We caught up with Dave Bradshaw, Leader of Sandwell Advocacy, and OPAAL Trustee, to hear from him in his own words, why independent advocacy has such an important place in the lives of older people. Here’s what he had to say. “I’d always been interested in community politics; I just wanted to stand up for … Continued
We have been talking recently with a woman in her late 50s, about how the recent pandemic has affected her in her working life. Here’s what she had to say: “It is as if older people have to sacrifice themselves. And as if only care and medical issues are our concerns, rather than also continuing … Continued
Did you know that third of people with dementia in the UK (288,000) live in care homes? And those in care homes usually have more severe dementia than those living in our community. Behavioural and psychological symptoms, often including agitation, can make it challenging to care for these people. Person-centred care, where each individual has … Continued
The Older People’s Advocacy Alliance (OPAAL) and the National Coalition of Advocacy Schemes are undertaking a modest piece of research to identify some of the most disempowering aspects of the Coronavirus restrictions since March 2020 for older people. Questions that the research will be exploring will include: Ø How many people (informal advocates) found … Continued
This week has been Trustee Appreciation week – so we thought we’d take a moment to thank our lovely Trustees who do so much to support us in our efforts to help older people live the life that they choose. But more than that – we are looking for more Trustees to help us with … Continued
For Advocacy Awareness week, we have been reaching out to members of the advocacy community to hear from them first-hand about; what they do, what it means to them, and what advocacy delivers for the people that they work with. This is Juanita Williams, an Independent Advocate @SandwellAdvocacy. She works with young carers, those struggling … Continued
Here in her own words is the daughter of Maggie Wright, who has been subjected to isolation in her care home, supposedly for her own protection for many months. “My mum Maggie has been living in nursing/residential care homes for 16 years now since she was aged 60. She has three children and … Continued
We are still celebrating all things about our wonderful eyesight as part of #NEHW. We are reminding everyone that over 50% of eyesight loss is AVOIDABLE! So what should we all be doing to ensure our valuable vision is maintained? Here are the 5 top tips from the RNIB – who of course know a … Continued
It’s something that we keep talking about here at OPAAL – because we know how important it is; digital Inclusion for older people. We know that those aged 65 and over are far less likely to be online than younger people. The Office of National Statistics holds data on the numbers of internet users in … Continued
Nobody will have escaped the impact of the loss of many hundreds of thousands of volunteers, who, because they were aged over 70, were asked to stay at home as coronavirus began to sweep the nation. I had been furloughed from my part time job, so in order to help plug the gap, I like … Continued