AGE UK UPDATE – 9 APRIL 2020:

Dear Kevan,

During the COVID-19 epidemic, Age UK will be providing you with a brief, weekly email with resources and advice that you can share with older constituents. This week’s email will focus on safeguarding and access to treatment issues during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Safeguarding advice

All of your older constituents, people who have underlying health conditions, or are considered vulnerable, are being asked to stay inside for the foreseeable future. Although we typically think of the home as a safe place, for some people being at home, with limited contact with the outside world, can increase their risk of experiencing abuse or neglect. You may have already seen that calls to domestic abuse helplines have risen 25% since the Government asked everyone to stay at home. We know that people of any age can suffer domestic abuse, and in 2018/19 we had 655 inquiries on the issue through our own adviceline.

This is why we have provided advice for all local Age UKs on how to make their volunteers aware of this risk. This information, which we have attached, can be shared more widely with other voluntary organisations in your constituency, should you wish to do so. Crucially it also provides information about the appropriate limitations of a volunteer’s role, which is vital at a time when resources among charities up and down the UK are stretched to breaking point.

If you are worried a constituent or someone you know is at risk of abuse or neglect you can speak with:

  • Age UK Advice Line (8am –7pm 7 days a week) 0800 678 1174
  • Adult Social Care at your local council
  • Your GP or other NHS health providers
  • Hourglass helpline: 0808 808 8141
  • The Police – You can call the local police on the 101 non-emergency number or call 999 immediately in an emergency

Staying at home

Many of those over 70 will be social-distancing or shielding alone. If you have older constituents, friends or family that you are concerned about at this time, they may benefit from our telephone befriending service. You can find out more about the service, and promote it on your Twitter account, here: https://twitter.com/ageukcampaigns/status/1244603300479205376

If you aren’t already in touch with them, and want to contact your local Age UK to find out what they are doing to respond to the crisis, you can find them here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/ (Please be advised that many local Age UKs have had severe disruptions to their services, and as such some information displayed on their website about the services or activities provided may now be out of date.)

Your constituents’ human rights during COVID-19

You may have seen the worrying media reports that some care homes and doctors surgeries are contacting the ‘sickest’ patients and asking them to fill in Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) forms in response to the COVID-19 crisis. This is a deeply concerning approach and will no doubt shock many older people and their families.

We believe that decisions about treatment should always be made on a case by case basis through honest discussion between doctors, patients and their families that factor in the risks, benefits, and people’s wishes. There is no reason to abandon this long-established good practice now; in fact, the current health emergency makes it more critical than ever that we keep it.

The fact that someone is in need of care and support, in a care home or their own home, should not be used as a proxy for their health status, nor blanket policies applied – for example, over whether they should be admitted to hospital. To make such decisions without considering either an older person’s needs or their capacity to benefit from hospital treatment would be discriminatory and unfair.

The National Medical Director and the Chief Nursing Officer have written to all NHS Trusts, GP Practices and providers of community health services to underline that blanket policies based on age, medical condition or disability are not appropriate:  https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/wp-content/uploads/sites/52/2020/04/maintaining-standards-quality-of-care-pressurised-circumstances-7-april-2020.pdf

If you come across issues relating to DNR in your constituency, please contact your local and national Age UK for information and advice on how to proceed.

 

 

AGE UK UPDATE – 30 MARCH 2020:

We are continually updating our website to ensure information and advice is available to older people, their families and people in the community wanting to help their neighbours. More information is here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/

We have developed a neighbourly volunteering offer. This encourages people to help support their elderly neighbours who are staying at home during the epidemic, and is permitted within the Government’s most recent guidance: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/neighbourly-volunteering/

Local Age UK’s are responding to the Government’s announcements on Monday and the latest guidance and are doing their best to support the older people in their area who need their help. Some are still able to operate essential support services, but many are re-working what they can offer, this includes assisting many volunteers who will be taking up neighbourly volunteering within their one outing per day allowance announced on Monday.

If you would like to see what help you can give to your local Age UK, please contact them here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/

To help us best serve and protect older people with the greatest need in this crisis, we would like to see GBG (largest provider of DBS checks across LAUK network) gain agreement from Disclosure and Barring Service (Home Office) to permit digital submission of ID verification for DBS checks. This will allow charities like Age UK to continue safe practices when using volunteers in some key services. If you would like to raise this issue with Ministers please contact us for more information.

And finally, being asked to stay at home can be more of a worrying time for some than others. For more information on safeguarding during this worrying time, please share our latest information and advice with your constituents. This includes information on how to avoid scams, and how to deal with an abusive partner, former partner or family member: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/staying-safe-and-well-at-home/staying-safe/

 

AGE UK UPDATE – 26 MARCH 2020:

Age UK have been in touch to provide an update about the information and support they are providing:

Dear Kevan,

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, Age UK will be providing you with a brief, weekly email with information and advice that you can share with older constituents, how you can help during the crisis, and updates on Age UK’s work during this important time.

Helping your older constituents – information you can share

We are continually updating our website to ensure information and advice is available to older people, their families and people in the community wanting to help their neighbours. More information is here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/

We have developed a neighbourly volunteering offer. This encourages people to help support their elderly neighbours who are staying at home during the epidemic, and is permitted within the Government’s most recent guidance: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/get-involved/volunteer/neighbourly-volunteering/

Local Age UK’s are responding to the Government’s announcements on Monday and the latest guidance and are doing their best to support the older people in their area who need their help. Some are still able to operate essential support services, but many are re-working what they can offer, this includes assisting many volunteers who will be taking up neighbourly volunteering within their one outing per day allowance announced on Monday.

If you would like to see what help you can give to your local Age UK, please contact them here: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/services/in-your-area/

And finally, being asked to stay at home can be more of a worrying time for some than others. For more information on safeguarding during this worrying time, please share our latest information and advice with your constituents. This includes information on how to avoid scams, and how to deal with an abusive partner, former partner or family member: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/staying-safe-and-well-at-home/staying-safe/