Ageing Well in Dorset
The council is committed to finding new ways to improve health and social care in the county and is working with partners such as NHS Dorset and voluntary organisations to support people to stay healthy and independent for as long as possible and lead full and active lives.
Last year 4000 older people across the county took part in an extensive consultation exercise which asked them what they thought they needed to help them to achieve a healthy and active older age and what prevented them from doing this.
The consultation found that older citizens in Dorset want to:
Feel secure and safe
Feel free from discrimination
Be socially integrated and not isolated
Make a positive contribution and experience fulfilment as a result
Have dignity, choice and control throughout their life
Be in good health in mind and body
Have housing suitable for individual needs
Feel financially secure
Older people clearly value independence and want choices in where they live as well as being able to get out and engage in social activities. They also value an input into how services are delivered.
Although they said they often felt invisible within wider society, they recognised the project was an opportunity to make their views heard and to be appreciated as citizens.
Some of the innovative things they want to see include:
Buddy schemes where older people support young people and families in sharing life skills such as child caring, cooking skills or gardening skills
Campaigns to challenge age discrimination, particularly road signs and language that portray older people negatively
Campaigns to promote a wider understanding of the importance of good diet and nutrition
Working with Dorset Energy Advice Centre, landlords and owner-occupiers to make sure that older people are able to keep warm
Campaigns to promote the importance of all older people having access to good financial advice including advice on benefits
The consultation results have now been collated and representatives from the council, NHS, district councils, the third sector and older people are working collectively to using the information collected to support older people to live healthy independent lives and to promote positive attitudes towards ageing. This work is called Ageing Well in Dorset and it will be used to plan future services for older people in Dorset.
Jackie Allen, Chair of the Dorset Age Partnership said: "We must change our attitude towards ageing and stop focussing on all the negative aspects which tend to place older people in a position of having only their needs assessed. We must recognise the strengths of older people and the contribution they can make to society both economically and socially."
