AGENDA ITEM
DIGNITY AND RESPECT IN HEALTH AND SOCIAL
CARE SERVICES FOR OLDER PEOPLE
WORKING PARTY
5
DECENT HEALTH AND CARE
FOR OLDER PEOPLE
19 MAY 2008
1.
INTRODUCTION
1.1
What is decent care for Older People? The National Standards for
Health, Treatment and Social Care of Older People in England, set in
2001 in the National Service Framework (NSF) for Older People,
provided a good grounding.
1.2
The NSF for Older people set out eight standards to improve the
experiences of older people and their carers who are using health,
social care and other services, as follows :
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Rooting out age discrimination,
Person centred care,
Intermediate care,
General hospital care,
Stroke,
Falls,
Mental Health in older people,
Promotion of health and active life.
2.
A NEW AMBITION FOR OLD AGE
2.1
With the publication of the White Paper, ‘Our Health, Our Care, Our
Say’, the government announced the relaunch of the NSF for Older
People. In May 2006 Professor Ian Philip, UK National Clinical Director
for Older People, presented the next steps for the Framework in the
report ‘A New Ambition for Old Age’. This report examines how the
Framework is being implemented and announced new aims and
targets.
2.2
‘A New Ambition for Old Age’ added a further ten programmes for
implementing the framework, under three important and timely themes:
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Dignity and Care
Joined up Care
Healthy Aging
2.3
Appendix 1 gives the Working Party members an overview as to the
programmes of activity contained within ‘A New Ambition for Old Age’.
2.4
Programme 1 focuses on dignity in care. Nationally there have been
high profile cases of poor treatment of older people in mental health
and general hospitals, in care homes and in domiciliary care. It is
important that care in all these settings is geared to the needs of older
people.
3.
THE DIGNITY CHALLENGE
3.1
National consultation with a wide range of people including providers of
health and care services, and people who use services themselves and
carers, has resulted in much being learned about what dignity means
to older people. Two things in particular become very clear. Firstly
that being treated with dignity really matters to people, but the second
is that people are not clear about what they should expect from the
service that respects dignity.
3.2
The Working Party will receive a presentation by the Borough of Poole
Head of Adult Social Services Commissioning to stimulate debate on
what constitutes services that respect dignity with proposals for a
series of dignity tests that can be used by the Working Party Members
to see how their local services are performing.
JOHN DERMODY
Head of Adult Social Services Commissioning
29 January 2008
ss/reports/Dignity&RespectWPReport(JD)Jan08
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