Age UK Sutton
Age UK Sutton (AUKS) is an independent charity located in the London Borough of Sutton. It is also a brand partner of Age UK and a member of the Age England Association. Our mission is to promote the wellbeing of all older people in the London Borough of Sutton, to help make later life a fulfilling and enjoyable experience. We want everyone – older people, their families and carers – to love later life. We do this by inspiring, supporting and empowering people by: • Providing high quality services for older people • Offering information and advice so older people are aware of and can access the benefits to which they are entitled • Advocating on behalf of older people, to ensure their voices are heard • Promoting positive attitudes towards older people and ageing • Encouraging choice and opportunity for older people We are here for Sutton’s older people, to promote their wellbeing end empower them to lead the lives that they want to lead.
- Updated:
- 30 September 2015
- Location:
- London
- Sectors:
- Charity, Voluntary Sector
- Local Alliances:
- Sutton Dementia Action Alliance
1. Action Plan
1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?
We understand that dementia is not synonymous with later life, but acknowledge the correlation between growing older and the onset of dementia. What this means for us (as an organisation dedicated to the wellbeing of older people) is that we have a duty to incorporate the outcomes of the National Dementia Declaration into everything we do, such that an understanding of dementia and the know-how to implement appropriate actions to support those living with dementia becomes part of the fabric of Age UK Sutton.
We recognize the need to assess the services we provide and adjust them to make them more dementia friendly. It is also imperative that all our staff, volunteers and trustees become Dementia Friends. Priority will be given to those who are client-facing, but we believe that if we are to be a true signatory to the alliance, that all staff, trustees and volunteers of Age UK Sutton should be a Dementia Friend.
We do operate in a dementia-friendly manner but we understand that so far, this has been more informal. We know that as a member of the DAA, we need to formally instill dementia-friendly values into our strategic objectives and organisational plans so that it becomes part of our ethos.
2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation?
The challenge for Age UK Sutton will be training our cohort of staff and volunteers. We have over 200 volunteers, including people who work full time, which means getting volunteers to commit to and attend Dementia Friends sessions will be an initial hurdle. Furthermore, while it is easy for office-based staff to commit to sessions, those team members who provide help at home services in the community (and who would benefit greatly from the sessions) will find it hard to attend planned sessions.
Other challenges involve the adaptation of services and the resources and financial investment needed to achieve this. If services are to evolve or be created for people living with dementia and their carers, it will be resource intensive, including staff time, training and implementation. Reviewing strategic objectives/organisation plans will also require considerable time and input from Senior Management and the Board of Trustees.
Member website
www.ageuksutton.org.uk2. Actions
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Developing dementia awareness among all Age UK Sutton staff (including Helping Hands), trustees and volunteers
Dementia awareness includes use of appropriate language and transmitting the five key messages.
- All office-based staff attend a Dementia Friends session.
- All trustees attend a Dementia Friends session.
- All Helping Hands (who provide help at home services for older people) attend a Dementia Friends session.
- All volunteers attend a Dementia Friends session, with an initial focus on client-facing volunteers such as Befrienders, Home from Hospital volunteers, and Information & Advice volunteers.
- Any new staff, trustees, volunteers and Helping Hands will be trained by in-house Dementia Champion.
- Status:
- Delivery
2015 - First Quarter Update
New member
-
Train and support Age UK Sutton Dementia Champions
By having Dementia Champions we can easily facilitate Dementia Friends sessions for staff and volunteers:
- Dementia Champions can also input into the creation/editing of training processes and manuals so that dementia awareness is part of the induction of new staff, trustees and volunteers.
- Having a Dementia Champion at a senior level (Senior Management) means strategic objectives, policies and over-arching organisational values can incorporate dementia-friendly outcomes
- Dementia Champions can lead the assessment of services and support in adapting them to meet the needs of people with dementia and their carers.
- Dementia Champions can link with other organisations, clubs and groups in Sutton to deliver Dementia Friends sessions and help in making Sutton a dementia-friendly community.
- Status:
- Delivery
2015 - Second Quarter Update
New member
-
Adapting our services, programmes and practices to be dementia friendly
Ensuring that new programmes, services and activities we develop (whether by ourselves or in conjunction with other organisations) are dementia-friendly and accessible
Assessing our current menu of services to identify areas of improvement in terms of being dementia-friendly
Ensuring Age UK Sutton-organised events are open and accessible to people living with dementia and their carers
- Status:
- Planning
2015 - Second Quarter Update
New member