DAS East Suffolk

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We offer free, confidential, impartial advice to disabled children & adults, and their carers/families, in East Suffolk and nearby areas.

We are an independent advice centre in Martlesham Heath, South East Suffolk

We offer free, confidential and impartial advice to disabled children & adults, and their carers/families, in East Suffolk and nearby areas. Advice includes:
> Welfare benefits and appeals representation
> Housing rights
> Care, support, and adaptations to your home
> Accessible transport and leisure
> Employment and support to return to work
> Help in a crisis
> Fuel poverty
> Pension Credit for people of state pension age.

31/10/2026

🔍 Did You Know This Exists?

If you help somebody manage their GP appointments, prescriptions or healthcare, you may be able to do it through your own NHS App rather than sharing passwords or logging into their account.

It’s called Family and Carer Access, sometimes known as proxy access.

Depending on the access agreed by the GP surgery, a trusted person may be able to:

💊 request repeat prescriptions
📅 book appointments
🩺 see test results or vaccinations
📋 view some or all of the GP health record
☎️ help manage other GP services

And the person receiving help still keeps access to their own healthcare account.

For NHS App access, you and the person you’re supporting normally need to be registered with the same GP surgery, and the surgery decides what level of access is appropriate.

It’s also safer than simply giving somebody your NHS login details because access is formally recorded and can be limited to what you actually want them to see or do.

If this could make managing healthcare easier for you or somebody you care for, ask your GP surgery about Family and Carer Access.

📢 Please share with carers and families. This is one of those useful NHS facilities many people still don’t know exists.

28/10/2026

🌟 Suffolk Spotlight: need somewhere friendly to go this afternoon?

Ipswich County Library runs a free weekly Open Space wellbeing drop-in every Wednesday.
It’s a relaxed place to:

💬 meet and chat with other people
🤝 share experiences if you want to
ℹ️ find out about local wellbeing support and resources
☕ enjoy some company
💙 simply spend time somewhere welcoming

There’s no referral and no need to register.
You can go as often or as little as you like, and you don’t have to stay for the whole session.

📅 Today, Wednesday 28 October
🕐 1pm–3pm
📍 Ipswich County Library, Northgate Street, IP1 3DE
💷 Free

The venue is wheelchair accessible and has accessible toilets.

Sometimes support doesn’t need to begin with an appointment or a form.
Sometimes it starts with finding somewhere you feel comfortable walking through the door.

📢 Please share with someone in Ipswich who may appreciate a friendly space this afternoon.

27/10/2026

💡 Did you know VAT has been removed from household electricity bills this winter?

Since 1 October, the 5% VAT previously charged on household electricity has been removed.

That includes:

⚡ standard electricity tariffs
⚡ fixed tariffs
⚡ electricity standing charges
⚡ prepayment meters

You don’t need to apply. The change should be made automatically by your energy supplier.

The Government estimates it will reduce the annual Ofgem price cap by around £45 compared with what it otherwise would have been.

That may not sound huge, but for disabled people or people with long-term conditions who need to use more electricity for heating, medical equipment or assistive technology, every reduction matters.

If you’re struggling with energy costs or aren’t sure what other help may be available, DAS provides energy and utilities advice.

📞 01394 387070
📧 [email protected]

📢 Please save or share with someone checking their winter bills.

26/10/2026

☕ Come and talk to DAS this morning at 21 Young Hearts.

Today, DAS East Suffolk is joining Community Links at our neighbours 21 Young Hearts in The Square, Martlesham Heath.

If you have a disability-related question, you don’t necessarily need to know which service or benefit you need before asking.

You might want to talk about:

• benefits or forms
• carers’ support
• accessible transport
• energy or utility support
• disability-related costs
• a letter or decision you don’t understand
• or simply where to start

📍 21 Young Hearts Café
20 The Square, Martlesham Heath, IP5 3SL

📅 Today, Monday 26 October
🕤 9.30am–11.30am

Come in, have a chat and find out whether we can help or point you in the right direction.

📢 Please share locally.

21 Young Hearts Cafe

25/10/2026

🏃 Should a disabled person have to worry that being active could put their benefits at risk?

New research says many do.

Disability Rights UK and Durham University have been looking at what they call the “Activity Trap”: the fear that exercise or physical activity could be misunderstood during a benefits assessment.

Among the disabled people surveyed:

• 80% worried that being physically active could put their benefits at risk
• 80% wanted to do more physical activity
• 28% said they had experienced benefits being declined or removed because of being physically active
• 84% said the benefits application process had negatively affected their mental health

This matters because disability is not as simple as “can do” or “can’t do”.

Someone might manage an activity occasionally but experience pain, fatigue or significant consequences afterwards.

Someone might exercise specifically to manage a condition.

Someone’s ability may fluctuate from one day to another.

If you’re worried about how your daily life, mobility or fluctuating condition is being represented in a disability benefit claim, please get advice rather than trying to navigate it alone.

📞 01394 387070
📧 [email protected]

📢 Please share. This is a conversation worth having.

24/10/2026

🌟 More inclusive play is coming to Ipswich.

Work has begun this week on a new play area and outdoor fitness space at Alderman Road Recreation Ground.

And accessibility has been built into the plans.

The new area will include:

♿ wheelchair-accessible play equipment
🎵 sensory and musical features
🤟 communication and sign-language panels
🛝 inclusive swings and seesaws
🪑 accessible seating
🌿 quieter spaces as well as active play areas

There will be 95 play features in total, designed for children aged 1–14.

We love seeing accessibility considered as part of the design from the beginning, rather than something added afterwards.

Inclusive play means more children being able to play together.

📢 Please share with local families and parent carers.

22/10/2026

🗣️ Today is International Stammering Awareness Day.

If you’re speaking with someone who stammers, one of the most useful things you can do is simply give them time.

That means:

• don’t finish their sentences
• don’t tell them to “slow down”, “relax” or “take a breath”
• maintain natural eye contact
• listen to what they’re saying, not how they’re saying it
• don’t assume hesitation means uncertainty
• if you’re not sure what would help, ask

STAMMA puts it simply: people who stammer may just need a little longer to say what they want to say.

Communication access is part of inclusion too.

📢 Please share with workplaces, schools, customer-facing teams and community organisations.

Stamma

21/10/2026

🌟 Suffolk Spotlight: living with Parkinson’s, or supporting someone who is?

The Lowestoft Parkinson’s Café meets this morning.

It’s an informal opportunity to meet other people affected by Parkinson’s, share experiences, find information and simply have a coffee and a chat.

📅 Today, Wednesday 21 October
🕥 10.30am–12pm
📍 The Wherry Hotel, Bridge Road, Oulton Broad, NR32 3LN
💷 Free

Family members and carers can also find peer support through connections like this.

Parkinson’s UK recommends contacting the organiser before attending because dates can occasionally change:

📞 Sandra Curd: 07554 025188

Sometimes the most useful support isn’t another appointment.

It’s meeting somebody who understands.

📢 Please share with someone affected by Parkinson’s in the Lowestoft or Waveney area.

20/10/2026

💙 A national plan for unpaid carers has three simple aims: Recognise. Refer. Reach.

The Government’s Unpaid Carers Action Plan focuses on something DAS hears regularly:

Many people don’t realise they are carers.

They’re simply:

“helping Mum.”
“looking after my partner.”
“sorting things out for Dad.”
“keeping an eye on my neighbour.”

But caring can affect health, money, work, education, relationships and everyday life.

The plan says carers should be:

👉 Recognised - by themselves and by services around them
👉 Referred - to the right information and support earlier
👉 Able to reach - their own goals in work, education, health and life

An Easy Read version of the plan has also now been published - read more here: https://bit.ly/4yhyaT6

At DAS, we support carers too.

You don’t need to wait until caring becomes unmanageable before asking what help may exist.

📞 01394 387070
📧 [email protected]

📢 Please share with someone who might not yet think of themselves as a carer.

19/10/2026

🔍 Did You Know This Exists?

Today marks the start of Get Online Week.

So instead of simply saying “digital inclusion matters”, here’s something practical:

Learn My Way is a free website designed for people who want to build basic digital skills at their own pace.

Topics include:

💻 using a computer
📱 using a touchscreen
📧 creating and using email
🔐 passwords and online safety
🔎 searching the internet
📞 video calling
💼 applying for jobs online

You can use it on a computer, tablet or phone, and some topics can be tried before creating an account.

Why does this matter to DAS?

Because more and more benefits, appointments, forms and public services expect people to be online.

Not everyone finds that easy.

📢 Please share with someone who wants to feel a little more confident using technology.

Address

14 The Square, Martlesham Heath
Ipswich
IP53SL

Telephone

01394 387070

Website

http://www.daseastsuffolk.org/

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