13 November 2018
What are the best ingredients for making a great, interactive day to improve the health and wellbeing of our ageing population within Wessex? Cheryl Davies, programme manager for Healthy Ageing, shares her insights below. And don't forget to click the links and see below for resources!
Thursday, 1 November was my first Wessex Community of Practice for Healthy Ageing, and saw delegates convene at Merley House in Wimborne to hear about the innovative work that is being undertaken across the region.
With a focus on hydration projects within the network as well as other local projects, we were keen to make the session fun, informative and to generate connections and new ideas.
So, what are the best ingredients for making a great, interactive day to improve the health and wellbeing of our ageing population within Wessex?
1. Add a slice of innovation and best practice
2. Add a mix of enthusiastic geriatricians, passionate nurse practitioners, clinical and operational colleagues, GPs, inspirational academics together, and;
3. Add a dash of reflection and celebration.
For our older population, keeping hydrated is important for overall health and well-being, but options made available to them in care homes can often be limited.
We heard about a fantastic project in Hampshire care homes improving fluid intake; Fizzy Fridays; fruit tea parties; smoothie making and cocktail testing. It sounded like lots of fun for the residents! (but where is my invite?).
We were inspired by the tenacity of a domiciliary team in scoping how they could be innovative in improving the hydration of their clients despite the practical challenges.
Pivotal to my experience of the day was meeting Paul. Paul is a wonderful man aged 87 from Bournemouth who had cared for his wife with dementia before she passed away. His love for his wife shone through as he told his emotional story with great dignity and strength. He described how he was compelled to work with Bournemouth University PIER (Public Involvement in Education and Research) Group.
This group in association with CRISP (Cares Resource Information Support Programme), Healthwatch Dorset, and other male carers over 85, developed some outstanding resources; a short video and booklet entitled ‘Chief cook and bottle washer’ to support other men providing all levels of personal care for their wives. They really got the group debating the question ‘How can we care for our carers?’
We heard about frailty profiling work across Dorset. Dorset Healthcare shared their experience of developing an online frailty education tool to help colleagues within the integrated community to recognise and understand frailty, and to consider the actions they need to take to improve their patients’ well-being.
It was great to see lots of connections being made and resources shared. For me, two quotes from the day summarised the successful recipe for collaboration; “We are providing a voice for residents and patients”, and [we are] “…sharing stories, sharing experiences, learning from them to improve care.”
Sounds like a perfect blend...
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If you would like more information of the Wessex AHSN Healthy Ageing Programme and/or would like to become a member of the Wessex healthy Ageing Community of Practice event, please contact healthyageing@wessexahsn.net for further details. Follow us on Twitter @Wessexhealthyageing
Further presentations from the November Community of Practice, and outputs from previous events, can be found here: http://wessexahsn.org.uk/projects/219/events
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