older+people+-+activities+-+Respect+&+Dignity+(+3.2006)

Haringey Forum for Older People
Tottenham Town Hall, Town Hall Approach Road, London N15 4RY =Tel: 020 8885 8358, Fax: 020 8365 1732=


 * Report of Focus Meeting**


 * “Respect and Dignity”**

Supported by: Respect is central to a sense of self worth and value for all people. It is Goal 1 of ‘Experience Counts’ Haringey’s Strategy for Older People. Lack of respect and dignity produces feelings of hurt, depression and anger. Haringey Forum for Older People Respect and Dignity participants reported the lack of respect they experience in their daily lives e.g. rude bus drivers, shopkeepers, “loutish” behaviour from some younger people. The attitude that “old” means “stupid and incompetent” is widespread. This attitude is reflected in how older people are ignored by public and commercial services and in consultations about planning services. Lack of public services - from the reduced GP appointments system, to the lack of public toilets and cuts in local Post Office services - cause particular difficulties for older people. Older people are discriminated against in employment, both in recruitment and job security. Getting essential benefits and services is difficult for older people, and it results in them being unfairly discriminated against in areas like health care and pensions. Services must appreciate the special needs of older people and make sure they are accessible e.g. chiropody services for all - raised repeatedly at every Forum meeting, adequate choice of housing which is properly monitored, and community mental health services to support people in living independently. Giving and receiving respect relies on the older and younger generations being familiar with each other: opportunities for contact are essential to bridge generational divides. To increase the sense of respect and decrease discrimination, the following changes should be made: Ø **Remember we need to give respect in order to receive it** Ø **Improve public and community transport** Ø **Better health and social care** Ø **Stop age discrimination in employment** Ø **Recognise, value and encourage the contribution of unpaid work i.e. volunteering** Ø **Bring older and young people together in the community and in schools** Ø **Reduce council tax so that it doesn’t hit older people’s income disproportionately** Ø **More police and increased presence of wardens in public parks** Ø **Stop means testing**
 * 28 March 2006**
 * Summary**


 * QUOTES**


 * What we said:**

“Lack of money is probably the main way in which older people feel disadvantaged and undignified.” “Respect starts at home: parents should make their children aware of this as they raise them.” “You’ve got to know how to approach young people to get respect.” “If you lose your dignity, you lose a part of yourself.” “TV and advertising equates “youth” with “beautiful, fashionable and clever”.” “Bringing in laws against age discrimination in employment will not necessarily change the mind set of society at large.”


 * What we seek:**

“Old people have a rich experience of life and its problems which can be tapped for the public good.” “Older people living in the community have a role to play in protecting the basic human rights of the elderly. Older people have the right to live in a safe environment, a right to have choices, have a good quality of life, to be respected and maintain our dignity.” “Older and younger generations to meet in schools and other places and involve parents so they also learn.” “Communities should develop activities to bring older and younger people together (intergenerational activities)” “It would be nice if when carrying a heavy bag of groceries, a young person comes along to give me a hand.”


 * Background:** Haringey Forum for Older People held a day conference on 28 March 2006 at the Cypriot Community Centre. It was attended by 140 people who discussed the issues of “respect and dignity”, age discrimination and relations between the generations. Forum Chair, **Lloyda Fanusie**, together with Vice-Chairs **Fred Ellis** and **Abdool Alli,** introduced the four main speakers.


 * Claire Andrews set the scene** **by giving her personal experience as an older person living in Haringey**. She described how, although her housing provider claims to promote social justice, transparency, integrity and high standards in service care, she has not experienced this on an individual level. Older people can experience vulnerability even when in supported housing and above all they need to feel respected, valued and listened to, in order to feel secure. Key to providing these services is high quality and properly monitored and supervised staff: Housing services and other council directorates must provide this in order for older people to feel their homes are safe, comfortable and welcoming places to live.


 * Alex McTeare, Assistant Director of Adult & Older People’s Services Haringey Primary Care Trust,** talked about the need for services for older people to have respect and dignity at their heart. Essential services for older people, such as home care, continence services, health care all need to be carefully planned and monitored to ensure that they meet the needs of older people. In Haringey for example, a dedicated stroke unit has recently been opened at North Middlesex Hospital. There is also a rapid response team in Accident & Emergency departments to link up services for older people in order to divert avoidable admissions.


 * Jan Doust, Head of Pupil Access** referred to how provision of services should promote dignity. Children’s services focus on keeping children healthy physically and mentally, making them safe, helping them to enjoy learning and encouraging them to make a positive contribution to their communities and society in general.


 * Simon O’Brien, Borough Commander for Haringey** talked about elders being at the heart of communities. Faith and community centres are a cohesive influence in local life. Although life for older people resident in a London borough has changed enormously in recent decades, older people have experienced much of what the younger generation have to deal with - the question is how do we share and learn from each other? Young people, especially boys, need good role models. We need to have better links between schools and older people. The new __Safer Neighbourhood Scheme__ in some Haringey wards has officers specifically for community matters who can listen to older people’s concerns. He urged the Forum to speak up for older people in these areas.

· What do you understand by respect and dignity - how does it affect you as an older person? · What is your experience of age discrimination - how does it affect you as an older person? · What can older people do to develop better relations between generations?
 * The participants formed workshops and addressed the following issues:**

There was general agreement that lack of respect for older people has a negative effect in society. It causes older people to feel worthless which in turn produces hurt, depression and anger. Participants acknowledged that **respect is a basic human need and “treating others as you would wish to be treated” is the foundation of respect and dignity in our community**. People gave examples of individuals, organisations and systems that promoted or failed to promote respectful attitudes to older people. Children and young people need to be listened to and understood. Some can be disrespectful in public places - for example “loutish behaviour” like pushing and shoving on buses. Not only children are rude and inconsiderate - bus drivers, shop owners overcharging for goods, health and social care staff being rude and unhelpful were all given as individual examples. Some felt lack of respect was built into certain institutions and systems. **If older people are perceived as exerting little power and influence, it is easy to ignore or sideline them** e.g. in consultations about planning services, and they can be denied choice in how services are provided. The family, in particular good parental example, was seen as crucial to younger people developing a sense of respect for others. Children need to have an awareness of other cultures and religions as well as to appreciate the positive aspects of old age, in order to help them see the value of giving respect and dignity to older people and everyone in society. Organisations and systems in our society can claim to show respect to older people, but unless they make an effort to help older people communicate with and use the service, then it is just “hollow words”. Services and institutions which display basic good manners, equal access and have lack of prejudice at their heart, will train their staff adequately to understand and use ‘age sensitivity’ and operate in respectful ways towards their users and customers.
 * Respect and Dignity**


 * Age Discrimination**:
 * Age discrimination was seen as having two main forms - “attitudes” and “institutional”**. The all too commonly held view that “old” means “stupid and incompetent” pervades the thinking of many individuals and organisations. Some important basic services - such as health and financial support were seen as institutionally discriminatory against older people. Examples included assertions that police and primary care services sometimes do not listen to older people, assuming they have to be communicated with via advocates or younger family members.

Advertising is aimed at the young and many older people stated that this reinforces prejudice which is likely to lead to instances of being ignored and not taken into account, or seen as “dispensable”. How services are planned, organised and delivered was seen as discriminatory towards older people - either because they were designed in a way that older people could not contribute to or access, or because they require resources that older people do not have. Examples of this included primarily pension and financial services - **dental and optician services and council tax are disproportionately expensive for most older people**. Getting essential services and benefits - e.g. social care and pension credit require going through complicated assessment processes involving lengthy form filling. Health services do not positively discriminate when they could: for example, **why should an older person have a long and uncomfortable wait to see their GP or hang on for ages on a switchboard to get through to an essential service?** Again, older people are disproportionately discriminated against by poor public services such as lack of accessible transport, the closure or poor maintenance of public lavatories and having local Post Offices closed. Delegates had a sense of being second class and given services that were substandard - examples included **medical files being lost, lack of appreciation of dietary needs and poor cleanliness standards in hospitals, operations cancelled, reduced chiropody services, lack of privacy on hospital wards, and inadequate hospital discharge systems**. Discrimination in employment was particularly referred to, where it still seems acceptable to sack or not appoint people because of their age.


 * Relations between the generations:**
 * An overwhelming view expressed by delegates was that they need to be willing to engage with younger people.** There was a feeling that society is very polarised - children and older people tend not to mix and it is important for older people to have more contact with young people. There was a general view that mutual trust needs to be established and this can be done initially by parents encouraging better contact between older people and children and by presenting older people as people who should be shown courtesy and respect like anyone else. Projects like going into schools, being role models for children and challenging the view that older people are unimportant are vital to prevent polarization and develop trust.

Many delegates said they would have liked more time for discussion and questions and they gave a very positive evaluation of the meeting. They said it was “very encouraging” and “lively”, and they “want to come again and again.”
 * Meeting Evaluation:**


 * Where do we go from here?**
 * The Forum meeting made recommendations to increase respect, improve understanding and reduce discrimination:**

Ø Promote Trans Age Action programme - volunteering. Ø Older people to take the initiative and work in schools on anti-ageism and developing respect. Ø Develop training schemes for young and old which inform them about old age. Ø More joint planning and discussion in forums - get older and younger people together to talk about strategies for tackling ageism. Ø Older people to provide ‘age sensitivity’ training for staff supplying services to their age group. Ø Older people to use their skills to provide peer mentoring e.g. support peers to improve/manage health, to increase employability.
 * 1. //Positive action by older people themselves//**

Ø Finances - stop means testing, link state retirement pension to average male earnings, reduce council tax, provide free broadband, abolish Freedom Pass restrictions. Ø Reduce waiting times for GP and hospital appointments, establish walk-in chiropody clinics, more police, more home help and more support to help older people live at home, better hospital transport, control anti-social young people. Ø Frank and open discussions between service providers and users. Ø Better public and community transport including bus driver training. Ø Oppose age discrimination in employment, training and service provision.
 * //2. Improvements in the infrastructure and in service provision//**


 * For further information about Haringey Forum for Older People, please contact: Manuela Toporowska, Development Officer Tel: 020 8885 8358**