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News

Older People to Benefit From £796,000 Grant

The health and wellbeing of older people will be significantly improved after Poole was one of just 19 councils in England to successfully bid for special funding.

The money from the Department for Health will be spent on radically changing health and social care systems to enable older people to maintain healthy lifestyles and prevent being admitted as an emergency to hospital.

The successful bid by the Borough of Poole in conjunction with Poole Primary Care Trust and a host of other public and voluntary bodies centred on encouraging older people to take the decisions on the services they want to see developed in Poole Old Town and Parkstone.

Older people in these localities will be able to decide whether to spend up to almost £800,000 on a wide range of services. These could include increased home helps, district nurses and exercise classes plus the development of new initiatives.

It means older people take control and influence far beyond that which has been traditionally offered and comes as a consequence of the consultation that Health and Social Services have been undertaking with older people over the last 12 months.

Cllr Elaine Atkinson, Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Community Support, Borough of Poole, said: “This is fantastic news as it means so many more older people will benefit from existing projects and new opportunities, and more importantly make the decisions themselves on how the money should be spent. The focus on these two localities will represent  a major shift in how health and social care services have been delivered.”

Jean Baker, a member of Poole Older People’s Strategy Group, said: “Having undertaken research on the needs across the whole of Poole, the Old Town and Parkstone have emerged as those areas which are initially to be targeted. The project will be accompanied by an extensive evaluation exercise which will provide lessons for how this new and exciting method of placing older people at the heart of decision making can be cascaded, not only throughout the rest of Poole but also  throughout the country.”

Sarah Elliott, Director of Service Delivery, Poole Primary Care Trust, said: “This is wonderful news for our older people in Poole and will enable us to extend a number of services our older people have said are important to them such as managing their medicines, getting help to keep themselves well and reducing risks which lead to falls and fractures.”

Rachael Mills, Media Relations Manager, Communications, Borough of Poole tel 01202 633295