant have taken to the waters recently and arranged to take a crew to experience five different modes of water based travel From North to South, the five are;

- Joining in with SEAS Sailability sessions in Conwy

- Taking a cruise on the Queen of the Sea from Caernarfon

- Experiencing the Wheely Boat in Pwllheli marina.

- Kayaking at Min y Don in Arthog as part of an outdoor activities day.

- Taking a trip on the Montgomeryshire Canal from Welshpool courtesy of the Heulwen Trust.

These five sessions offered unique, memorable experiences for all of those who took part!

Interview Concerns

Several individuals have expressed concern that the number of those who apply for a job, are offered an interview and the number that turn up for interviews do not add up. We can factor in various reasons for this including - a change in circumstances, personal matters, day to day life as well as technical problems We have contacted gwasanaeth Cefnogol (checio) to express these concerns and to think of ways to try and reduce the number of those who do not turn up after having been offered an interview.

As a rule an applicant will receive a message confirming an interview over e-mail and occasionally this e-mail can fall into the spam or junk folder. Although a warning has gone out that there is danger for e-mails to fall into these folders and that there is a need to monitor this element of email accounts, it is easy to forget to verify folders every time.

By now Support Services have been working towards developing the recruitment and appointment module on the self service system and the most recent developments mean the system can now send a text message confirming the applicant’s interview To receive a confirmation in the form of a text there must be a mobile phone number included in the appropriate space on the application form This development has been active in Support Services for around three weeks by now and during this period alone they have seen an increase in the number of people that answer to interview confirmation e-mails.

We hope this will persist to be a very successful development.

Treating sensitive information

In July, a message was sent to all of you declaring that no e-mail containing Cyngor Gwynedd information should be sent to personol e-mail addresses (e.g PersonX@gmail.com).

It went on to note: Of course, this includes information on clients that receive services from the Department We ask everyone to ensure you send any Cyngor information to official e-mail addresses, e.g. PersonX@Carecompany.com Sometimes, personal e-mails can look like official ones, e.g. PersonXCareCompany@gmail.com. If you are unsure or uncomfortable at all concerning contact information, we advise you to contact your line manager in the first instance, before sending any information

We would like to apologise for the confusion that has arisen from this information We understand that a great number of you contact e-mail service users and their families through such personal e-mail addresses, and this is right and correct However, it is not correct to send personal, sensitive information such as care plans and so on to personal staff e-mails, be they Cyngor Gwynedd staff or the staff of external companies that provide care on our behalf. If you are e-mailing someone in a work capacity, you must e-mail their professional account, and only their professional account

We hope this better explains the situation, and remember that mandatory data protection training is available to everyone

Lasting Power of Attorney Guidelines

Every older adult in Gwynedd has the fight to live with dignity, safety and confidence, and there is a duty upon us as a council to work towards this goal It is vital therefore to ensure that a reliable person is at hand to make decisions on health and finance if the older individual is not capable of doing this themselves. To raise awareness on this matter, the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales in partnership with the Office of the Public Guardian has developed guidelines for lasting power of attorney

You can see how to access the guidelines below. It is a convenient collection of information that explains how lasting power of attorney can benefit older adults, including giving peace of mind to them and their families by reducing the need to worry about financial, health and well-being decisions. In addition, it provides answers to frequently asked questions on the subject and certainly contributes to creating a Caring Gwynedd for everyone in our community.

Click here for a link to the guidelines

Dementia Actif

True to its name, the Dementia Actif team has been very busy recently. Here we can see a preview of what they have on the go:

New Classes

We are extremely excited to be starting new classes in Gwynedd.

The classes will include light exercises to improve stamina, strength and balance, boccia, and the chance to socialise over tea or coffee.

Bala - The class in Bala will start in Byw’n Iach Penllyn on Wednesday the 6th of September, 1:303:00pm We had a very successful ‘ come and trwy’ sessiwn on Wednesday the 16th of August (lluniau)

Penygroes- the class will start in Neuadd Goffa Penygroes on 11/09/23. The class will be on every Monday from 11:00-12:30pm

Warm welcome to older adults of all abilities.

The Virtual Dementia Tour Bus

The Virtual Dementia Tour Bus is coming to Gwynedd! Don’t miss a great opportunity to take part in this innovative dementia training - which is free!

You can choose which 3 hour session you’d like to join and in what location.

Places are limited.

Click here to learn more about the dates, the locations and to reserve a place You can also use the QR code on the attached poster

If you would like more information, you are welcome to contact Emma Quaeck, Dementia Co-ordinator, at emmajaynequaeck@gwynedd llyw cymru

Travelling Costs

How many of you use your own vehicle to undertake a business trip on the part of the council? Do you make the best use of the different options that are available? Though parts of the workforce need to use their cars to travel regularly as part of their jobs, there are several options many of us can consider before travelling in our own car. Through considering the below options, we will help to defend the environment and save time and money

Online meetings

If there is one thing recent years have certainly taught us, it is that there is no need to travel to attend a meeting Options to attend meetings on your computer are much more common these days - it saves time for you, avoids having to travel by car and means there is no need to make long journeys for relatively short meetings.

It is also better for the environment as it reduces our carbon footprint and leads to reduced costs for the Cyngor - and this in a period where there are obvious pressures on public sector finances

Car sharing

There are times when it is necessary to travel for meetings or training But before jumping in the car, consider if it is possible to share your journey with a colleague who is also attending the same meeting.

Public transport

It is also possible to use public transport to attend some meetings This is likely to be much better for the environment and likely to mean less cost to the taxpayer.

Hire a vehicle

In the extremely challenging financial environment faced by the whole public sector, it is important that each one of us considers carefully if there is a more cost-effective way of working. Did you know that there is an opsion to use a hired car if you are travelling quite far, and that this is cheaper to the taxpayer?

Contact the Support Services Desk for more information

Biking to work

What about saving on travel, helping to protect the environment and staying fit at the same time by joining the Biking to Work Scheme? Through the scheme you can hire a bike including electric bikes and safety equipment of your choice Almost 1,000 members of staff have taken advantage of the Biking to Work scheme since its introduction back in 2012 For more details click here

We will be sharing further messages with you in the future to update you on the work that is happening in the field of sustainable travel so keep your eye out for them.

New Annual Leave and Sickness Arrangements

Holiday

We will no longer be continuing with the practice of creating holiday cards for staff. When finishing your current holiday year, you will need to use the Staff Self Service system in the future. If you can’t see your holiday card in the system, please ask your line manager to contact DesgAdnoddauDynol@gwynedd llyw cymru and they’ll input it for the team.

If the number of hours you work varies often, please contact SophieAnnHughes@gwynedd gov wales to discuss the best arrangements for you.

Sickness

We have noticed in the past months that there are weaknesses in our arrangements for reporting sickness and that there is some confusion and inconsistency as to the correct practice to follow. This can lead to mistakes in wages and in our sickness data Until now, the practice was to fill a reporting sickness spreadsheet once a month and send it to the Adult and Children’s Finance team and to send sickness forms and doctor’s notes straight to Support Service Desk.

We have discussed with Support Services and understand that there is no need for the finance team to be a part of collecting sickness information at all and that this adds to the confusion.

New arrangements are in place - you will need to fill out a sickness form with your manager if you are ill, as well as keep copies of any relevant doctor’s notes This will need to be done every time someone is ill, even if just for a day. Managers will also be required to fill out a monthly spreadsheet and send it along with the sickness documents to DesgArchebionCefnogol@gwynedd.llyw.cymru after the end of every month, while also letting them know if there has been no sickness in the team

The above arrangements will not be relevant to care staff using timesheet systems.

Meetings in Chambers

a message from the Democracy Service

Over the summer, work has been undertaken in order to improve the quality of the sound in the Dafydd Orwig and Hywel Dda Chambers by installing additional speakers. To further improve the quality, we kindly ask that anyone who attends a commitee or hybrid meeting remotely to use headsets including a microphone, as these will also improve the sound quality for those within the chamber substantially. This is good practice for every virtual meeting regardless, so we encourage you to get into the habit of doing this in meetings generally in the future. If you need to order headsets with a microphone, please contact DesgGymorth@gwynedd.llyw.cymru.

Thanks for your co-operation

Gwynedd and Anglesey Shared Lives

by Meinir Jones

The Gwynedd and Anglesey Shared Lives scheme is planning to develop and is currently recruiting in our areas We are looking for enthusiastic individuals with an interest in supporting individuals in the home of the enabler, in order to ensure chances for the individual to take an active part in the community, to maintain and develop their skills and encourage independence. The enablers are assessed by Shared Lives officers and approved by a professional panel As part of the service provided, the individual is included in every part of the familial and social life of the enabler. Support is given in order to allow the individual to take part in leisure and family activies as well as being an active part of the community.

The support distributed is tailored according to individual’s needs and wishes by recognising their favourite and least favourite things, recognising personal skills and encouraging further development. This is done through discussion between the individual, a Shared Lives officer, an enabler and any other relevant person e.g. family, proffessional worker.

My name is Meinir Jones, I am a Gwynedd and Anglesey Shared Lives Officer.

Sharon and Murray Bull from Deiniolen are part of the scheme and are ready to share their experiences as Enablers for Rachel Williams. Rachel moved to live in Sharon a Murray’s home in 2019. Rachel has been welcomed into the family in the home and the Welsh Mountain Ponies Farm. There are two small dogs named Archie and Daphne as well as Guineafowl On the site, there are two Self Catering Huts for use by tourists

Rachel is a young woman in her early twenties She enjoys being part of the family and receives support to learn independent living skills Rachel enjoys taking opportunities to socialise with friends and keeps contact with her family.

As well as working in a siop in town, Rachel helps on the farm through caring for the ponies and completing tasks in and around the house She also helps Sharon to clean and prepare the huts occasionally

On days when Rachel works in the shop, she catches the bus there and back home. Rachel told me that she did not feel independent before she moved in with Sharon and Murray, and that they have helped her to develop confidence

I recently received an invitation from Sharon and Rachel to spend an afternoon with them It was a chance to have a cup of tea and a chat about how Rachel feels about living with Sharon and Murray as part of the Gwynedd and Anglesey Shared Lives scheme. Sharon and Murray shared that it has been a rewarding experience for them as they have witnessed the positive results Rachel has achieved Sharon and Murray tell me that the opportunity to offer a home and support to Rachel has been and continues to be a great experience, as they have been able to see how much she has developed and achieved.

For more information contact with the team through the below details:

Medi Griffiths (Rheolwr Cofrestredig Cysylltu Bywydau / Shared Lives Registered Manager) – Pwllheli

Peter Price (Swyddog Cysylltu Bywydau / Shared Lives Officer) –Dolgellau

Meinir Jones (Swyddog Cysylltu Bywydau a Galwch Draw / Shared Lives Officer) - Pwllheli

Cynllun Cysylltu Bywydau (Shared Lives Scheme)

The Cyngor’s Offices

Ffordd y Cob, Cae Penarlag, Pwllheli, Dolgellau, Gwynedd

LL53 5AA LL40 2YB

01758 704145/144 01341 424511

Care staff roadshows

by Cadi Parry

We have recently been busy visiting different areas holding ‘roadshows,’ thanking sessions with Statutory Director for Social Services, Huw Dylan Owen This involves visiting different locations throughout Gwynedd holding sessions for individuals working in the community to thank them for all of the work they do every day. The first session was held on 04/09/23 in Bermo We have since been in Bangor on the 05/09/23 as well We will continue to hold these sessions in Pwllheli (12/09/23), Botwnnog (13/09/23), Porthmadog (18/09/23), Dyffryn Nantlee (20/09/23), Bala (25/09/23), Tywyn (27/09/23), Blaenau (03/10/23) and will finish in Caernarfon on the 4/10/23 This is an opportunity for the workers to ask any question or express any concern they have face to face.

We want to show how thankful we are for all of the work that is done every day, in order to ensure the highest quality of life for the people of Gwynedd. Not only that, but we are saying thank you on behalf of all the families that can continue with their everyday lives while feeling secure that their loved ones are in your hands All of us within the Department as well as the wider community are especially thankful for the work done by care workers in the context of the extremely difficult challenges of the past few years, including the Covid pandemic. We hope to highlight this gratitude by being present and greeting you face to face, showing that there is no gap between front line care workers and heads of services within Cyngor Gwynedd We also hope you will benefit from these sessions and leave in the knowledge that your voice is being heard, and that we are working towards doing anything we can to help.

Workforce Welsh Language Data

Our latest Quarterly Report on Welsh Language Denotations showed that the number of the department’s staff who have completed the mandatory Welsh language self-assessment has increased from 61% to 65% since June - thanks to those of you who completed it following a reminder to do so.

However, the number of frontline staff who have completed the self-assessment remains low and we acknowledge that there are many barriers including limited access to IT facilities. We will therefore be concentrating on working with service managers to support staff to complete the self-assessment and to find the most convenient way of ensuring this is convenient and easy for those staff members.

If you have any questions about the work on improving the data that’s available to us regarding the social care workforce, please contact SophieAnnHughes@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Please contact Bet Huws through elizabethmaryhuws@gwynedd llyw cymru if you have any questions around developing your own language skills or the skills of your staff.

Digital Telecare

by Meilir Price Owen

As we have noted in a previous edition of the newsletter, the next two years are going to be a period of change in the telecare field, mainly due to the Digital Revolution. Over recent months, the service has been busy planning and preparing for the changes that are in progress

What is telecare?

Telecare is a monitoring service that allows individuals to call for help day or night by pushing a button or through a series of automatic sensors in the home. It is a preventative method of offering care from a distance to individuals, and can be a good way of reducing risks within the home and supporting people to live as independently as possible

What is the ‘Digital Revolution’ and what effect will it have?

By the end of 2025, communications providers such as BT, Virgin, Sky etc will disable all analogue phone lines across the country and all phone lines will be replaced by ‘internet protocol,’ a digital technology For further information on this use this link - Digital Revolution 2025 This work has started in Gwynedd, and many of our homes have already transferred to digital as we renew our phone packages or broadband.

Historically, telecare equipment has used traditional phone lines to make calls to monitoring centres like Galw Gofal in emergencies As a result, the service will upgrade every individual’s telecare equipment over the next two years, and will be installing digital and modern telecare equipment which uses a SIM card rather than a phone line to communicate.

What equipment will the service install?

Following a tendering process and various equipment testing activities, the service is proud to announce that we will be using equipment by Chiptech for the coming years. Chiptech is an innovative company which is very eager to work closely with us to develop equipment and systems that meet the needs of the people of Gwynedd One key aspect of this will be developing an entirely bilingual unit, with branding work that will be completely unique to Cyngor Gwynedd. Many other features of this equipment can be of aid to us as we try and promote the independence of the people of Gwynedd, including the ability to programme reminder messages and the potential to use the equipment to facilitate check up visits

What will happen next?

We will be starting the process of transferring individuals to the new equipment in October. Every new referral to the service will receive a digital package in their home, and over time we will contact our users to arrange a date to visit them and upgrade their equipment. There will be no additional cost for the new equipment

If you have any questions about these changes or if you would like to discuss anything relating to the service, contact us at teleofal@gwynedd.llyw.cymru or 01286 679024.

Recording Thanks and Compliments

I would like to remind you that we as a Department record any messages of thanks and/or praise for your work received from service users and their families. It is important to record these to ensure that we have a record of the excellent work all of you do from day to day.

The Cyngor Gwynedd staff website also collects examples from us, and you can read previous ones through following this link: https://staffcyngorgwynedd.org/2023-24-oedolion-iechyd-allesiant/

In the first instance, please direct any thanks in any form to me to the below e-mail, and I will record them on our system in Adults and pass them on to add their contents to the Wall.

Best wishes to everyone

Geraint Wyn Jones

Swyddog

Gofal Cwsmer (Oedolion) / Customer Care Officer (Adults)

Oedolion, Iechyd a Llesiant / Adults, Health and Wellbeing (01286) 679549 (est / ext: 32549) geraintwynjones@gwynedd.llyw.cymru

Llyn Bikers Succeed

The Llyn Bikers group has been extraordinarily busy this year In April, they collected money for the Gafael Llaw charity that supports Gwynedd and Anglesey children living with cancer. It was very busy on the day, the 17th of April, with 153 motorbikes taking part in the non-competitive journey that started and finished in Pwllheli, having lasted around 5 hours There was a pleasant atmosphere with a large number of supporters along the roadpeople of all ages could be seen raising a hand and discussing with group members on their bikes and their charity work.

It was possible for individuals to contribute online, as well as joining the journey itself for £5, including a raffle at the end of the day. As well as this, an auction was held through a Facebook page that was open from the 16th to the 30th of April. Between all of these, the group succeeded in collecting over £10,000, a fantastic result that adds to the incredible sum of £61,460 the group has collected for charity in the past twelve years

The money collected was presented to Gafael Llaw on the 13th of September, and it will be sure to go far in terms of helping children with cancer and their families in our area. We as a Council gan be very proud that Menna Price, an Occupational Therapist who works within the Adults department led the journey that proved so successful. The riders were certainly in good hands - Menna has been riding for 13 years and has been part of the Llyn Bikers group for 12 years

Llyn Bikers are looking forward to continuing their co-operation with the community in order to raise even more money for good causes.

Hybiau Gwynedd

by Bethan Williams

The hubs help people gain easier access to information and support and maintain durable communities and a communal spirit by bringing services, activities, local groups and agencies together to direct their local reaction to the needs of their area. In June, Hybiau Gwynedd came together to share stories about the help that has been offered to the people of Gwynedd. There is increasing awareness that people’s stories can be powerful as we learn and evaluate, and we used the simple and practical Straeon Swynol method to collect and learn about people’s experiences.

Here is a collection of inspirational stories from that session.

Coming out of her shell:

This girl came to us in the Hub twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She came to the lulnchtime sessions. I learned that she was homeless and that she had a learning disability

When she started coming here, she barely spoke with others and kept to herself. After getting to know her and offering opportunities for her to help with preparing pamphlets and cleaning the food storage area she has become much more social. Today she is a volunteer in the Hub, contributing ideas to our activities timetable and is much more confident.

Why is this an inspirational story? ‘She has changed from being a person in need of help to one that helps others.’

An open door:

This man came to the Hub for help with bills and debt. On his first visit he received help with making phone calls and filling forms, and recently he has been here for the fifth time. He chats with staff and spends time with other people who come to the Hub to share his story, and how he feels by now

Why is this an inspirational story? ‘He feels that the door is always open and that there is always a warm welcome.’

Cracking Cakes:

This man moved to the area from abroad and has been living in completely unsiotable accomodation for years. He suffers from substantial health problems. He started receiving help during the lockdown period and then started coming to the Hub where he was provided food. He now volunteers in the kitchen, making and preparing meals He has an extraordinary talent for cooking and specialises in making cakes. He is an asset to the hub.

Why is this an inspirational story? ‘Giving more back than he received as help.’

Doing the small things:

This mother had been attending the Community Pantry regularly but had been suffering health problems and had become unable to go. She contacted over the phone to ask if it would be possible to have a bag sent to her. I took a bag from the pantry over to her about three times. Her house is only two minutes down the street, but this small amount of help has been enormous for her She has greatly appreciated having help available for her and her family during a difficult time in their lives.

Why is this an inspirational story? ‘A message of thanks made me realise how important my help is even though it is small ’

Raising Spirits

Very best wishes to Mair who celebrated her 100th birthday on the 21st of August!

Here we see Mair celebrating with some of the other residents of Plas Ogwen and posing with her birthday card from the king and queen.

The recent stormy weather is quite a change from the very summery temperatures that extended into the first half of September. Here we see some of Plas Hafan’s residents making the best of the sun!

Thank you

Ffion entertaining the children during the Eisteddfod!