Flu is a common illness that is spread by coughs and sneezes.

For some people, including older and vulnerable people, pregnant women and those with underlying health conditions, it can be very serious and can lead to health complications including bronchitis, pneumonia and even death.

You are eligible for a free flu jab if you: 

• are 65 years of age or over   
• are pregnant 
• have certain medical conditions 
• are living in a long-stay residential care home or other long-stay care facility 
• receive a carer's allowance, or you are the main carer for an elderly or disabled person whose welfare may be at risk if you fall ill
• are a front line health and/or social care worker.

How to get a free flu jab

You can get your free flu vaccination at your local GP practice or pharmacy. Just get in touch and they'll be able to book you in or explain the system in your area.

The best time to have a flu vaccine is the autumn, from the beginning of October to early November. Don't worry if you've missed it - you can have the vaccine later in winter.

Front line health and social care workers

If you're a health and social care worker it's your employer's responsibility to arrange and pay for your flu vaccine. 

If you work for Derbyshire County Council you can find out how to get your flu jab at www.derbyshire.gov.uk/frontlineflufighters   

The Recovery and Peer Support service host a number of regular mental health advice and support drop-in sessions in Derbyshire and have added new venues starting next month. 

They are keen to develop other sites across Derbyshire and would be grateful if you could contact them if you know of a suitable venue in your area.

You can join the service's Facebook group to find out about sessions and other events.

Their new sessions that start in November are:

• Ripley sessions are every Friday from 17th November 11am until 1pm at The Croft, Slack Lane Ripley Derbyshire DE5 3HF
• Hilton sessions are every other Wednesday 15th November from 10am to 12pm at Hilton Village Hall, Peacroft Lane Hilton DE65 5GH
• Brailsford sessions are every other Wednesday starting 15th November from 10am to 12pm at Brailsford Medical Centre, The Green, Brailsford,  Ashbourne, DE6 3BX
• Shirebrook sessions are every Thursday from 9th November, 10am until 12pm at The Village Hall, Park Road, Shirebrook, NG20 8JP
• Bolsover sessions start Thursday 2nd of November running fortnightly, 10am until 12pm at The Assembly Hall, Hill Top Bolsover, S44 6NG
• Bakewell drop-in sessions start on Tuesday 14th November  running weekly from 12:30pm until 2:30pm at The Medway Centre, New Street, Bakewell, Derbyshire, DE45 1DY

These are added to the Belper, Ilkeston, Chesterfield and Kirk Hallam sessions that have already been set up in the county. 

You can find out more information by contacting Rethink on tel: 01773 734989 or DerbyshireRecoveryPeerSupportService@rethink.org 

The Carers in Derbyshire website now has a Facebook page. You can follow at www.facebook.com/carersinderbyshire

Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group are hosting a series of carer listening events in both Derbyshire and Derby City. 

The Walk a Mile in My Shoes carers empathy project is gathering pace and a number of carers have volunteered to tell their stories. If you're a carer and would like to be part of the project please email adultcare.info@derbyshire.gov.uk or tel: 01629 531310

Carers in Derbyshire have also started a blog with new posts published on a monthly basis. You can read all the previous blog posts and sign up to receive future ones on the website.

Derbyshire Carers Association have a new private Facebook group called Carers Connect. If you're a carer, you can request to join the group and start chatting to other local carers in confidence.  

Derbyshire Carers have also been developing their Young Carers Support Service. You can find out more about the service by reading their new leaflet.

Macmillan Cancer Support have developed some excellent information for carers looking after someone with dementia and cancer. 

Many people across Derbyshire live in homes that they cannot afford to heat to a safe and warm temperature.

People suffering from breathing, heart and mobility problems are at higher risk of needing support from Adult Care and the NHS if they are unable to afford to heat their home to a safe temperature.

The Derbyshire Healthy Home Programme offers solutions to address this problem for people who:

• Privately own or privately rent their house
• Have a health condition made worse by the cold
• Struggle to afford to keep their home warm.

The programme provides three sets of interventions to help clients keep warm and well in their home:

• Warmth solutions - Heating systems, repairs, upgrades and insulation
• Managing fuel costs - Fuel tariff switching, metering, billing and fuel debts
• Health and wellbeing referrals - Flu jab, medication review, falls service, Disabled Facilities Grants.

These services are often delivered as part of a multi-disciplinary team to resolve complex issues.  To refer someone to the programme please:

 tel: 01629 536919
 email: Healthyhome@derbyshire.gov.uk

A member of the Healthy Homes team will call the person to establish eligibility and arrange a home visit to assess the situation if appropriate.

If you are concerned that your client’s mental or physical health is suffering because they are unable to keep warm then please don’t hesitate to contact the Healthy Home programme. 

Derbyshire Connect

Derbyshire Connect provides transport to shopping destinations for people unable to use conventional buses because of age, disability or because they live in areas where public transport is limited.

They are funded by Derbyshire County Council (DCC) and replace the Dial-a-Bus (DAB) 'shopping' bus services, previously paid for by DCC and run on our behalf by the county's six community transport groups.

Derbyshire Connect services will provide a weekly trip for every community in the county to a nearby shopping area or supermarket. Services are door-to-door and passenger assistants are available, on request, for anyone needing extra help.

They run weekdays, generally between 9am and 4pm and need to be booked in advance. There are no weekend services.

All of the services use accessible vehicles to carry passengers using wheelchairs. Gold Card holders can use Derbyshire Connect services free-of-charge. Previously flat rate fares were £3.

• Derbyshire Connect South and West Derbyshire
• Derbyshire Connect North and East Derbyshire

Active Travel

Active Travel provides transport services to healthcare appointments for people unable to use conventional buses because of age, disability or because they live in areas where public transport is limited.

Services are door-to-door to hospital, GP surgeries, health centres, clinics, dentists, opticians, chemists, physiotherapists and any other medical appointments. Passenger assistants are available, on request, for anyone needing extra help.

They are partly funded by us and replace the Active Travel services previously paid for by us and run on our behalf by some of the county's community transport groups and volunteer car schemes.

These services run weekdays, generally between 9am and 5pm, although other journeys may be possible outside of these times. They need to be booked in advance, giving as much notice as possible. There are no weekend services.

Derbyshire Connect Active Travel uses volunteer cars and accessible vehicles able to carry passengers using wheelchairs. Charges vary depending on how far you travel. You will be advised of the fare when booking.

You can find the provider of Active Travel in your area on the Derbyshire County Council website. 

Universal Credit is a new benefit which is intended to take over from current low income benefits for working age people.

The government has announced that the 'Full Service' for Universal Credit will be put in to place in Derbyshire between 2017 and 2018. It has already been introduced (in May 2017) at Long Eaton and Ilkeston Job Centres. The next job centre to introduce the full service is Chesterfield:

• 29 November 2017 - Chesterfield Jobcentre Plus
• March 2018 - Alfreton Jobcentre Plus, Belper Jobcentre Plus, Heanor Jobcentre Plus
• April 2018 − Clay Cross Jobcentre Plus, Staveley Jobcentre Plus
• May 2018 - Matlock Jobcentre Plus, Glossop Jobcentre Plus
• August 2018 − Bolsover Jobcentre Plus, Shirebrook Jobcentre Plus, Swadlincote Jobcentre Plus.

This means that after these dates, any new or updated claims will be taken as claims for Universal Credit. 

This does not necessarily mean that all claims will be affected or that individual claims will be affected right away. You can find out more about Universal Credit on our website and keep up with the latest roll-out news on the welfare rights news page.

If you are in doubt about what will happen to your claim/your client's claim after the introduction of the full service, contact the Welfare Rights Helpline on tel: 01629 531535.

Shopmobility Chesterfield has got some scooters that can cope with rough terrain and these can be hired to access rural areas.

Traffic-free trails, bridleways and byways connect beautiful countryside and quiet villages through green hills and rugged open moorland.

The network only has gentle gradients and easy start and finish locations.  

Available trails include: The Five Pits Trail, The Blackwell Trail, Golden Valley, Hepthorne Lane and the Unstone Line.

Opening Times for Shopmobility Chesterfield are Monday - Saturday 10.00 to 4.30 pm.

For bookings tel: 01246 559331

Easy read guides to keeping safe online have been developed for people with a learning disability. They've been put together by local learning disability nurse, Annette Wood from Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.  

The guides cover topics such as social media, friend requests, requests for intimate pictures and keeping personal information safe.

• Keeping safe guide - female
• Keeping safe guide - male
• General internet safety.

Planning for future care and support needs can be complicated and expensive. The Care Act places a duty on Adult Care to advise people to seek independent financial advice from a specialist later life advisor. By doing this families will ensure that the arrangements that they make to fund care home fees will be the best for their circumstances. 

Adult Care and Trading Standards have come together to identify a list of reputable Independent Financial Advisors and these can be found on the Trusted Trader listing on the DCC website. You can also read the Independent Financial Advice leaflet.