Giving older people more choice and control.
The adult social care system needs to ensure older people get the information, advice and advocacy services they need to remain independent.
This Solutions paper highlights recent work in Newcastle by the Quality of Life Partnership that's developed ways of working with existing systems to make them more 'older person friendly', efficient, and effective for all concerned. Lessons learnt include:
- Invest in processes so that older people have a variety of ways of sharing their views and experiences.
- Persuade local partners that information and advice is not an add-on to the day job. It is the day job.
- Understand that partnership working is much more difficult, complex and time-consuming than working in isolation.
- Realise that some issues may need to be addressed across all age groups.
The full report 'Seeing it our way': taking an older people's approach to the strategic development of information, advice and advocacy in Newcastle upon Tyne is also available.