Tag: care

“Why Can’t I Get Care?” – Age UK’s Latest Report

Find out all about Age UK’s new report on the state of social care titled “Why Can’t I Get Care?”. There are also some template posts to help spread the word on social media if you wish.

Age UK has today published a new report on the state of social care, seeking to answer the question Age UK is asked by many older people: “Why can’t I get care?”. Drawing on the experiences of older people, it looks at how social care is supposed to work and how it is actually working. Find out full details below, including some template posts to help spread the word on social media.

Severe shortages in staff and the lack of funding to pay for more or better services to provide care or respite provision have left a gaping hole in support, leading to the situation we have today. The “Why can’t I get care?” report shows that good care is possible and makes all the difference, and calls on the Government to invest both in social care and in the people who provide it.

Get involved!

We want to hear from you on how the challenges in the social care system are impacting older people and your services locally. Please get in touch via luke.pilot@ageuk.org.uk if you would like to discuss this.

We will be launching a new campaign on social care soon and we look forward to working alongside you on this.

Spreading the word on Social Media

If you have time, please spread awareness about the new report by sharing online. You can use these suggested template Tweets and Facebook posts to promote the report if you wish:

Twitter:

Did you know 2.6 million older people aged 50+ in England have an unmet need for care?

Read Age UK’s new report on the challenges older people face accessing good social care: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/campaigns/care-in-crisis/why-cant-i-get-care-report.pdf

Or

Did you know 14,000 people each week are having their request for care turned down?

Age UK’s new report “Why Can’t I Get Care?” highlights the urgent need to improve social care: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/campaigns/care-in-crisis/why-cant-i-get-care-report.pdf

Facebook:

2.6 million people aged 50+ in England have an unmet care need and 14,000 people each week are having their request for care turned down. But good care is possible and makes all the difference.

Read Age UK’s latest report “Why Can’t I Get care?” to learn about the urgent need to improve social care: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/campaigns/care-in-crisis/why-cant-i-get-care-report.pdf

Older People’s Health and Care Polling Headlines

View and download the headline findings from Age UK’s latest polling of older people’s health and care during October 2022.

Age UK’s latest polling of older people’s health and care was conducted by Kantar between 4th and 17th October 2022. We’ve analysed the results and can share the headlines with you below.

The topics covered are:

  • caring,
  • activities of daily living
  • access to and waiting for health and care services
  • community life and social contact
  • relationships with family and friends
  • concern about Covid
  • worries about the cost of living
  • concern about the coming winter

We’ll share the full findings of our survey, which will include quotes from older people, in the next few weeks. In the meantime, please view or download the headline findings below.

These results have not been published yet by Age UK, so we request that these are only used for bids and presentations to aide local health and care system influencing, not local media or for open publication.

If you have any questions about these data, contact lis.boulton@ageuk.org.uk, or healthinfluencing@ageuk.org.uk.

Older Peoples Health and Care Polling Headlines – Oct 2022Download

Live Longer Better Event – Venue and registration link published

Register for the first in-person Live Longer Better national event on Wednesday 19th October from 11:00-16:00!

All Age UKs are invited to join the first in-person Live Longer Better national event where the programme will reaffirm its collective mission. The event will take place on Wednesday 19th October 2022 from 11.00 to 16.00. Live Longer Better have now shared details of the venue and registration link for this event. Please click here for full details.

Live Longer Better shared the following update:

Join us for our first IN-PERSON Live Longer Better national event where we will reaffirm our collective mission and how we describe it.

The Four Rs:

Reconditioning: restoring ability lost not only during lockdown but with decades of existing in the modern environment, dominated by the car, the sofa, the TV, the computer and the desk job.

Rejuvenation: aiming to get as able as one was five or even ten years before – Drop a Decade!

Risk reduction: preventing, delaying, slowing down and even reversing the risk of dementia, and frailty.

Revolution: the continuing need to move from fear of population ageing to the celebration of healthy longevity and this requires a cultural revolution, which means we need to rewire the brains of not only older people but also…

  • Friends and relatives
  • Health and social care professionals
  • The general public
  • The press

What does this mean?

This means we have to start where each of these groups are at present and then create new ways of thinking (e.g. health and social care need to see our work not only as good for older people, but good for them as a means of reducing the need and demand for health and social care.) This is an opportunity to come together in person to challenge, discuss and explore what we can and must do, to really address the Four Rs. This event will include visionary insights, case spotlights and the compelling evidence, sharing some excellent presentations from expert speakers including of course Sir Muir Gray, whilst also enabling the much missed truly interactive and networking sessions. 

An event with a difference – time for a cultural change!

Our virtual LLB National Events have proved extremely popular – over 2,000 delegates have attended our last 8 events with cross sector representation including local authorities, Age UK, NHS, Care Homes, Leisure Trusts and various voluntary and community sector partners. Feedback given by delegates confirmed that the events fully met their expectations.

Book your place!

This first in-person Live Longer Better event will take place at Burton Albion Football Club, Princess Way, Burton upon Trent, DE13 0AR.

CLick here for full details of the event including the registration link!

This Live Longer Better collaboration between Sir Muir Gray, Optimal Ageing Associates and Active Partnerships provides a unique combination of skills and resources, bringing together the cultures of coaching and health. We look forward to sharing some excellent presentations and speakers around the Live Longer Better work.

Older People’s Health and Care Survey – October 2022

Age UK’s Health Influencing Team are once again conducting the “Older People’s Health and Care Survey” and would be grateful if you could share the survey across your networks.

Age UK’s latest Older People’s Health and Care Survey is now live! As with our previous surveys in 2020 and 2021, our aim is to understand more about the current health and care needs of older people. We are looking to hear from older people and those that support them, including local Age UKs. Over 15,000 people responded to last year’s survey, which gave us a powerful position from which to influence the Government and the NHS.

Your responses helped us put pressure on the Government on a number of issues, particularly help during the cost of living crisis and access to NHS services.

We would be really grateful if you could once again share this survey across your networks so that we can hear as many voices as possible. Thank you!

The survey closes on Wednesday 19th October.

Upcoming Live Longer Better Event – Save the date: 19th October 2022

Save the date for the first in-person Live Longer Better national event on Wednesday 19th October from 11:00-16:00!

All Age UKs are invited to join the first in-person Live Longer Better national event where the programme will reaffirm its collective mission. The event will take place on Wednesday 19th October 2022 from 11.00 to 16.00. Please save the date and Live Longer Better will be in touch soon to announce the location, full schedule, and registration link.

Live Longer Better shared the following update:

Join us for our first IN-PERSON Live Longer Better national event where we will reaffirm our collective mission and how we describe it.

The Four Rs:

Reconditioning: restoring ability lost not only during lockdown but with decades of existing in the modern environment, dominated by the car, the sofa, the TV, the computer and the desk job.

Rejuvenation: aiming to get as able as one was five or even ten years before – Drop a Decade!

Risk reduction: preventing, delaying, slowing down and even reversing the risk of dementia, and frailty.

Revolution: the continuing need to move from fear of population ageing to the celebration of healthy longevity and this requires a cultural revolution, which means we need to rewire the brains of not only older people but also…

  • Friends and relatives
  • Health and social care professionals
  • The general public
  • The press

What does this mean?

This means we have to start where each of these groups are at present and then create new ways of thinking (e.g. health and social care need to see our work not only as good for older people, but good for them as a means of reducing the need and demand for health and social care.) This is an opportunity to come together in person to challenge, discuss and explore what we can and must do, to really address the Four Rs. This event will include visionary insights, case spotlights and the compelling evidence, sharing some excellent presentations from expert speakers including of course Sir Muir Gray, whilst also enabling the much missed truly interactive and networking sessions. 

An event with a difference – time for a cultural change!

Our virtual LLB National Events have proved extremely popular – over 2,000 delegates have attended our last 8 events with cross sector representation including local authorities, Age UK, NHS, Care Homes, Leisure Trusts and various voluntary and community sector partners. Feedback given by delegates confirmed that the events fully met their expectations.

Please hold the Date until Registration is open – we will be in touch soon when the registration link is live.

Event location and further programme details will be circulated nearer the event.

This Live Longer Better collaboration between Sir Muir Gray, Optimal Ageing Associates and Active Partnerships provides a unique combination of skills and resources, bringing together the cultures of coaching and health. We look forward to sharing some excellent presentations and speakers around the Live Longer Better work.

Men’s Health Forum’s Champions Training

Men’s Health Forum is running online training sessions for anyone who wants to empower men to engage with their health by becoming a Men’s Health Champion.

The Men’s Health Forum is running online training sessions for anyone who wishes to become a Men’s Health Champion. Men’s Health Champions are not health professionals but members of the public who care about men’s health and want to help improve it. The training takes place on July 19th and 21st from 10am-12pm and costs £149. You can find out all the details on the Men’s Health Forum website here.

Age UK’s Influencing Work During Carers Week and Loneliness Awareness Week 2022

With Carers Week and Loneliness Awareness Week both falling in June, here’s a roundup of Age UK’s influencing work across both weeks.

It’s been a busy month for the whole Age UK Network, with both Carers Week and Loneliness Awareness Week following each other during June! As you know, both weeks are major opportunities to raise awareness of these issues and to highlight the important work that is being done, and more that could be done, to tackle them. Read on to learn about some of the central influencing opportunities we engaged in over these two weeks:

Carers Week – Ensuring Carers Feel Visible, Valued & Supported

Carers Week is delivered by Carers UK alongside Age UK and other charity partners as a celebration of the huge contributions of unpaid carers. This year, the campaign also focused on highlighting the impact of the pandemic on unpaid carers and calling on the Government to create and fund a Recovery & Respite plan.

Age UK’s role is to highlight the role of older carers and ensure the support they need is recognised. As well as arranging for two campaigners to speak with the Minister for Care and the Shadow Minister for Care during online calls, we also attended the Carers Week Parliamentary drop-in for MPs on 8th June.

Norman Philips, who cares for his wife, and Rasila Mehta, who cares for her sister, joined Age UK at the event and spoke to over 21 MPs and Peers about their experiences and the support they need to meet the demands of their roles as older carers. Alongside the more than 6000 campaigners who wrote to their MPs, Norman and Rasila demonstrated just how reliant the Health and Care sectors are on unpaid carers and made a very clear case for the need for immediate Government support.

You can read more about Carers Week and the Recovery & Respite plan here.

Norman Philips, Age UK’s Senior External Affairs Manager Eorann Lean, and Rasila Mehta

Loneliness Awareness Week – Tackling Loneliness with the Minister

We started the week with a webinar, chaired by Darren Henry MP, on supporting those on low incomes to overcome loneliness. We had a fantastic presentation from Jenny Paton at Age UK Wirral on their work with their local hospital trust.

To mark the end of Loneliness Awareness Week, Nigel Huddleston, the Minister responsible for tackling the loneliness agenda, joined a game of walking football in his constituency at Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire last Friday.

He got to see first-hand an example of the amazing work the Age UK Network does to tackle loneliness across the country. Walking football is a great way for players to socialise, while staying active at the same time.

The team spoke with the Minister about why playing means so much to them. Richard told him:

“I’ve made new friends and gotten to know more people. We all stop for a coffee after and have a chat. For those who are getting on or may have lost a partner, it helps with socialising. If someone doesn’t turn up for a few weeks, we reach out on our WhatsApp group.”

Richard, a regular walking football player

The Minister was happy to get stuck in and have a kick about with the team. It’s safe to say he thoroughly enjoyed himself and was very impressed with Age UK Herefordshire and Worcestershire, saying later:

“it was great to see their inspiring work helping older people make new friends while having fun and getting exercise.”

Nigel Huddleston, Minister for Sport, Tourism, Heritage and Civil Society

You can read more on the Age UK Discover blog and see some lovely clips of the visit on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s twitter feed below:

Thank You!

We are deeply thankful to all our campaigners and all the local Age UKs who support unpaid carers and deliver services essential to tackling loneliness in older people. This work is essential for supporting the older people who need us most. Age UK will of course continue campaigning for them, to make sure they get the support they need.

If you have any questions about our campaigning work, please get in touch – luke.pilot@ageuk.org.uk.

Cancer Support e-learning Resources from Macmillan

Macmillan have shared a set of e-learning resources to support older people who are living with cancer, which Brand Partners may wish to access.

Macmillan have been in touch with Age UK to see how we can work more closely together, by sharing the knowledge and resources we each have. Macmillan are in the process of revamping their e-learning offer but, in the meantime, have suggested that we in the Age UK Network might find the below resources helpful, given that many older people are living with cancer.

Please do feel free to share the links below with others who may be interested. We will continue the conversation and explore how we can develop the partnership further. Please contact Alison Ingram (alison.ingram@ageuk.org.uk) with any queries.

Access the e-learning resources below:

Men’s Mental Health Webinar | 30th June 2022

Aviva and Onebright have teamed up to host a webinar focussing on men’s mental health on Thursday 30th June. Find out full details below.

Following Men’s Mental Health Week last week, Aviva and Onebright have teamed up to host a webinar focussing on men’s mental health. The webinar will take place on 30th June from 11am to 12pm, click here to book your place, or read on to find out more.

Aviva are extending this webinar invitation to all their clients, their employees and their intermediaries to offer valuable education and awareness – whether interested personally, to support family or friends or as a line manager.

The webinar will cover:

  • Introduction – why mental health is so important
  • Men’s health statistics
  • Dispelling stereotypes
  • Common men’s mental health issues and triggers
  • Spotting the signs
  • Supporting each other at work and at home
  • Strategies to make improvements
  • When to get help

Click here to book your place.

ADAPT: the South Asian Dementia Pathway Toolkit

ADAPT is a new online toolkit to help provide enhanced dementia care for South Asian communities. Find out all about the toolkit and where to access it.

Funded by the National Institute for Health Research, “ADAPT: the South Asian Dementia Pathway Toolkit”, is a new online toolkit to help provide enhanced dementia care for South Asian communities by sharing more accessible, tailored resources so that service providers can give more culturally appropriate care. The toolkit includes films, animations, assessments & more – all culturally & linguistically adapted for South Asian communities. Click here to access the toolkit.