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Growing older in Rushcliffe

Category:          Addressing an overall National Service Framework

 

Name:               Penny Spice

Job Title:           Head of Public Involvement

Organisation:    Rushcliffe PCT

Email:                penny.spice@rushcliffe-pct.nhs.uk

Telephone:        0115 914 3228

 

Key team:         Older Person, Help The Aged, Notts County Council, Rushcliffe Borough Council, Rushcliffe Council For Voluntary Service, Partnership Development Team, Rushcliffe Primary Care Trust, Age Concern, Social Services.

 

Title:                 Growing older in Rushcliffe - a local older people's forum

 

Older people make up 35% of the local population in Rushcliffe and are a group of people who are often under represented and poorer than other adults and as age increases, they are likely to become more regular users of the NHS

 

No existing mechanisms to involve older people in improving local health services

 

Need for an Older People’s Reference Group identified at the Local Implementation Group for the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People

 

The aim of this project was to establish an external reference group of older people who could then help the Rushcliffe Primary Care Trust (PCT) improve local health services for older people. Also to: 

 

  • 1. Promote patient choice and patient and public involvement agenda
  • 2. Engage with other partners within and outside the NHS
  • 3. Utilise a community development / empowerment approach
  • 4. Involve local older people and to facilitate dialogue
  • 5. Encourage a user-led approach whereby statutory organisations shift from organising to   being invited!

 

  • 1. Local users and carers of NHS services, because ultimately services will improve through listening to user/carer views
  • 2. Staff by making them aware of expressed need
  • 3. Clinical staff through learning from user/carer feedback
  • 4. Enhanced partnership working

 

How it was done:

 

  • 1. NSF Implementation Group identified need
  • 2. Set up working group with other agencies to establish Forum
  • 3. Organise launch of Older People’s Forum with local media
  • 4. Community development approach; e.g. presentations to University of 3rd Age, luncheon groups
  • 5. 140 attended launch on 9/9/03. Speakers: Mayor of Rushcliffe, Director of Social Services, PPI lead for PCT, Help the Aged Officer, and Chair of neighbouring Older People’s Group. Day held at Leisure Centre; taster sessions available – Healthy Walk, ‘Evergreen’ facilities, Bowles.
  • 6. Volunteers were sought for the Older People’s Forum Steering Group.
  • 7. Steering Group established, developing a constitution and charitable status.

 

Who helped?

 

  • Fire Service
  • Neighbourhood Wa
  • Local older person
  • Rushcliffe Primary Care Trust 
  • Rushcliffe Council for Voluntary Service
  • Help the Aged
  • Partnership Development Team
  • Rushcliffe County Council
  • Rushcliffe Borough Council
  • Age Concern
  • Notts OPAG (older people’s advisory group)
  • Better Government for Older People
  • Police
  • Citizen’s Advice Bureau
  • Mature Connections
  • Pensions Agency
  • tch
  • Community groups

 

How to know when achieved?

 

  • Full partnership involvement
  • Working group working effectively and communicating
  • 140 people turned up
  • Good evaluation of the day
  • Overwhelming partnership from other agencies on the day
  • 25 older people joined Forum Steering group.

 

Challenges / Barriers

 

  • Interpreting NSF into everyday language – overcome by other partners especially voluntary sector kept group grounded by challenging jargon
  • ‘Ownership’: many of the agencies had different agendas, ways of thinking, etc, which slowed process down – overcome by open discussions and sometimes by repeating discussions
  • Difference of perception within working group about remit of Forum: should it be just NHS or wider Forum to address all health / well being issues? – Overcome by wide discussions and a paper written by CVS outlining case for a wider Forum, which pointed out the people do not make distinction between sectors, plus the Forum can have a constitution and apply for charitable status

 

The Steering Group is an incredibly skilled and experienced group who have already taken over the running of their own Forum and who are keen to link with statutory bodies

Through the diverse membership of the steering group and the partnership model used, working across statutory/voluntary sector, the ‘Forum’ developed from an NHS specific group to an Older People’s Forum.  This means older people can feed their issues/suggestions/choices through one mechanisation and do not have to know who does what!

  • Huge response from local residents
  • Huge response from other agencies
  • Interest from Local Strategic Partnership
  • Part of County Council’s application for Beacon status
  • Requests form local acute hospital and Age Concern for members of the Forum to sit on their groups!

 

Next Steps

  • Forum is developing a constitution and applying for charitable status
  • Links with:
  • PCT’s Implementation Group
  • Notts Older People’s Advisory Group
  • New PPI Forum for Rushcliffe
  • Local Strategic Partnership
  • Better Government for older people
  • Provide training and development opportunities.

 

 

Sharing with:

  • NSF Implementation Group
  • Senior staff seminar
  • Trent PPI leads
  • Articles in local media
  • PPI Strategy Group (already shared with local PCT).