Older people still not getting the quality of life they deserve
If you have read the news this week you can’t fail to have noticed that there are more reports of many older people in the UK not receiving the care they deserve or need.
Sir Michael Parkinson's report, 'My year as national dignity ambassador', highlighted the lack of dignity in care for older people and stated that 'We need to banish outdated attitudes and assumptions that can be a barrier to good quality care'. We at the JRF wholly support Sir Michael's views, but would go even further and suggest that 'dignity' is too low an aspiration for older people: what they, like everyone else, need, want and value, is 'quality of life' – whatever that means to each individual.
Recent research for the JRF showed that older people who need a lot of support are often seen as a burden, with little or no expectation of a fulfilling life. Over the next five years, JRF's 'A Better Life' programme will look at how life can be improved for older people with high support needs (including people with dementia), whether they live in their own home, a care home, or a housing with care scheme. A major strand of this work is a partnership with My Home Life: an independent initiative which works with the care home industry to improve the quality of life of those living and working in care homes.
In another report out yesterday ('Improving dementia services in England') the National Audit Office said that the government’s promise to make dementia a ‘national priority’ has not been actioned at a local level. The report stated that '…it is unlikely that the intended and much needed transformation of services will be delivered within the strategy's five year timeframe."
Our concern is that the momentum which the strategy promised – particularly in terms of support for both paid and unpaid carers, and training – will be lost. Our evidence clearly demonstrates the importance of involving front-line practitioners in helping to change the culture of caring, the need for skills in communication and involvement in achieving person-centred care, and the role of training and evidence-based tools.
Our research also shows how developing the skills and confidence of the workforce in specific areas, such as pain recognition , night time issues and use of communication tools , can really contribute to ‘quality of life’ for the individual with dementia.
There is no short-cut to achieving dignity and quality of life for older people with high support needs. A wider and more imaginative range of options, plus staff who are well-trained and who understand the needs and rights of those they care for, is essential.
Philippa Hare, Programme Manager, JRF
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Comments
Thank you for your article Phillippa.
The Dementia strategy, just as with so many other initiatives, was not thought through, nor followed through, and is struggling against the background of diminishing resources.
In my view, despite the sterling work of Ivan Lewis, former Social Care Minister, social care is falling down the ladder again and is not now on of the top of the political agenda anywhere that I can see. Lewis, November 2006 stated "In the period ahead we will add social care to the big public policy issues. Our mission is to create a system, which offers high quality personalised services. A system supported by a sustainable funding system....A fair and compassionate society is defined by the way it supports its most vulnerable citizens. My role as Minister for Social Care to raise its status, assert its value and elevate it to its rightful position as one of the great public policy challenges and opportunities for this Government. A Government bold enough to tackle the big issues and devoted to an agenda, which puts social justice at the heart of our national mission and destiny..."
Well, I am not convinced. That apart, (and we cannot rely on the Government in any event to focus on everything in these challenging times anyway), I do appreciate the divergence of skill, vision and innovation in social care environments is huge, but just as there is poor practice, there is excellent practice too, and this, inmy view, is where it starts: - For those who see it, quality care work can provide huge fulfillment from the simple skills of caring, connecting and contributing to our older people. When we are able to show our younger staff what is available to them, anything and everything becomes possible.
So now is the time as never before for great vision, strong leadership, and endless innovation which can convert the indifferent, undignified and inert, to inspired, insightful and imaginative, and even with limited resources
Geoffrey Cox