Health & Wellbeing

Warmer Homes Shropshire launched to help households lower their heating bills and stay warmer at home

To help bring down the cost of heating bills for fuel poor and vulnerable households, Shropshire Council along with Herefordshire Council have teamed up with several local charities and the energy supplier E.ON to launch the Warmer Homes programme. Under the scheme in Shropshire, eligible households could benefit from free first time central heating and gas connections.

Over the next two years grants will be available to more than 300 households who don’t currently have central heating, many of whom rely on expensive and inefficient heating systems such as night storage heaters or portable electric heating. If a property needs to be connected to the gas supply to install a central heating system, this will also be covered by the scheme.

Homeowners, as well as private tenants and their landlords could benefit from the scheme. Installing new gas central heating systems could save a household as much as £350 per year, along with the £4,500 cost of a brand new heating system.

In addition, through the Council’s existing Keep Shropshire Warm scheme, a range of energy advice will be on offer to help residents make their homes more efficient, cheaper and easier to heat,  including to households in rural areas, where gas central heating may not be an option.

Locally, more than 16,000 households in Shropshire are believed to be in or at risk of fuel poverty, meaning they struggle to heat their home and stay warm affordably.

Working in partnership with Age UK Shropshire, Telford & Wrekin and Citizens Advice Shropshire, residents will also be supported to access benefit advice and support and maximise their income.

For more information and to apply visit http://www.shropshire.gov.uk/warmer-homes-shropshire or call 0333 202 4481

The team at Keep Shropshire Warm are available on 0800 112 3743 and can discuss the scheme in more detail, help residents apply and provide advice on any energy topic, big or small. If you are in a  rural area and don’t have central heating, the team could still be able to help.

In order to continue to keep residents and colleagues safe, interested residents will not be visited at homes until it is safe to do so. However, any interested residents are being encouraged to make contact and register an application, and we will continue to contact you by telephone to keep you up to date on your application.

Coronavirus: Shropshire Libraries’ Arts Award is now online

Arts Award is a set of qualifications for children and young people that gets them involved in, and excited about, the arts and culture. On completion, children will be awarded a certificate from Trinity College London, who manage Arts Award, in association with Arts Council England. Now available in both Discover and Explore levels, Shropshire Libraries’ Arts Award has moved online, and you can now sign-up.

To support children’s continued learning and engagement in the arts, Shropshire Libraries are offering the opportunity to work towards Arts Award Discover and Explore from the safety of your home.

The Discover level qualification is designed for children ages 5-9, and Explore level for ages 7-11; although any young person up to the age of 25 can take part.

You will create online portfolios through a secure web platform to complete their qualification. In your portfolios, you will show evidence of; taking part in art activities of your choosing, finding out about artists and their work, and sharing with others what you have learned and enjoyed. Explore participants will also create a piece of art.

To support the Arts Award qualification, Shropshire Libraries Arts Award team have put together a package highlighting relevant e-books, e-magazines and arts and cultural websites. A highlight of this package are links to local arts and cultural organisations such as Shropshire Museums, who have created a selection of short videos and worksheets featuring objects and artworks held in the Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery collection.

To find out how to sign up to Arts Award Discover or Explore and the costs of taking part visit the Shropshire Libraries website or contact artsaward@shropshire.gov.uk. To find out more about Arts Award visit https://www.artsaward.org.uk/

Share a Mindful Moment with Shrewsbury Museum & Art Gallery

Shropshire Museums are launching a ‘Mindful Museums’ project and want you to take part.

The museums team have produced a series of short videos offering you a mindful exploration of artworks and objects held in the collection of Shropshire Museums. The videos are accompanied by a restful audio track by artist & educator Lindsey Kennedy, which encourages you ‘ to look, to breathe and to be curious’.

The first videos of the series feature a blue and white Caughley china tea pot, a beautiful oil painting of an English garden and a silver Roman mirror from Wroxeter.  A selection of activity sheets to support each video have been produced to help viewers get started with their own creative projects. The videos are available via the museum’s YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCv8uWJJHMgh6QeLWFta5ArA

The museums team are calling for listeners to spend a relaxing moment viewing the videos and to share their creative response using the hashtag #mindfulmuseums #museumfromhome and tagging in @shrewsburymuseum @shrewsmuseum

People participating in ‘Arts Award’ offered by Shropshire Libraries can also access the videos and activity sheets to help them complete their award.

Editor’s Note: I found the teapot video very relaxing!

Coronavirus: New interactive map shows supermarkets accepting free school meals vouchers

Shropshire Council has developed a simple interactive online map to help families find the locations of the supermarkets across the county that accept the Government’s free school meal vouchers.

The Government launched the national online free school meal voucher scheme at the beginning of April, to provide supermarket vouchers for families of benefit-related pupils who are not able to attend school due to the COVID-19 lockdown.

The map is available at http://shropshire.gov.uk/free-school-meal-vouchers-map

More information about the voucher scheme can be found here.

Coronavirus Testing

This item is from the Hodnet Medical Centre website 29.04.20:


You may have seen in the news media that Coronavirus testing is now available to people with symptoms that are over 65; must travel to work or have a clinical referral from 111.

These tests are only available to book through the Government website (either visiting a regional testing centre or ordering a home testing kit) – the web address is www.gov.uk/coronavirus and there is an option on that page ‘Testing for Coronavirus’. 

Coronavirus: Your feedback sought to improve voluntary and community sector support

Shropshire Council is seeking your feedback about how the county’s voluntary and community sector is responding to provide crucial support during the coronavirus pandemic.

Shropshire’s voluntary and community sector groups and organisations have been working incredibly hard to support residents and businesses to make their lives a little easier.

New community volunteers are also coming together to ensure the most vulnerable people in their local areas receive support.

Everyone is having to adapt quickly to a new and unexpected way of life, and everyone at some time will find the imposed changes difficult.

By completing this survey, you will be helping the council and Shropshire’s voluntary and community sector assembly board better understand the way Shropshire’s voluntary and community sector is responding. Your feedback will also help ensure that the right support is going to those who need it most.

To take part in the survey, follow this link.

The consultation will close on Friday 15 May 2020.

There are over 1,000 registered voluntary organisations operating in Shropshire, plus many more community groups, all of whom are welcome to join Shropshire’s Voluntary and Community Sector Assembly free of charge. To find out more email: vcsassembly@shropshire.gov.uk, tel: 01743 250094, or visit: www.vcsvoice.org.

Coronavirus: New resource for looking after your mental wellbeing

Shropshire Council and partners have produced a new mental health resource “Looking after your mental health during COVID-19”, which provides a summary of helpful resources and links to a range of practical tips, advice and support to help everyone through these uncertain times.

This great new resource contains a variety of information such as local immediate support, and online resources for managing wellbeing during the coronavirus pandemic. It includes top tips for self-isolation, a children’s 14-day coronavirus challenge, and tips for helping to manage coronavirus anxiety.

There is also a section on information for GPs and other primary care workers on supporting the mental health of children and young people during the COVID-19 crisis.

The resource can be found by clicking the webpage link https://www.shropshire.gov.uk/coronavirus/information-for-the-public/support-for-families-carers-and-those-with-health-conditions/ and looking under the ‘mental health’ section. This resource will be updated regularly.

Coronavirus: NHS asks people to share their coronavirus symptoms to help others

A new Coronavirus Status Checker that will help the NHS co-ordinate its response and build up additional data on the coronavirus pandemic was launched on Saturday 4 April 2020 by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock.

People with potential coronavirus symptoms are now being asked to complete the Status Checker and answer a short series of questions, which will tell the NHS about their experience.

It is open to anyone in the UK to use on the NHS website, and in its initial phase the NHS is particularly keen for anyone who thinks they may be displaying potential coronavirus symptoms, no matter how mild, to complete it.

Status Checker users are clearly told at the beginning and the end of the survey that it is not a triage or clinical advice tool, and that they should visit NHS 111 online for medical advice about their symptoms.

The information gathered will help the NHS to plan its response to the outbreak, indicating when and where more resources like oxygen, ventilators and additional staff might be needed, and will provide valuable insight into the development and progression of the virus across the country.

The service is hosted on the NHS website and is available to access openly, with links directly from the NHS 111 online coronavirus service and NHS coronavirus pages.

The initiative is a collaboration between NHS England, NHSX, NHS Digital and Public Health England, at the request of the Health and Social Care Secretary.

The creators of a number of independent apps and websites which have already launched to collect similar data have agreed to work openly with the NHS and align their products and data as part of this central, national effort.

Information collected by the NHS Coronavirus Status Checker will form part of a core national COVID-19 dataset held by NHS England.

The tool is live now and people can complete the survey either for themselve, or on behalf of someone else with their permission.

Coronavirus: Food parcels now available for those most vulnerable in Shropshire

Shropshire Council are providing food parcels to those most vulnerable and who don’t have family or friends, to help them not go hungry.

The scheme is in response to the Government letter sent to those who have been advised to be ‘shielding’ from the coronavirus (COVID-19).

1,500,000 people in England have been identified as being the most vulnerable. The process asks people on the most vulnerable list to identify themselves if they don’t have family or friends, to help them access food.

Shropshire Council is working to support these people, who because they are being ‘shielded’, cannot get out to go shopping. This will include putting people in touch with local organisations that will help them, as well as providing food where it is needed.

Food parcels are starting to be delivered to people this week; and more food parcels will continue over the next few weeks, to ensure they continue regularly to reach everyone on the Government’s list.

Food parcels will also be delivered to others who have been identified as needing support, outside of being on the ‘shielding’ list of the most vulnerable.

Shropshire Council are asking anyone who have either received the Government’s letter about being identified as one of the ‘most vulnerable who should be shielded’, or anyone else who is in need of support and cannot get access to food, to call the Coronavirus Helpline on 0345 678 9028.

Coronavirus: Help available for victims of domestic abuse across the county

Shropshire Council, along with other key partners across the county, are reassuring victims of domestic abuse that help and support remains available to them at this difficult time.

Shropshire Safeguarding Partnership has put together some contact numbers and resources for people living with, or worried about, domestic abuse at this difficult time.

The useful phone numbers and contacts are:

Shropshire Council First Point of Contact (FPOC)

  • Adult social care and safeguarding concerns – 0345 678 9044
  • Safeguarding children: access to Compass, children’s social care Front Door and targeted early help – 0345 678 9021
  • Housing – 0345 678 9005

Telford and Wrekin Family Connect – 01952 385385 (Family front door, including child protection referrals)

Out of hours Emergency Duty Teams:                        

If you suspect that an abuser is monitoring your Internet usage, find out how to hide your browser history at https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000510.htm

For help and support contact the Shropshire Domestic Abuse Service 0300 303 1191or email sdas@shropsdas.org.uk