France – Bob Nex won £25
Croatia – Trish Knight (physio) won £15
Well done
PIP Application help available
Milton Park Newsletter – June 2018
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Volunteers needed
We really are in need of volunteers to help collect at Tesco Abingdon (big one) on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st July. Do you have 1.5hrs you can spare? Please contact Sue.
GDPR
As you are probably aware, the law on how companies collect, manage and use personal data changed on 25th May 2018 when the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force. As you are one of our members who access our services, we need to comply with this. To keep things simple, we’ve updated our privacy Information Notice, which sets out how we handle the information we get from you. The changes make it easier for you to find out how we use and protect your information. Along with the Privacy Information Notice a Data Security policy has also been drawn up.
If you have any questions or queries please speak to Sue Doran, Centre Manager.
Volunteers needed
Volunteers needed to help with charity collection at Tesco Extra Abingdon on Friday 20th and Saturday 21st July. Please can you help do a 1.5hr session? We struggled for volunteers at Millets on Saturday (Millets collection raised £372.16). Please help if you can……
Having MS is enough. It shouldn’t be made harder by a welfare system that doesn’t make sense.
Source MS Society: “Welfare support is vital for many people with MS. It helps us manage the extra costs of the condition, stay in
work for longer and participate fully in society.”
“Yet our welfare system too often ignores invisible symptoms like pain and fatigue and fails to recognise how MS symptoms fluctuate.”
The assessment criteria for PIP fail to capture the true extent of the difficulties people face. And benefits assessors don’t always take evidence provided by professionals into account. Too often people with MS are under pressure to repeatedly prove they need support.”
Join the MS Society “Campaign to make welfare make sense” and watch their excellent film “Does Emma need benefits?” by clicking here.
Government to end unnecessary PIP reviews for people with most severe health conditions
Source Gov.UK: People with the most severe, life-long conditions will no longer have to attend regular reviews for Personal 
Independence Payment (PIP).
New guidance coming into effect this summer means people who are awarded the highest level of support under PIP – and where their needs are expected to stay the same or increase – will receive an ongoing award of PIP with a light touch review every 10 years.
The change will ensure that those with severe or progressive conditions receive an award which reflects the fact that their condition will not improve.
The Minister for Disabled People, Health and Work, Sarah Newton, said:
“We’re absolutely determined to ensure people get the right support that they need to live better, more comfortable lives.
PIP is a needs-based benefit that takes into consideration people’s individual, and sometimes quite complicated circumstances.
We’ve listened to feedback from organisations and the public, and this common-sense change will ensure that the right protections are in place while minimising any unnecessary stress or bureaucracy.” Read on
New Aqua Instructor
Monica will be taking over from Caroline, teaching our twice-monthly Aquatic Exercise classes from 6th July. (Same time and place – First Friday and Third Thursday of the month at 2.00)
Monica already teaches the disability gym classes at the Park Club on Tuesday mornings.
Anyone new who might be interested in attending, please contact Jon at jonathan.thorne@sky.com
Valuing Goals Study
We are conducting a study to evaluate whether an online resource called ‘Valuing Goals’, which offers skills training in goal setting and action planning, can improve well-being for people with MS. I am contacting MSTCs to see if they would be willing to circulate an advert for the study to their membership for the opportunity to take part. Below are the main details of the study which I am completing as part of my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. The study has been granted ethical approval by Royal Holloway Research Ethics Committee (REC Project ID: 717).
We have two versions of the Study Advert, one online and one paper, which I have attached. The online version can be circulated via a newsletter or email bulletin, and some centres have also put it on their Facebook group or website. It has a weblink for people to click to take them to the online Participant Information Sheet where they can get some further information.
Details of the Valuing Goals study:
Aim
To evaluate the effectiveness of a self-help well-being intervention (Valuing Goals programme) in increasing well-being within a sample of people living with multiple sclerosis (MS).
The Intervention – Valuing Goals
Valuing Goals is a 5-week online self-help programme designed by clinical psychologists to increase well-being by helping individuals identify and work towards positive life goals, that are in line with their personal values. The focus of Valuing Goals is on developing positive goals to improve well-being, rather than on reducing symptoms or distress through solving problems. It is based on knowledge from the psychological literature about the positive relationship between well-being and different aspects of values, goals and planning. It has been shown to increase well-being and quality of life in samples of people from the general population, people with depression, and people with long term mental health problems.
What would it involve for the Centre?
We will provide a poster or article to advertise the study and ask the centre to make it available to their members. The poster or article will include all the details of the study and my contact details so that anyone who might like the opportunity to take part can contact me directly.
What will it involve for the participants?
For those who would like the opportunity to take part, we will send them access to the Valuing Goals programme which they can work through online at home, which takes roughly one hour per week for five weeks. We can send a paper copy of the manual for those who would prefer it. Half the participants would be given access in July, and the second half would be given access in October (so that they can act as a ‘control group’). We will ask all the participants to complete some questionnaires that measure well-being and quality of life at three time points between July and October so that we can see if there have been any changes, and if the changes have lasted. These would take around 25 minutes and can also be done online at home, or we can send paper copies.
Timeline
We received ethical approval in March 2018. We will be recruiting participants for the study throughout June 2018 by sending out invitations and advertising via MS therapy Centres. We aim for participants to start the study in July 2018 and finish by November 2018. The data will then be analysed and written up as part of my Doctoral thesis by June 2019, and I will share a summary of the results to all supporting MS therapy centres shortly after.
If you would like any further information, or would like to discuss any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact me on the details below. Thank you again for your support.
Emma Britneff
Trainee Clinical Psychologist
Royal Holloway, University of London
07854471937
