There is still too much dog fouling going on in parts of York. Owners who do not clean up after their pets can face an on the spot fine of £75. This could be increased to £1000 if the case goes to a magistrates court.
If you spot a full poop scoop bin it can be reported viathis link
The Council says, “If a dog bin is full or overflowing, we’ll empty it within 2 hours. If we get your report after 3.00pm, then the dog bin will be emptied before 10.00am the following working day.
If a bin is damaged or missing we’ll repair or replace it as soon as possible”.
More than half of York’s primary schools will take part in Walk to School Week 2019, which runs from 14 to 18 October.
The national, awareness-raising event is staged annually and aims to encourage children and their families to walk, cycle or scoot to and from school, rather than travelling by car.
Locally, in excess of 8,000 students from 28 different schools will get involved. City of York Council’s iTravel team will present the Jack Archer Award to the school with the highest proportion of its students walking, cycling or scooting throughout the week, as well as cash to spend on sports equipment, which has been donated by Age UK. The Jack Archer Award is now in its sixteenth year and Age UK has supported the competition since it was first launched as part of its intergenerational work to encourage children to be more active.
Councillor Andy D’Agorne, the council’s Executive Member for Transport, said: “It’s fantastic to see so many local schools getting involved in Walk to School Week and competing for the Jack Archer Award.
“The council is committed to promoting sustainable forms of transport and it’s important that children are encouraged to adopt these habits from a young age. In addition to the health and wellbeing benefits for the children themselves, walking, cycling or scooting benefits everyone by reducing traffic congestion and emissions, and improving air quality.
“Good luck to all the schools taking part!”
Residents of all ages can find out more about sustainable travel options by visiting www.itravelyork.info.
On Saturday 7 September people from across York will come together to remember those who died by suicide.
Ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day on 10 September, City of York Council and the city’s suicide prevention partnership are inviting people to reflect on loved ones lost to suicide.
Central Methodist Church, St Saviourgate, will host the service of reflection for those who have been lost to suicide. The service, which will begin at 1pm on Saturday 7 September, is open to all who have been bereaved or affected by suicide, of all faiths and none, and will enable people to reflect on those lost to suicide with others who have had similar experiences.
Cllr Carol Runciman, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Adult Social Care and Health, said: “Suicide impacts the lives of many friends, families and communities. This service of reflection is open to everyone and will bring people together to remember those lost to suicide.
“This is a very poignant event and emotional support will be on hand for people should they need it on the day or in the future.”
If you or someone you know is feeling suicidal, please T A L K
Tell someone what you are thinking and how you are feeling
Ask for their help, or seek help
Listen to their advice or advice from others
Know who to call in a crisis and keep the number with you at all times
Seek help or support with any problems
· Phone the Samaritans 24 hour helpline on 116 123 for confidential non-judgmental emotional support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair, including those which may lead to suicide.
· Ring 111 to access mental health services – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
· Contact your general practitioner (GP). If you do not have a GP or do not know your GP’s telephone number contact 111
There has been a small reduction in the Council housing stock in recent years. This is the resulted from the central government policy which saw discounts increased for “Right to Buy”.
16/17 – 79 RTB sales from Council housing stock of 7655
17/18 – 72 RTB sales from Council housing stock of 7617
In response the Council has started to build new Council houses and has announced ambitious – by recent standards – plans to build over 600 additional homes. It has also started to buy homes on the open market to add to the rented housing pool.
On homelessness, hyperbole rules in the manifestos. All, of course, will end it. While the numbers on the housing waiting list has been stable, the numbers of rough sleepers has fluctuated. Labour support the Manchester/Finland model (where keys to a home are given to rough sleepers without any behaviour, substance abuse or mental health treatment conditions (That’ll go down well with the neighbours)
meanwhile the coalition is building on sub-urban playing fields and has made little attempt to find replacement open spaces, sports facilities or parks. Partly as a result of this, the City has an obesity problem. Life expectancy in some poorer wards is now relatively low.
Hopefully the new Council will realise that the is more to creating a home than simply bricks and mortar.
NB: Only 1 of the 202 Council candidates – who have declared where they live – is a Council tenant.
A project to help prevent people falling in their own homes is expanding into a fifth ward in the city, in its second year of operation.
Having started in Clifton ward in March 2017 as part of the council’s YorWellbeing Services, work to prevent falls in homes extended to Guildhall ward, then to Micklegate and Fishergate wards. Now it’s rolled out into Holgate.
These wards were identified by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) as having homes with higher trip risks than the city average. These include hazards such as missing stair rails, uneven flooring or poor internal lighting, especially for children aged under five and older people.
The partnership of housing, health and safety experts including North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and Age UK York carry out free home visits to check and repair simple trip hazards in homes whether rented or privately owned.
Visits are arranged and carried out with a falls prevention practitioner and a joiner. They offer practical advice specific to the resident and their home and can make simple improvements there and then such as fitting a grab rail or banister rail, fitting brighter light bulbs, securing loose carpets or suggesting exercises to help improve residents’ strength and balance. They will also signpost residents to other relevant services.
Since its launch two years ago, the team has put thousands of fall prevention measures in place. These include fitting 733 grab rails, 277 banisters, 391 brighter light bulbs, 13 window restrictors, 11 carpet trims and four drop down toilet rails.
Residents of Clifton, Guildhall, Micklegate, Fishergate and Holgate can request a free home visit for advice and help on preventing falls, please call 01904 567456 or emailreducingfalls@york.gov.uk
To find out more about the service and pick up some advice on reducing the risk of falls, please visit www.york.gov.uk/reducingfalls
Patients and their relatives can get on-site help from a team of adult social care experts for any support needed to help them prepare to leave hospital and when they are back home.
Talking Points will open for monthly sessions at York Hospital from 26 March 2019. Drop-in support will be available between 2-3:45pm on 26 March, 9 April, 28 May, 25 June and 23 July for patients or relatives/friends of patients who are in hospital.
The Talking Point team can be found at the entrance to Ellerby’s Restaurant on the ground floor at Junction 2. Staff will be available for face-to-face conversations which allow them to provide timely, appropriate advice and support to residents about a variety of adult social care issues.
The hospital Talking Point is the latest addition to adult social care in York, allowing people to be seen quickly to discuss social care needs for themselves or their family. The original Talking Point opened at Lidgett Grove ‘Church Community Cafe, Acomb in March 2018, with an additional Talking Points opening shortly after at Oaken Grove in Haxby. Every week, people can also speak with expert social care staff York Explore on Museum Street.
So far, people using the service have expressed over 95% satisfaction with the outcome of their conversations and actions taken, with all saying they would recommend Talking Points.
Further Talking Points will continue to open across the city as the programme develops.
Community groups and residents are invited to celebrate the launch of www.livewellyork.co.uk, a city-wide source of high-quality information and advice, at venues around the city on Thursday 14 March.
The Live Well York website promotes opportunities for residents to enjoy healthy, active and independent lives and supports our commitment to early help and prevention, and to help people live independently and well.
Having been in development for a year, Live Well York is being used by over 1,000 people every month and is now launching formally. It offers residents:
some 800 community activities
an events calendar with around 70 events posted each month
over 100 volunteering opportunities
a Service and Products directory with over 80 services listed
750 reviews with an average rating of 4.3 out of 5.
Developed by a partnership of City of York Council, York CVS, Explore York, Age UK York, Healthwatch York and Vale of York Clinical Commissioning Group, the website offers links to good quality information and advice on topics from travel, housing, caring, money and legal matters.
To prevent information being duplicated, the website navigates people to other sites such as Healthwatch York’s Mental Health directory, the Young Person’s Survival Guide, a map of the council’s community hubs and AccessAble’s accessibility information.
Future and further improvements to Live Well York include:
a sports and active leisure directory
improved accessibility with Easy Read pages
training and work experience opportunities
including information for care homes on how to set up activities
growing the number of partners to ensure a joined-up approach to providing good quality information and advice.
Areport to a council meeting next week reveal how many patients in York have had elective surgery delayed because they’re overweight.
The Vale of York CCG’s “Health Optimisation policy” started in February 2017. Patients seeking operations but who had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of over 30 faced possible delays.
There was a long list of procedures that were not affected by the policy.
The CCG said it had learned from elsewhere that implementation of this policy could contribute to confined financial management while providing the opportunity for improving the health of the population.
Other claimed that the policy was driven by cost cutting rather than patient welfare.
The criteria used was If a patient’s BMI>=30 their surgery if delayed/deferred until the following was achieved:
Their BMI is <30
They’ve lost 10% of their weight
They’ve not achieved a or b but have waited 12 months since initial assessment.
Since its inception of Health Optimisation in February 2017 the Referral Support Service have sent out 1,766 letters for patients that exceed BMI criteria. Not all of these had to wait before joining the a waiting list.
The CCG has claimed some anecdotal evidence that patients have reported to their GPs that as a result of losing weight, in accordance with the policy, the pain they were previously suffering from had dissipated. Some patients did not therefore require surgery.
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