Agenda and minutes

1a. Apologies

1b. Matters arising and approval of note from last meeting

1c. Any Declarations of interest

Cllr Kit Smith welcomed those attending and reported that issues raised at the previous meeting in respect of Street Scene had been fed back to officers and Members.  David Reid expressed thanks for the grant to Deal Town Football Club where phase one was now complete.  Sue Delling also thanked the Forum for the grant to Dover District Carers who had been able to move their premises downstairs.

Will give a presentation about the Strategy for Later Life.  This focuses on the needs of older people and sets out priorities for care and other services

Will talk about this multi-agency project and how it benefits local people

2.1   Dawn Woodward -  INVOKE Project Manager:

·         INVOKE is an E. Kent Adult Social Services project with Dover being one of 6 districts involved plus voluntary sector, PCT and others’

·         £1.5m funding over 2 years and a further year recently confirmed.

·         services to over 50s (current definition of ‘older person’!) already achieved

·         people can refer themselves to Care Navigator then meet to work through action plans to find solutions that are right for the individual, are early and timely and help to reduce later dependence.

·         of the 200 referrals from Dover district 67% were self referrals; 65% were female; 8% were totally resolved by Care Navigator alone; 6% did not complete for various reasons.

·         Community Matron Support Workers (CMSW); employed by PCT to work under Community Matron Support with people with long term conditions and with history of unplanned hospital admissions indicating not managing medical conditions very well. CMS workers get notice via telehealth system with details of conditions by phone. 7270 total contacts made in East Kent in 2007/08.

·         Community Information & Liaison Assistants (CILAs) – ‘who can help me’ directory with 16 community hubs to host directories e.g. libraries, GPs surgeries, Age Concern, Volunteer Bureaux. 17^th is in production; 80 persons known to have accessed directories but no formal record kept.

·         CILAs facilitate groups e.g. housing wardens asking about mobility problems, smoking cessation, salt in diet. At the end of 2^nd year are working on sustainability plan; how to deliver service and use websites.

2.2       Age Concern Deal Centre for the Retired:  Malcolm Barry and Julie Limbrick explained the resource centre for over 50s where people could volunteer, learn skills such as ICT and languages, practice physical exercise classes, find carer support, occupational therapy advice, legal advice,  hearing aid services, hairdressing and podiatry.  Home help was available with bathing, meals and transport; family discussions were used to identify personal needs with the accent on choice, enabling, and right to respect and dignity. 

2.3    Debra Exall, KCC Head of Strategic Policy, gave a presentation on Kent policy framework for later life: Living Later Life to the Full. The main objectives were to:

·        ensure communities are designed to be ‘age proof’, stronger, safer and sustainable;

·        improve transport and accessibility

·        enable older people to lead healthier lives and have better access to healthcare

·        support older people’s citizenship, learning and participation in community life

·        ensure those older people who need support to live independently have choice, control and good quality care

·        encourage people to plan for a secure later life

·        promote a positive image of later life and dignity and respect for older people

This had been developed in discussion with older people, agencies and authorities and the latest draft would be available in the near future.

Will give a local perspective on services and activities available for older people

After any questions, the presenters will join the audience to discuss in greater depth the issues around active ageing and promoting well-being for older people.  We will also be looking for examples of activities already happening in the district to help map facilities throughout the area.

·        How does the percentage of older people in Dover District compare with East Kent?  Although no statistics are to hand it was believed that by 2012 probably more than 50% would be over 50.  The District has higher levels of younger and older people but the ‘middle’ age group was under-represented due to lack of work opportunities and current regeneration projects would seek to address this.

·        Cash for telehealth care was apparently likely to reduce?  Any update will be reported back.

·        Enabling older people to access better healthcare and giving them personal responsibility could allow NHS to take punitive action against those who had not taken care of their health?  There were no proposals to take punitive action.

·        Is the public aware of who their advocates are?  We need to raise profile of KCC’s older people’s champion, Mike Angel, who attends forums and meetings.  Chris Tough Secretary of Senior Citizens’ Forum, explained the need to increase membership and provide a united representation.

·        Bus service stops too early to allow evening trips to the cinema; non-car owners are isolated; previous subsidised taxi voucher system and current bus passes give older people chance to be active.  Such schemes are expensive and better use should be made of volunteer schemes using technology to put people in contact but insurance needed to be addressed.  It’s hard to be active with no transport.

·        Transport to doctor’s surgeries needs attention: older people with bus passes cannot use them until 9.30am and therefore need later appointments; receptionists should be aware of this. 

·        What about people in residential care; how do they keep active?  Owners and managers should make services and activities available.

·        Volunteering does not engender respect in the same way that working does.

·        Government’s strategy to provide more housing in E Kent for younger people means older ones are devalued.

·        Do we know what services are available?   CILAs are mapping services and activities in neighbourhoods to include in directories.

·        Older people should get involved in letting contracts by representing service users on panels.

·        Networking took courage to take part so taster sessions would be good: an exhibition of activities would be helpful.

Brief feedback on what was discussed and the priorities identified to be taken away

Ø      Older people have power which they may not know how to use; large groups have a louder voice; transport, respect and advocacy are key issues needing a co-ordinated approach.

Ø      The final version of ‘Living Later Life to the Full’ to be brought back to the Forum in the future.

Ø      All community groups to let CASE Kent know of their activities so that they can be publicised.

Community Suggestions

The next meeting would be held in April, the date to be confirmed as soon as possible together with dates later in the year.  Any further discussions about transport for people would need to include a representative from South Eastern Trains as well as other providers.

The meeting ended at 9.20pm