Imagining an Age Friendly London

Gordon DeucharsCampaigns

“According to the World Health Organisation “An age-friendly city encourages active ageing by optimising opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age. In practical terms, an age-friendly city adapts its structures and services to be accessible to and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities.” The WHO looks at age friendliness within eight domains including outdoor spaces and buildings, which we concentrated on for this discussion.”

London is working towards becoming age friendly, and we organised a mini-conference to start finding out how older people would like that process to go. Have a look at what they suggested:

stay safe

Stay Safe for Older People!

Emma HammettEvents

“When older people are scammed or have an accident it knocks their confidence and they become vulnerable. They often stop going out, become isolated and frail and too frequently end up in hospital. Being aware of potential hazards getting prompt, expert, information when you need it, can prevent these incidents in the first place and help people move forward, saving the older person and all involved in their care from the utter devastation that can occur when things go wrong.”

On the 1st October 2018 Age UK, RoSPA, First Aid for Life and Fit for Safety launched the Stay Safe for Older People at The Royal Hospital Chelsea. Find out more about the initiative here:

Red Bag scheme

Red Bag Scheme Extended

Don ShenkerCare

“Since its introduction in Sutton, the Red Bag, which has been used with care home residents 2,000 times in south London since April 2017, has also stopped patients losing personal items such as dentures, glasses and hearing aids worth £290,000 in a year. The potential for the innovation is significant with a predicted two million more people aged over 75 in ten years’ time. This populace is also spending more years in ill-health than ever before.”

Thousands of care home residents will benefit from safer emergency hospital visits as the innovative Red Bag scheme will be extended across the whole of south London. Find out how!

older londoners

Let’s Celebrate Older Londoners!

Jeanette ArnoldOlder Londoners

“Here at City Hall, we’re challenging ageist misconceptions. Deputy Mayor for Social Integration, Social Mobility, and Community Engagement, Matthew Ryder QC, recently announced that London has signed up to the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities. He’s also linking in with an older people’s stakeholder network, to ensure the voices of older Londoners are heard within City Hall.”

London Assembly member Jeanette Arnold explains why we should celebrate older Londoners on the International Day of Older Persons on 1st October.

Mental and Physical Healthcare

Achieving Parity between Mental and Physical Healthcare

George HarveyCare

“The conference was an opportunity to increase understanding of a range of perspectives from across the social care workforce and to develop greater knowledge of patients’ experiences when accessing both mental and physical healthcare. Attendees were also advised on the delivery of consistent messages between members of the health and social care workforce on the subject of mental and physical health needs. There was also plenty of opportunity to network – especially over lunch!”

This week, we were delighted to co-host the MaP Project Conference with Allied Health Solutions here at Tavis House. Find out all about the event here!

Three-year tenancies

Discussing the Three-Year Tenancies Model

Age UK LondonHousing

“Though the typical discussion of the rental market has concentrated upon the difficulties faced by younger renters, our research over the last two years has revealed that many of these issues are faced by the older generation too. In fact, these problems frequently have an especially large impact upon the wellbeing of older people – particularly in terms of health and social care, as greater emphasis is being placed on people managing conditions at home.”

Age UK London reacts to news of the government’s new rent commitment, which will see the implementation of a new three-year tenancies model.

Ageism – Language and Terminology

Jackie RichardsAge Allies

“Our language and data collection really has to catch up with new realities. People are living longer, people of all ages have different life styles, and there are many different health and disability issues in all age groups. Ageism and assumptions about ageing are embedded in our language and this affects our thinking, behaviour, attitudes and ways we relate to other people. Age UK London’s Age Allies programme gives participants the chance to reflect on their own assumptions, the ways in which age affects them, and how they relate and think about different people.”

In this week’s blog, Age Allies volunteer Jackie reflects on the ways in which ageism is prevalent in our language and terminology.

dementia friendly london

Dementia Friendly London

Esther WattsDementia

“The Summit was a key moment in our campaign to make London the world’s first dementia-friendly capital city. The target is 500,000 Dementia Friends, 2,000 organisations involved and all London boroughs working towards becoming dementia-friendly by 2022.”

Dementia Action Week got off to a fantastic start when Alzheimer’s Society held the capital’s first Dementia Friendly London Summit. Find out all about it here!

unthinking ageism workplace

How can Businesses Avoid the Trap of Unthinking Ageism?  

Joyce WilliamsAgeism

“Older people in these great numbers, still in good health, have not existed before. We are creating a fresh market, a new challenge, one that is not yet understood. How can it be? Having achieved this extended active later life, these bonus years, we have created a world that is new for all. Those of us already exploring that world have been happily surprised by how enjoyable a time it is. Certainly not the doom image painted by the media. But it is different – much that you took for granted no longer operates in the same way. Small new problems appear that you hadn’t realised would be there. And, you discover, it isn’t just you, many businesses and organisations have no map for this world, so they cant help either. Again, how could they have? Few travellers have as yet wandered this fresh landscape and reported back.”

This week’s blog is a guest post from blogger Grandma Joyce Williams, who writes a whole host of different articles on ageing and ageism, to reveal just how great later life can be. In this piece, Joyce puts forward several ways in which businesses can become more age friendly by avoiding the trap of unthinking ageism!

age discrimination employment

Age Discrimination in Employment

George HarveyAge Allies

“This week saw the Women and Equalities Committee publish a report on older people and employment. It did not make for pleasant reading. The report uncovered that more than a million people aged 50+ are seeing their talents overlooked due to discrimination, bias, and outdated employment practices.”

This week on the blog we’re looking into the findings of the Women and Equalities Committee and discussing some of the proposed solutions.