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OCTOBER 2007
Fit For The Future
Key trends in consultation feedback
This was an imortant meeting in which we have been involved as "stakeholders" from the very beginning. It was strange for us to be asked to consult on the future of maternity services in East Sussex. However we were soon to learn how much more complex the changes being proposed were and why protest marches and petitions were made. Closing wards and moving facilities has caused enormous anxiety with the fear that it will lead to closures elsewhere. A great deal of attention was focused on the Eastbourne and Conquest Hospitals. At times the Meridian Forum wondered what this had to do with them.
We have since learnt that the Fit for the Future Consultation is now beginning in West Sussex which will include the Brighton Hospitals. A continuing trend is that we will all be expected to travel to any hospital that has a specialist provision. It might have been less confusing if the consultation had taken place all over Sussex at the same time. Although the up-grading and down-grading of hospitals appears to make sense it leads one to wonder what impact this will have on staffing levels and emergency services. There will be less choice and an increase in travel costs.
However we put our fears forward and can only hope that they will be considered. Public meetings were held in all areas, ours was at the Hillcrest Centre. I hope you were there.
NOVEMBER 2007
Social Networking For The Silver Surfer
Created by Saga Group, the insurance and holiday company, Saga Zone is the new social networking site for the over-50s. The site, which has been running for a trial period of four months, has over 13,000 users already - a number which is set to increase dramatically now that the site is officially open.
Andrew Goodsell, the group chief executive of Saga, said yesterday: "The internet is a place where the over-50s are thriving. Saga Zone is a place where they can mingle and chat about issues important to them, be they amusing or serious."
Contrary to popular belief, statistics issued by Ofcom, the communications regulator, in August suggest that so called silver surfers are devotees of the computer screen.
A poll of 15,740 people aged over 50 in the UK showed that the "grey pound" was helping to drive the online economy. Nearly three quarters of respondents had bought flights online while the same percentage had bought books over the internet and 67% had bought electrical items.
Never too old to surf
- 50% of over-55s have access to the web
- 7% look for love online
- 22% play games such as bingo
- 43% regularly buy and sell on eBay
The over-50s account for nearly one third of total time on the internet in Britain!
"It's a myth that older people are put off by technology," said Nick Parker, deputy editor of the Oldie magazine. "Our experience is that older people are very effective users of the internet."
Sites such as Friends Reunited have proved popular among older surfers. Although there are no age limits on networks such as Facebook or MySpace, the sites are heavily populated by younger users. So far the oldest user of Saga Zone is 87.
If you are interested in finding out what all the fuss is about, or would like to sign up to Saga Zone CLICK HERE to go directly to the Saga Zone website!
Caring Choices
Who will pay for long term care?
This is the name of a conference recently held in London by the King's Fund, an organisation which undertakes research into health and social care concerns. About eighty people attended this conference, the last of a series held across the country.
We were asked to consider 'the three big questions':
1. Who should pay for personal care?
2. How do we encourage people to contribute to care costs?
3. How do we support the provision of informal care?
These are questions that are being looked at by governments across the world, and the UK government acknowledges that the funding system for long-term care has been considered unfair and inadequate for many years. Despite some modest changes in parts of the country, especially Scotland, the system is regarded as unfair, too complex and inadequately funded.
There are different funding arrangements for the three kinds of long-term care - informal care given by relatives or friends, home care given by paid staff and Care Homes, divided into 'nursing' and 'residential' according to the type of care needed. The fees for these are paid for in different ways, ranging from all costs being paid for by residents, to all costs being paid for by the NHS, subject to means-testing.
There have been three recent major reports looking at these problems, and all came to the conclusion that things must change, and that more money must be put into the system somehow to pay for fairer ways of spreading the financial burden of an ageing population.
The conference I attended was well run with plenty of food for thought. When votes were taken we used state of the art gadgets (as seen on tv shows) which analysed the results instantly. The King's Fund will be bringing out another report in the New Year summarising the findings of the conferences held during this year.
