GrumbleSmiles

Pills

Posted on May 3, 2015 by john graham

Ever since I have been writing this blog, “pills” have been a regularly recurring theme and Pilly Galore has been a character that has featured in many of my posts. Pills are a daily feature of many older people’s lives as we all attempt to stave off the ravages of old age. Indeed the older you get it seems the more pills you take.

The slideshow below captures the images that I have used to illustrate this issue.

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A multi billion pound industry has grown up around the delivery of medication. GPs spend a large part of their day giving out these pills. The Government, through taxation, foots the bill for the majority of the cost through the issue of “free prescriptions”.

In many cases there is evidence to suggest that either the pills are not taken correctly or not needed at all. There is also a history of research being published which is then contradicted by new research, as shown by my last two posts on Pills which can be found by clicking on “PILLS” in the TAG CLOUD.

You would have to wonder in the austere times ahead of us whether we might all benefit from taking a lot less pills. Old people wouldn’t worry so much about whether they have taken their pills and GPs could spend much more time on promoting healthy lifestyles. Of course the pharmaceutical industry would be devastated by this news which is why it will probably never happen!!!

1 Comment

“Old Paper Boys”

Posted on April 19, 2015 by john graham

A rattle of the letterbox caused me to look out of the front window, only to see a smart new car parked outside our door. Two older gentlemen were walking off in opposite directions delivering the local free newspaper to all the houses up and down the street.

I rarely look at the paper, it’s full of local adverts and pages of houses for sale. Occasionally I use the paper to light the fire but most of the time it goes straight into the bin for recycling.

Still, somebody must read it and buy something, otherwise the advertisers wouldn’t advertise.

Meanwhile, the paper is keeping a few journalists and printers busy every week. Also a small army of elderly delivery “boys” are getting plenty of exercise and earning some useful pin money. The good news for older paper boys is that the dogs that used to greet them when they were young are also a little older and more friendly than they used to be.

We need a lot more job opportunities like this for older people. Getting out and about with a friend, being paid to keep fit in the fresh air and having the dignity of a job in later life.

Let’s hope the internet doesn’t make them redundant.

Posted in SMILES | 3 Comments

“Same Old, Same Old 1”

Posted on April 14, 2015 by john graham

My blog posts have thinned out in the last few months because it is hard to think of new things to say about the same old issues. It seems like no-one is listening, or if they do hear, perhaps no-one cares. Here are some examples of recurring headlines:-

“Stop rushed visits to sick and elderly, carers told”

Times, 5th March 2015

This is a commentary about domiciliary care which 470,000 people in England receive, via funding through social services.

Domiciliary care was the bridge between hospital and home. A way, with early intervention, of preventing people going into hospital unnecessarily. Equally important a way of enabling people to be discharged quickly from acute hospital care and still receive some support.

Over the last 10 years, this service has quietly been withdrawn due to the twin pressures placed on the service by increasing numbers of older people and austerity measures.

It started with domiciliary support being limited to ‘critical and substantial’ cases. Thereafter, visits were frequently reduced to 15 minute time slots – now in some cases that has become 5 minute visits! Between April 2010 and March 2013, funding for social care fell by 8%.

Funding is reduced, hospital admissions rise and beds are blocked by patients who cannot return home without support. Meanwhile other Government funded organisations charged with looking after the quality of care for older people, give a chorus of impotent advice:-

The Care Quality Commission, Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care, points out the obvious – “choosing between a bath and breakfast because staff dont have enough time, is not safe caring”.
The National Institute for Health Care Excellent issued new guidance suggesting home help calls last at least half and hour.
The Watchdog Healthwatch England says it will challenge Local Authorities who do not meet the new benchmark (of half hour visits).

Care in the community is rapidly becoming:

Posted in ELDERLY UK POLICY | 1 Comment

“Wonder Porridge”

Posted on April 12, 2015 by john graham

I do not normally look in the Journal of the American Medical Association for recipes about healthy living, but obviously I should have.

They reported on a study at Harvard School of Public Health which looked at the eating habits of 100,000 Americans over a 14 year period. In that time, a quarter of the participants died – my guess that was from over consumption of burgers, French fries and donuts 🙂

The good news is that those who ate more wholegrain lived longer. For every ounce of wholegrain you eat a day the study showed you will achieve a 5% drop in mortality. This is the equivalent of a small bowl of porridge a day.

The even better news is I already eat porridge so I am on the right track.

By my reckoning, if I manage to eat 20 bowls of porridge a day I could live forever.

Posted in SMILES | Tagged "Breakfast" | 1 Comment

” More Age Rage “

Posted on March 26, 2015 by john graham

Two months ago I wrote a couple of posts on pensioners in Sheffield protesting about cuts to free travel. (see “Protesting Generation” by clicking on January 2015 in the Archive)

Now on the 23rd March at a rally in London organised by Age UK the prime Minister came along hoping to woo some friendly grey voters and get some positive pre-election publicity. How wrong can you be?

The pensioner audience were in no mood for politician platitudes and evasive answers. Mr Cameron had an uncomfortable reception. Faced with questions about the NHS and cuts in social care, his answers were greeted with jeering and derision.

The result was a front page headline in yesterdays Times ” Cameron heckled by angry pensioners “

Sadly, on the previous page you can see Age UK’s own report of the event which is a watered down version of what transpired.

Age UK don’t do AGE RAGE even if their pensioners do !

Posted in GRUMBLES | Tagged Age UK | 1 Comment

A rallying call for a great place to grow older

Posted on March 26, 2015 by john graham

This is a post that I have taken from the Age UK blog. It starts with a nice publicity shot taken outside the Houses of Parliament to promote a rally to celebrate the joys of later life.

Read the Age UK blog first, then see my next post which comments on the reception that the Prime Minister got when he attended 🙂

2 Comments

“Kitchen Comforts”

Posted on March 8, 2015 by john graham

Redecorating the kitchen with a wifely makeover, a clear-out of all the cupboards and drawers; the cupboards where things fell out when you opened the door; the drawers that would not open because of something stuck at the back.

Where did all this stuff come from? The back of the cupboards is the resting place for almost-empty jars or just-past or long-since past sell-by date cans. The kind that Captain Scott might have been forced to eat, but we keep “just in case”. Impulse buys that didn’t turn out to be impulse eats. The second of the “buy one get one free” offers, when you only wanted one.

Then there is the “never know when you might want one drawer” full of screwdrivers, paperclips, note pads, assorted pens, torches that don’t work and left over batteries.

The “clear anything and everything cupboard” under the sink. The thick bleach, the thin bleach, the glasses cleaner, the window cleaner, the silver polish, the Brasso, the wall tile cleaner and the floor cleaner. Then there’s the shoe polish – black, brown and natural – all multiplied by five. Never finish polish off completely before buying a new one, otherwise you might end up with dirty shoes on the very day you’re going for a job interview.

I haven’t even mentioned the cupboards of technical stuff like saucepans and cake tins; jars and jugs; spoons and forks and forks and spoons; big knives; little knives; serrated knives; cheese knives; sharp knives and blunt knives. Oh and foil, yards and yards of aluminium foil. We could wrap up the moon!

P.s now it’s all cleared out and tidy, the cupboard doors open and close, the drawers slide in and out. All ready for filling up again!

Posted in SMILES | Tagged Clutter | 1 Comment

ExtraCare Traditions 9 — Going for Gold

Posted on March 3, 2015 by john graham

This blog follows on from earlier posts on the subject of ExtraCare Traditions. They can be found by clicking on “EXTRACARE TRADITIONS” in the TAG CLOUD.

The common thread that runs through all of the work at ExtraCare was the theme of “activities”. It wasn’t that everyone had to participate, but our aim was to provide such a range of opportunities that everyone could find something to do. Although we regularly gave prizes and awards for the activities, participation was focused on fun rather than educational achievement.

The 1992 Sports Day kicked off a lot of sporting activities which are covered in my post “ExtraCare Traditions 3”. It was followed in 1994 by the celebration of a much wider range of activities in the Elderflower Festival which is commented on more fully in “ExtraCare Traditions 4”.

Eventually we built on these activities to the point where there were 82 different activities that it was possible to take part in, in ExtraCare. To record this, we came up with the concept of “Books of Life”, which created for residents a diary of the things they took part in complete with photographs. Most residents took part in only a few activities but some made it a challenge to take part in as many things as possible.

To celebrate this we gave out Gold medals to all the residents who completed all 82 activities. This became known as Going for Gold. Every year, residents who completed the Going for Gold challenge, were asked to submit their Books of Life and these were then judged by a celebrity panel.

The prize for the first medal winners was Tea at the Dorchester Hotel. Subsequently, thanks to the link we had with the Dorchester Hotel, many other residents were able to enjoy their teas.

The first big prize we had as a Going for Gold award was a trip to the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006. 15 residents, who had all completed the award, spent a week in Australia including a visit to Sydney.

The following year the award was a trip to Las Vegas where they mightily impressed a group of American seniors who were attending a conference on ageing. They also had a lot of fun playing the slot machines 🙂

Tagged "ExtraCare Traditions" | 3 Comments

“Equity Release Conundrum”

Posted on February 26, 2015 by john graham

This follows from my previous blog.

Equity Release should be an answer to people’s prayers. Having saved all your working life to buy a house, you should have a nest egg if you need it later in life.

But unfortunately it is not that simple.

On the face of it, it should be easy to raise money against the equity in your house, and equity release companies will tell you that it is. You can have cash and stay in your home. Even better you have nothing to pay until you sell your home or die.

The trouble is that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Most companies will only lend you a small percentage of the current value of your home – around 40% is the best you can get, because they rely on the remaining value to pay their fees and the cost of the loan. These are generally twice as high as a normal fixed rate mortgage. Currently 6.3% compared to 3.3%. The higher cost is to cover the fact that there are no repayments and the uncertainty of when and whether they will get their loan fully repaid.

The other big catch is the “early repayment charge”, which is triggered if you decide to sell your house – typically if you go into a care home. These charges can be very high, without any obvious justification.

Equity release acquired a bad name 20 or 30 years ago for miss-selling and little has been done to improve the situation since then. It still seems like an expensive option. Nonetheless, last year equity release lending reached a record high of £1.4 billion according to the Equity Release Council, up 29% from 2013.

Many older people who use equity release are asset rich and income poor and if they need additional money, it may be their only option to raise cash. Sadly lenders seem to be taking advantage of this.

The equity release market is opening up rapidly with the number of new financial products nearly doubling in the last year. That should be good news for the consumer.

It could release billions of pounds for better care or it could be a new scandal in the making.

Posted in Care Funding | Tagged Equity Release | 1 Comment

“Equity Release Unreleased”

Posted on February 24, 2015 by john graham

I have long argued that most older people have the financial solution to a better old age in their own hands.

(See my earlier blogs related to this by clicking on “EQUITY RELEASE” in the TAG CLOUD).

People of 65 own nearly £1 trillion in the value of their homes and nearly 80% of older people are home owners.

BUT, and there are lots of buts :-

BUT most people want to stay in their homes;
BUT moving is traumatic in later life;
BUT I can’t get at my money;
BUT why should I pay for care;
BUT I want to leave a legacy for my children;
BUT where can I move to that is better;
BUT I am ok for the moment;
BUT I don’t know how much I need in future;
BUT I cannot insure for care ;
BUT the Government says it will cap care costs;
BUT the Government says I can keep my home;
BUT Equity Release is expensive.

It is all these BUTS that are creating a blockage in the social care system for older people. Failure to solve the reservations mean that people hang on at home until a crisis occurs – usually ill health. At that point, other people take over :-

Relatives maybe who care, cope for a while;
a GP who applies sticking plaster prescriptions;
Hospitals who may cure your immediate health condition;
Social Services who only, if they have to, will pop in for a few minutes a day;
The final step is your home is sold from underneath you to pay for care.

Best not to travel that path, though many do, falsely pressured by politicians’ promises that you and your house are safe in their hands. Politicians won’t tell you the truth for fear of losing your vote, but the final BUT is that as an 80 year old home owner, you are on your own.

Better to be proactive and use the value of your home to secure yourself a better future.

But is Equity Release an answer ?

See my next blog.

Posted in Care Funding | Tagged Equity Release | 1 Comment