Strictly Seniors, Our Popular Look at the Health and Issue 5
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Foreword Welcome to the latest edition of Strictly Seniors, our popular look at the health and Issue 5. December 2016 social care issues you tell us are important to you. In this issue his fifth edition is our largest production to date and it’s full of information to support Getting it right for Mr and Mrs Mac 2 Dementia Friendly Prestwick 20 seniors across South Ayrshire to lead active, healthy, and independent lives. TThe past year has seen a number of important developments, with the Health and Health in the community and you 3 Good neighbours in South Ayrshire Social Care Partnership now well established as we continue to work with you to improve Community pharmacist – Julie Geates 4 Food Train delivers for you 21 health, support social care, tackle health inequality, and improve Patient focus of lifeline hospital service gains Beat doorstep crime 22 community wellbeing. special recognition As part of this process we’re beginning to make Scottish Fire & Rescue 23 Look out for ‘Eyecare Ayrshire’ 5 changes to develop more integrated services to Thinking and planning ahead 24 support our seniors live long lives in the community. In the next When you’re ill, know who to turn to 6 year we want to enhance the arrangements for physical and Stepping out with footcAyr Safety first makes community call the smart 26 mental rehabilitation using community services, to allow bet for home security 7 Could you help the Blind Golf Society? 27 people to remain in good health for longer and remain settled in their own homes. About falls Friendly fun at the book & bun café 28 Later in the magazine you will see that the six HARP – Health and Activity Rehabilitation Programme 8 Christmas companions 29 recently established ‘Locality Planning Groups’ are helping to map out and respond to local Invigor8 classes 9 Making today matter 30 needs, and I would like to thank staff and Are you a canny cooker? local people for the considerable progress Your library does more than you think 32 Stepping Stones – bereavement care 10 being made in this area. Understanding locality planning 34 Looking left to the contents page it’s Want to know how to feel good? 7 Maybole over fifty’s plain that there are already a large Managing diabetes 11 number of groups working to improve Get out and about with OIR Ayr Only connect 12 38 peoples’ lives right across South Ayrshire. I’d also like to pay tribute to Girvan Age Concern Riverside Connect all the staff and the many volunteers Helping older people engage 13 Open up with Ayrways 39 who put in countless hours to help make sure we have such excellent, South Ayrshire Life Kick-starting your community through football 40 exciting activities in place. Without Out and about in Carrick and Kyle Alcohol & you – rethink your drink in later life 41 you, none of this would be possible. 12 Using MyBus 14 Worried about your vision or know someone I hope that all of our readers find something useful to take away from South Ayrshire Carers Centre with sight problems? 42 this magazine, which is crammed Finding time for The Silver Line 15 S.I.S.G – Sensory Impaired Support Group Charity (Ayrshire) full of information on the many South Ayrshire Dementia Support opportunities available. From tai chi Sensory Impairment Service 43 through to the annual Christmas lunch, Caring for carers at Crossroads 16 Action on Hearing Loss Scotland Hear to Help (Ayrshire) we think we’ve covered all the bases in this South Ayrshire Care & Repair edition of Strictly Seniors and we hope you Improving your home and don’t know where to start? 44 enjoy finding out about what’s on near you. Cut through the jargon with the Circles Network 17 Cut out and keep… 45 24 The Little Art School Trust Councillor Rita Miller Alzheimer Scotland South Ayrshire Service 18 Back Cover Chair of Integration Joint Board, Supporting you to live your life, your way! 19 Useful numbers South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership Strictly Seniors Magazine 1 Getting it right Health in the community and you for Mr and We hear a lot about ways that the NHS is changing but what does that mean in practice, and what do people on the front line think about the current direction the health service is taking? Strictly Seniors interviewed the Clinical Director of Mrs Mac South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, Dr Ajay Koshti, to ask for his views... South Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership is Q: Can you tell me how you think the such support, GPs can then focus public influences how we shape our committed to improving whole health system needs to change more on our complex patients. services so I’d like to see older people services for older people. and how primary care fits into this? Q: Can you describe some of the get involved in all the various local A: We need to move away from a initiatives you are involved in to support groups and networks to help us create healthcare model dominated by this approach? better health and well-being. hospitals to a much more community A: There are lots of things happening, Dr Koshti is the Clinical Director for based approach. For example but one of the most significant the South Ayrshire Health and Social Optometrists and Pharmacists is supporting something called Care Partnership and a GP in Tam’s are playing an increasing role in ‘Anticipatory Care Planning’. Brig Practice in Ayr. clinical care. This involves patients and carers, We also need to move towards together with key health and social more prevention and ‘anticipatory’ work staff making plans in advance of approaches and these need to any worsening in any condition so that increase the involvement of patients the right care and support is provided, and their carers. We all need to take largely in the community in a planned responsibility for our own health and and not a reactive way. care, not just in the present moment, Another practical development is the Earlier this year staff from the Partnership met with a group of older people to listen to their but thinking ahead to when we may improved alignment of our care and experiences of using services, both in hospitals and in the community. be less healthy and independent. nursing homes with individual GP From a GP perspective, two main Practices so that they develop better areas that we as a society can focus relationships and are offered more This proved to be an invaluable exercise with a range of The key statements are summarised below. on are illnesses that will probably insights emerging from the people attending. continuity in clinical care so that their We hope to use these powerful messages to inform all of clear up on their own, and patients residents get better support. with complex multiple conditions. We have set the themes emerging from this conversation what we plan around older people’s health and care in the Q: If you had one message for older GPs are seeing significant numbers as a series of aspirational quotes that relate to a fictitious years ahead. people, what would it be? South Ayrshire older couple (provisionally called Mr and of patients with minor self-limiting We hope to work with the group we met with on an Mrs Mac). conditions which often only require A: I would encourage older people to ongoing basis to ensure they hold the Partnership to reassurance. If these patients are take greater ownership of their own So – our statements are about... Getting it Right for account about how our plans and activities really have empowered to self manage their health and to think more about how Mr and Mrs Mac. these statements at their centre. conditions with better awareness to prevent becoming ill in the first and community support, often senior place. I’m keen that the dialogue we get from patients and the wider Listen to what I want and give me respect Help me use technology where it might be family members are the source of Don‘t make assumptions appropriate Talk to each other and try to join up your care Have someone who is the main point of contact or ‘co-ordinator’ of my care Don’t ask me the same questions numerous times Try to involve me and others Try to think of me as a whole person living with in preventative and different conditions anticipatory work so care If you would like more Give me information about all the services and care is not just reactive information on this work that might be available Include me in all please contact: Improve and simplify your communication with me decisions about me Phil White at [email protected]. nhs.uk 2 South Ayrshire Strictly Seniors Magazine 3 Community pharmacist Patient focus of lifeline Julie Geates hospital service For many of us pharmacies provide a lifeline to services and products we use every day and from time to time, depending Your local gains special on our needs. Increasingly, the local Community Pharmacist pharmacy plays a very important role in our communities. contains a wealth of To find out more about the work of pharmacies we met with Julie Geates who works at information Toll Pharmacy in Prestwick to ask her to give us the lowdown of what exactly we should expect*. and expertise. recognition Photographer: Guy Hinks For many people a visit to your local Community find out which ones they provide and how they can help The transition between hospital care and the return home can be Pharmacist makes sense.