New Goals for Elderly Health & Independence in Croydon

28th-AprilThe percentage of elderly people in Croydon is to “rise significantly” over the next 10 years.  A new report states that as  a fact the Borough needs to come to terms with.

The strategy plan for the area says anyone reading it will realise just how serious the situation will become.

The need to create healthy social communities and lessen the gap between elderly and young people has also been featured in the local press such as the Croydon Citizen.

The paper says it’s an important task to be dealt with on all levels.

Organisations such as AgeUK and Contact the Elderly are organising different social events to involve the ‘elders’  living in Croydon.

The Council and borough’s NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) are also being proactive.

They’re attempting to find alternative ways of handling health and independence issues for elderly.

This is being done by co-hosting a series of events to give local residents the opportunity to say what they feel can be done to improve the health and independence for elderly people.

East London Lines went to one of the meetings held in Central Croydon to find out what the main issues are.

The meeting was organised in a round table discussion format.

One important issue highlighted was a need to maintain the independence of people living alone and feeling isolated.

laerk and Qian 2 ELL

Improving health and independence for Croydon’s growing and significant senior citizens. Pic: Qianru Wu & Laerke Nielsen

Discussion centred on how to acquire quick access to equipment that can help the elderly maintain their mobility. This results in better health and enjoyment of ‘life values.’

New social media enabling tablet technology such as the iPad was regarded as having the potential for connecting people and improving communication.

The aim was to improve social awareness of the surrounding neighbourhood.

These types of local support were backed by Paul Young the CCG representative.

Paul expressed the positive feedback they had received from GPs’ home visits in emergency cases.

Other participants expressed a wish for GPs to do home visits more regularly.

Overall there was a strong agreement on social activity. Communication was repeatedly mentioned as a key factor.

Tony told us: “The milkman became a symbolic topic at our table. If the milk bottles were still standing there after two days or even one, the milkman would know that something was wrong and call for help.”

Feedback will be sent to everyone attending the three sessions and the final commissioning proposal will be published on Croydon’s local council website later on this year.

If you are curious for more comments about participants, you can find out more below.

 

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