“One of the main reasons we have reached 7,000 older people and counting, is that we have had the opportunity to test and learn different approaches to our work and put the learning we have gathered into action.”
Ageing Better in Camden has come a long way in the last four years. Partnership Development Officer Corinna Gray tells us more.
“Many of the things we are calling on Councils to do also help tackle loneliness, a problem for many older people (and not only older people). A preventive approach to health and social care could support services like befriending which tackle isolation. Better pavement and street repair and more accessible neighbourhoods will encourage people to come out and take part in their local community.”
With the local council elections taking place this week, Gordon Deuchars answers the question: What can Councils do to make their boroughs age friendly?
“As a care home resident, it is highly likely there will be various visits and stays in hospital – in fact, a high proportion of all admissions and readmissions to hospitals are from residents in care homes. Care homes in South London have frequently expressed a need for better information sharing and communication between themselves and hospital teams during transfers of care into hospital. In many cases hospitals are unable to provide any information to care homes on residents’ care due to confidentiality and on discharge there is often a lack of information on changes to medication or care needs. Worse still, on many occasions, residents discover their belongings are often lost while in hospital.”
How can we smooth the transition from care home to hospital? Don Shenker of the Health Innovation Network South London investigates…
March 2017 saw the end of our Fit 4 Purpose project after a four year period. Fit 4 Purpose was a capacity building project funded by London Councils which saw Age UK London work in partnership with Opening Doors London. The project reached over 500 organisations across London, working with them to make sure they could effectively serve older Londoners. All 32 boroughs, including the City of London, had several of their local older people’s organisations taking part in Fit 4 Purpose.
Over 100 workshops took place over the course of the four year period. These sessions were an opportunity to “skill-up” organisations that worked with Older Londoners as well as a chance to network across the capital, sharing intelligence and knowledge to build upon good practice.
Considering the success of the project, we thought it’d be good to give it a proper send off in this week’s blog!
Ever stood in a post office queue and wondered why on earth you’re waiting so long? Surely just buying a stamp and weighing something shouldn’t take so much time?! Why is the worker at the desk having a 40 minute conversation with somebody and holding up the queue? It’s only when you start to observe the conversation taking place at the post office counter that you begin to realise just how many vulnerable people there are that badly need this service.
This week saw the launch of a brand new national phone number – “105” – which customers can use to report or receive information about a power cut in their area. In the past, many people have mistakenly called their energy supply companies in the event of a power cut, rather than their local electricity network operator.
The introduction of 105 aims to solve this problem by providing people with an easy-to-remember number that will put them straight through to their local electricity network operator.
It’s been striking how difficult it has been so far to find out exactly what impact public spending cuts are going to have on older people’s services across London. It has felt like a sort of “phoney war”.
With personalisation upon us, we’re hearing more about the benefits of the choice it brings. “Choice” is a great word for politicians. “Fair” is another one. “We’re giving you choice” or “a fairer system” may sound great, but because they mean different things to different people, political spin doctors rely on people interpreting them in their own way and then thinking that they’re getting something better. But precisely because these words mean different things to different people, they become meaningless. Share this post: Recommend on Facebook Tweet about it Print for later Tell a friend
Amongst all the news and doom of the cuts agenda, life still goes on for the many older people we work with across London. With one in five older people below the poverty line and many living alone, and many with multiple health conditions to manage life isn’t easy. As services disappear the needs of our fellow Londoners remain. There are many older people who can’t get out, who have no family or friends left who are profoundly lonely. The day centres, lunch clubs, may be considered outmoded models, but the need left behind continues. They filled the need of […]
