M2 PressWIRE
November 11, 2009 Wednesday
UK Government: Sir Michael Parkinson's dignity champions reach ten thousand
LENGTH: 963 words
dignity champions reach ten thousand
Every care home to get dignity training
Thanks to Sir Michael Parkinson's call to action more than 10,000
people have now signed up to be Dignity Champions - all of them
committed to playing their part in a movement to put dignity at the
heart of care.
Dignity Champions, part of the Dignity in Care Campaign, have
voluteered to promote good care for the elderly. Their aim is to change
the culture of care services and place a greater emphasis on the
quality of experience of those services.
An independent review of the campaign published today has found that:
- Dignity Champions feel empowered to develop their own initiatives to
promote Dignity in Care;
- the campaign has created leaders and role models, whose actions
inspire others;
- the campaign has provided immense pride and satisfaction to those
providing services and care; and
- the campaign has pushed dignity higher up the agenda in care.
Dignity Ambassador Sir Michael Parkinson said:
'I have had have the great honour of meeting some of our nation's real
unsung heroes, hearing their stories and bringing attention to what
they are doing to hopefully inspire many others to follow suit. They
are ordinary people doing everyday things. But in their own way having
tremendous impact on those around them.'
To support the campaign, new training materials will this month be
provided to every care home and homecare provider in the country to
ensure everyone in care are treated with dignity and respect at all
times.
The training materials provide practical advice and exercises on how to
improve dignity in the areas that really matter most to people
receiving care. These include communication, privacy, social inclusion,
diversity, eating and nutrition, pain control and hygiene.
Care Services minister Phil Hope said:
'Its inspiring that over the past three years we over 10,000 people
have signed up to become Dignity Champions to promot more respectful
care across the country. They have made a huge contribution to bringing
dignity up the agenda in care homes and hospitals across the country.
'We must also ensure care staff at all levels are trained and equipped
to deliver dignity in care. That is why we are making training
materials available to every care home and every home care provider in
the country.'
Case Study
Newcastle Dignity Champions Chris Dugdale and Lead Community Dietitian
Rachel Skinner are amongst many who have used the campaign as
inspiration to look at various areas of the care they provide and how
they could make improvements.
They concentrated on the Meals at Home service, providing training for
drivers who delivered the meals, realising that they could provide much
more of a service than simply delivering meals and ensuring people
received the right nutrition.
David Stevenson, Meals at Home Distribution Driver said:
'We need to make sure they're well enough in that minute that we have
before we leave them - we may be the only person that they see. We're
more of a carer in a way now even though we only spend a brief moment
with them.'
Ramsey, Meals at Home user said:
'Sometimes during the day you never speak to another person - the
driver coming in always has that cheery word to you and conversation,
and you really look forward to him coming.'
The improvements that Chris Dugdale and Rachel Skinner have made also
ensured that people receive the right nutrition.
Care Services Manager Chris Dugdale said:
'We have an example of a service user who put on seven kilos with
support over a year. But it's not just about him putting on the weight
- because his health improved he could then go out shopping, so it's
about inclusiveness. It's about being able to take part in the everyday
things we all take for granted.'
Notes to editors
For further details or to sign up to become a dignity champion see
www.dignityincare.org.uk
Today also marks the publication of the Guide for Overview and Scrutiny
Committees "Walk a mile in my shoes" which is designed to assist
Overview and Scrutiny Committees and others in discussing what dignity
is, why it matters and how to assess whether an organisation or service
treats the people whom it serves with dignity and respect.
Dignity Champions are being encouraged to contact their local
councillors to ask them to undertake a local scrutiny review around
dignity in care.
High quality care services that respect people's dignity should:
- Have a zero tolerance of all forms of abuse
- Support people with the same respect you would want for yourself or a
member of your family
- Treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service
- Enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence,
choice and control
- Listen and support people to express their needs and wants
- Respect people's right to privacy
- Ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution
- Engage with family members and carers as care partners
- Assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self esteem
- Act to alleviate people's loneliness and isolation
Dignity Champions include nurses, care home staff, voluntary sector
workers, porters, and managers in health and social care. All of them
are committed to making a difference to the way in which older people
are treated in care. What they do in their roles as Dignity Champions
varies widely but what they all share is a commitment to making a
difference, however small, to the way older people experience care.
The Department of Health has collaborated with the homecare and care
home sector such as the UK Homecare Association, Ceretas, and the
National Homecare Council to provide the training materials.
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