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Posted on 25 Sep 2015

Read about Betty and John, who are still embracing life at 85-years-old!

To celebrate the achievements and contributions that older people make to our society and promote independent living and healthy lifestyles, services from Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s community division, Health Partnerships, along with their Allied Health Professional colleagues and Mental Health Services for Older People will join forces on 1 October to mark UK Older People’s Day.

Staff will come together from 10am – 2pm to provide health events at Park House Health and Social Care Centre in Carlton, Arnold Health Centre and Stapleford Care Centre, Newark Hospital and the Retford Town Hall.  These events aim to reduce social isolation, especially on Older People’s Day, and provide useful information about what’s available in the local area.

As well as the Fire Service and Police offering advice to increase the safety in homes our Physiotherapists will be undertaking walking stick MOTs, making sure walking sticks are safe and dietitians will offer advice about a healthy diet.

There will be a pop-up shoe shop enabling visitors to have their feet measured for specialist footwear along with free foot care samples at Park House Health and Social Care.  Our community nursing teams will offer medicine management and advice on the risk factors of Cardio Vascular Disease at Arnold Health Centre.  Free fitness checks for the over 60s will be provided by Community Therapy Teams at Stapleford Care Centre.  At Newark Hospital there will be Physiotherapists offering advice on reducing falls risks and advice on maintaining good mental and physical health.  Our Falls Team will be available at the Retford Town Hall and will be able to assess and advise on the risk of osteoporosis. There will also be information from our continence and dementia services.

Catherine Pope, Clinical Director of Community Specialist Services said “It’s fantastic to see how interest in our Older People’s Day events has grown since last year.  I’m really excited about the range of groups and activities involved and would encourage anyone to come to their local event to see what’s available to support them to live well longer.  Working with colleagues from both physical and mental health services and with other local community agencies such as the police, fire service and local care homes is an excellent example of how services can provide joined up care based around people’s needs.”

Statistics show that people are now living longer and there are a lot more elderly people living in social isolation.  These events aim to highlight these problems in the elderly population and provide information on the day on how to overcome these barriers.

Previous studies recognise that podiatry is one of the 3 main services the elderly use or would like to use. Our events will provide pathways on how to access the podiatry service and other services such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Maintaining mobility and physical activity are key components shown to keep older people out of hospital living independent lives, preventing falls and pressure areas.

A friendly and welcoming environment will greet our elderly visitors on the day where they can socialise with other people and not feel alone.