JST tall ship at the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant

At 65m, the Jubilee Sailing Trust tall ship Tenacious will be the largest tall ship moored closest to Tower Bridge in the ‘Avenue of Sail’ through which the smaller vessels of the Pageant Flotilla will pass during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on Sunday 3 June.

Tenacious is a tall ship with a difference because she was purpose-designed to combine traditional square-rig with special features that make it possible for physically disabled people to take a full and active role in crewing the ship side by side with able-bodied people. 

Such features include wheelchair lifts between deck levels, a joy stick for people who want to steer the ship but who cannot hold a wheel and an audio compass for those who want to steer but cannot see.

The ship has been selected by both the BBC and Sky News as a platform for some of their coverage on the day. There are plans to interview some of the special guests on board. These include Jon Button, a triple amputee who has climbed unassisted right to the top of Tenacious’ mast, Nick Pilgrim whose life was devastated by meningitis aged 18 and since then has sailed nearly 60 times with the JST and David Sage, whose fundraising efforts have meant that dozens of injured service personnel have benefited from a voyage with the Jubilee Sailing Trust, JST.

Tenacious is operated by the JST, a charity that was founded in 1978 especially to enable people of all physical abilities to work alongside each other as equals while enjoying the challenge of tall ship sailing. The chief executive Alex Lochrane said: “Our Trust was originally founded thanks to a grant from the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Fund and so we were keen for Tenacious to represent this legacy and be part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations 34 years later. We are looking forward to giving our guests and supporters who will be on board the chance to be part of this amazing event.”

Services for Later Life conference

Age UK is hosting its annual Services for Later Life Conference on 12 July 2012 in London. The event will bring service professionals together to explore the opportunities and challenges in designing, commissioning and delivering high quality services for older people.

Services for Later Life 2012 will focus on how service commissioners, developers and providers can rise to the challenges faced in the current economic climate with the changing landscape of health and social care. Often the hardest of times can be a catalyst for the best and most innovative changes and Age UK says delegates will hear from high profile speakers covering a range of issues including refining services, integrating health and social care and the latest views on Social Impact Bonds (outcomes-based contracts).

Delegates from across the public, private and voluntary sectors will be able to find out more about how best to provide services for older people, whether they are free, charged for or co-produced. The speakers will include:

 Lord Adebowale the chief executive of social care organisation Turning Point and Dan Corry, chief executive of New Philanthropy Capital, who will talk about how the not-for-profit sector is responding to the challenges of cuts and public sector reform

Phil Hope the director of Improving Care, who will speak about social impact bonds and how they will effect service provision and Dr Gabriella Spinelli the director of the business strategy and innovation programme at Brunel University, who will discuss the importance of service design

Michelle Mitchell, charity director general at Age UK, said: “Despite tough economic times and sweeping changes to the health and social care sector, the outlook for services for older people doesn’t have to be bleak. The hardest of times can bring out interesting, innovative and novel changes in the way these services are provided. Age UK’s Services for Later Life Conference 2012 provides a timely opportunity for debate.”

To book a place and to get more information about Age UK’s Services for Later Life 2012 Conference see website www.ageuk.org.uk/SFLL.

Upgrading text relay services to benefit disabled consumers

Ofcom has revealed details of moves to improve communications services for people with hearing and speech impairments.

The independent regulator is proposing that all UK landline and mobile providers give their customers access to a next generation ‘text relay’ service approved by Ofcom.

Text relay services enable people with hearing and/or speech impairments to communicate with others through telephone or textphone equipment. Under the current system, a relay assistant acts as an intermediary to convert speech to text and vice versa for the two parties. Ofcom research has found that these conversations can be slow and sometimes fail to flow naturally.

The proposed new services would be faster and accessible via the internet through PCs, laptops, tablet computers and smartphones. 

Ofcom intends to consult on proposals on video-based relay services later this year. In the meantime, it is working with the government and disability groups to encourage the provision of video relay services by communications providers and other organisations and businesses voluntarily.

Queen’s study could lead to new treatments for MS

A study at Queen’s University Belfast which could eventually lead to new treatments for Multiple Sclerosis has been awarded £425,000 by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, BBSRC.

There are currently about 100,000 people in the UK with MS which affects the ability of nerve cells in the brain, spinal cord and eye, to communicate with each other effectively.

The research at the Queen’s Centre for Infection and Immunity, will investigate how parts of the immune system can help repair the damage caused by MS attacks. 

The project is being led by Dr Denise Fitzgerald, who experienced a condition similar to MS, called Transverse Myelitis when she was 21. As a result of inflammation in her spinal cord, she was paralysed in less than two hours.

Dr Fitzgerald had to learn to walk again as the damage in her spinal cord repaired itself over the following months and years. It is this natural repair process that often becomes inefficient in MS.

Dr Fitzgerald said: “Nerve cells communicate by sending signals along nerve fibres which are contained within a fatty, insulating, protective substance, known as Myelin. In MS, Myelin is attacked and damaged. This research project centres around understanding Myelination, a process of insulating the nerve fibres with Myelin, and Remyelination, a natural regenerative process that replaces damaged Myelin.”

E-petition to beat avoidable malnutrition and dehydration

 The chair of the Nutrition & Hydration Action Alliance (NHAA) Dr Mike Stroud has launched an e-petition to drive a debate in parliament on eliminating avoidable malnutrition and dehydration.

“Too many individuals – adults and children – are not getting the nutrition and hydration help and treatment they need to maintain health or combat disease and trauma,” said Dr Mike Stroud. 

“Many pledges have been made over the years by successive governments to improve hospital food. But the time for talking is over – comprehensive action is needed now.

“We need a minister to take responsibility; a National Clinical Director to champion the cause; malnutrition and dehydration to be public health priorities; training in nutrition and hydration in place for all caring for others, and the National Commissioning Board to monitor prevalence and progress.”

 He is urging everyone to sign the e-petition and pass the request on to 10 colleagues.

 Access the e-petition here http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/34303

£8 million legacy investment fund to help sport deliver for disabled people

Former Paralympian Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson has teamed up with Sport England to launch an £8 million fund to get more disabled people playing sport.

A wide range of organisations with the ideas and expertise to open up more sporting opportunities for disabled people will be able to bid for £10,000 and over of National Lottery funding from Sport England.

The fund – Inclusive Sport – will help to tackle the opportunity gap that sees just one in six disabled adults playing sport regularly, compared to one in three non-disabled adults. Currently 17.6 per cent of disabled people play sport at least once a week, up from 15.1 per cent in 2005/6 when the Olympic bid was won.

The investment is part of the Places People Play legacy programme that is bringing the inspiration and magic of a home Olympic and Paralympic Games into communities all over the country. Details of the fund can be found at www.sportengland.org/funding. Bids to Inclusive Sport will be accepted until 5pm on 13 August 2012.

Changing lives through colour

Sally Webb at Connect 2 Colour believes all of us can benefit from an amazing new creative art process which is captured on canvas. Newly launched Connect 2 Colour offers creative, inclusive workshops for special educational needs (SEN) children and adults using a unique technique with paint, glitters, stones and other embellishments with not a paintbrush in sight.  

Sally Webb has a brother with severe learning difficulties and a daughter with special needs. She has also been working with special needs individuals and families for the last 25 years and knows quite a lot about how to make activity inclusive.

Sally Webb said: “In the children’s workshops everyone learns the new skills together. This encourages the children to communicate with each other and find a connection that is fulfilling and positive. This is much the same for adult groups.”

Launching a new charity in June she hopes the Connect 2 Colour Community Fund will ensure that low income families and groups can access the Connect 2 Colour experience.

For more information see www.connect2colour.com.