GrumbleSmiles

“Switched on Granny”

Posted on September 1, 2014 by john graham

More and more pensioners are using the internet, at least according to retirement housing developer McCarthy and Stone.

Amongst 600 older people they studied, half own tablets of the computer kind, rather than those given out by their doctor. Three quarters had a laptop or a desktop computer. 47% of the study group had a Smart Phone.

These ownership figures are very high compared the UK elderly population as a whole, which no doubt reflects the fact that people who buy McCarthy and Stone homes have downsized to buy a new home and probably have more disposable income.

So, although it is not representative of all older people, this small survey is an indication of how retirement housing and the internet can open up a new life. Talking to friends with a live video link on Skype for free; watching the world go by on YouTube video as an escape from daytime TV; chatting to family / friends and sharing photos on Facebook.

It can be a more connected world out there if you switch on.

(For other posts on this subject, click on “Technology Gap” in the Topics list).

Posted in SMILES | Tagged "Technology Gap" | 3 Comments

“More Food for Thought”

Posted on August 31, 2014 by john graham

I have written a lot about the way elderly people are malnourished in hospital but it seems like senior officials at the NHS were out to lunch at the time.

See the previous blog – Food for Thought – by clicking on June 2012 in the ARCHIVE.

Dr Liz Jones is Head of Patient Experience at the Department of Health and is responsible for policy on hospital food. Anyone with that title must risk being sacked every day. At the Age UK Later Life Conference this year, she shared some pearls of wisdom which tell you why the Department of Health is so starved of ideas on this vital issue. She said:-

“If we give them nice food, it will make them feel better” – I wonder how long it took for her reach that revelation? Judging by all the reports of malnutrition in hospitals, perhaps she should have said “If we give them any food it will make them feel better”.
“Patients need better nutritional care because if they do not eat enough they will get sicker quicker and better slower” – that’s a nice sound bite!
“Many uneaten dishes are recipes that elderly patients would not normally eat” – 30 million uneaten meals are thrown away annually. You think that would tell Dr Jones something rather more strategic than just taking Tai Curry off the menu.
“Older people are at risk of not eating enough because they had become terrified by anti-obesity campaigns” – what planet is this woman on?

Her recommendations:-

“Give elderly people unhealthy treats such as doughnuts, ice cream and chips” – presumably not all at once.
“Encourage them to eat as part of an overhaul of hospital foods” – after all the efforts of Lloyd Grossman, Hester Blumenthal and Jamie Oliver, nothing seems to have changed.

Finally the key word:-

What is missing from Dr Jones’ recipe is the nursing staff making mealtimes a priority not an interruption in their form-filling days.

Bring relatives and visitors in at lunchtimes and make mealtimes enjoyable, instead of serving up patronising platitudes.

Posted in N.H.S. | Leave a comment

“Longer House”

Posted on August 28, 2014 by john graham

Only a few days ago I was advocating a new form of house which could provide for the extended family; a several generation household instead of the fragmented family option of Granny in the downsized flat and the grown up kids in a rented waiting room, in housing limbo until the family house is sold by the parents to put deposits down on homes for the children. (See previous blog by clicking on “RETIREMENT HOUSING” in the Topics List).

I had forgotten another housing option, one which was quite common in equally austere and housing-shortaged Britain after the Second World War. The lodger was a common addition to many households as a way of supplementing income and filling a spare room. No need for a bedroom tax in those days, people automatically thought of using under-occupied rooms.

We had a succession of managers from Woolworths (Woollies) Department Store who I remember brought me sweets home. Then there were the shoe shop managers, all stepping up the shoe shop management ladder, one shop at a time. No free shoes that I can remember, but I did get to play in the Clarks shoe shop and see my feet in the X-ray machine. I remember Uncle Glyn who was a great cartoonist who drew lots of Disney characters for my bedroom wall. Then there was big David Rowlands – a Rugby player who had to duck to get through the doors in the house. I am sure he was 7’ 6” with feet as big as dinner plates.

Lodgers bring back lots of happy childhood memories. So maybe the multi-generation family long house could be extended to provide for a few lodgers.

A recent survey by LV=, the home insurer, found that twice as many homeowners are taking in lodgers to make ends meet, compared to 5 years ago. The average rent for a spare room in the Midlands was £201 for a month, in London it was £345.

P.s. My Dad used to collect insurance door to door every fortnight for the Liverpool Victoria before it became posh and unrecognisable as LV=. Now, it is all online and no friendly face calls at the door any more. Progress of a sort, but insurance is not cheaper. Nonetheless. I’ll bet LV= has a glossy, glassy, swanky HQ office and I don’t suppose their managers lodge in people’s houses anymore.

Posted in RETIREMENT HOUSING | 2 Comments

“Upsizing”

Posted on August 26, 2014 by john graham

There is a new type of housing needed to meet the changing needs of extended families.

In previous generations, the 2 or 3 bed family house was the aspiration of most people, it provided a home for a couple to have a family and gave them accommodation for twenty years until the kids grew up and left home. Then Mum and Dad were left to rattle around in their empty nest.

Now things have changed, even if the kids leave home to further their education, they often return because they cannot afford a home of their own. If Mum and Dad are really lucky, the kids may bring home a new family of their own:-) The shortage of housing; the rising cost of property; ever tightening mortgage criteria and the bedroom tax all make moving away from home more difficult.

Then of course there is Granny, who may well have a downsized home of her own, but needs some help and support from her family to stay independent.

According to the National House Building Council, 3.3 million adults aged 20-34 are living with their parents. A further 510,000 people aged 35-64 are also still living at home. There were nearly 400,000 multi-generational homes in the UK in 2011.

The current fragmented housing market is still made up of four basic house types :- family housing for the two generation household; first time buyer one bed houses for couples without children; shared flats for young single people and a pokey retirement home for Granny.

How about pooling the extended family resources to build a sort of “long house” (like native houses used to be in Borneo), one which could provide for three or even four generations? Mum and Dad downsized in their own home, Granny in the Granny flat – a live-in Nanny for the youngest generation; and the grown up kids with their own space which gradually takes over more of the accommodation as their family expands.

Probably a nightmare of family tensions on occasion, but an intergenerational mutual support system most of the time.

Posted in RETIREMENT HOUSING | 2 Comments

“Eat More Fruit & Veg 11”

Posted on August 24, 2014 by john graham

This is a continuation of the fruit and veg theme (click on the “EMFV” in the TAG CLOUD for the other posts).

There are many more vegetables, where a cupful would make up another one of your “Seven a Day”. All seem to have more nutritional value uncooked. Most possess vitamins A, C, E, K or unfathomable names – Glucosinolates, Chromium, Lycopene, Carotenoids, whose benefits seem only to be understood by dietitians.

Best just gobble them up and hope you get the combination of vitamins and nutrients right for your personal needs. I doubt you will get fat through eating copious amounts of vegetables (except potatoes) providing you lay off the salad dressing.

Posted in HEALTH | Tagged "EMFV" | 1 Comment

“Night, night sleep tight”

Posted on August 21, 2014 by john graham

The image of an older person going to bed with a cup of cocoa leaves the impression of someone who is slowing down and quietly popping off to bed after the nine o’clock news – except the news is now 10 o’clock.

No more late night clubbing, no more drinking in the pub till closing time – there don’t seem to be closing times anymore.

The cocoa may be more significant that it first appears. Research by Professor Passinetti of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, suggests that Lavado Cocoa stops clumps of proteins building up in the brain and damaging nerve cells.

Therefore, the scientists claim it could stave off Alzheimer’s disease.

So after your glass of red wine in front of the tele, don’t forget before bed:-

Posted in Dementia | Tagged research | 5 Comments

“Hungry Age”

Posted on August 19, 2014 by john graham

A recent study by the raging ageing campaign organisation AGE UK, found that nearly one million older people in Britain are skimping on meals to pay utility bills. They point out that rises in the cost of living have outpaced pensions and created hardship for many vulnerable older people.

The study also notes that more than half a million pensioners said they now rarely eat meat because of the cost.

Then with much breast beating and heart on your sleeve compassion they remind us all that “good nutrition is especially important in later life”.

What a pity there was no mention of this in the AGE UK Later Life Conference a few weeks ago. Clearly the “love later life” theme did not include:-

Posted in HEALTH | Tagged Age UK | 1 Comment

“Eat More Fruit & Veg 10”

Posted on August 17, 2014 by john graham

This is a continuation of the fruit and veg theme (click on the “EMFV” in the TAG CLOUD for the other posts).

Three heaped tablespoons of peas counts as one healthy portion, and they can accompany just about any cooked meal.

However, using the tablespoon to eat them is definitely not the thing to do. It is an art in itself to collect them with a knife and fork and lift them to your mouth without too many dropping off. Spearing them with your fork is also not allowed.

The etiquette of eating peas probably explains why children don’t include them in their list of favourite foods. Potentially resulting in increased health impairment for the rest of your life.

Posted in HEALTH | Tagged "EMFV" | 1 Comment

“The £10 GP Toe”

Posted on August 14, 2014 by john graham

In recent weeks lots of stories have been appearing in the press and on TV about the pressures put on the NHS, particularly by the increasing numbers and increasingly frail elderly population. This of course has nothing to do with the upcoming general election in a years’ time. The Government has wrapped itself in a NHS flag for the whole of this parliament and “protected” the NHS from the austerity cuts. Though cost of living increases in NHS budgets do not compensate for the growth in the elderly population.

So with a new election looming, toes are being put in the water to see what the general public will stand in terms of some degree of charges. The first toe is the idea of a £10 charge for GP visits – an American style answer.

It is a daft idea because £10 is not nearly enough to cover the cost of a visit – a drop-in visit to a GP medical centre in America this year cost $80 (£50) as you walk in through the door;
It is a daft idea because at £10 it would probably be readily accepted, even by the poorest patient. Currently they spend more than £10 in phone bills trying to get an appointment, and if they do succeed in getting through, they may still have to wait several days to see the doctor;
It is a daft idea because it would probably be so successful that for £10 the GP services would be overwhelmed with demanding patients who as “paying customers” would want value for money or a refund if they came away with no medication;
It is a daft idea because it would cost most of the £10 in administration costs to collect it;
It is a daft idea because unless you extend the charge to hospital visits as well, many people would go to A & E to save the £10. Then hospitals would be even more snarled up with older people than they are already.

Still, you can learn something from this first toe in the water – the Government is thinking of introducing charges into the NHS after the next election but they won’t admit it before then.

Posted in HEALTH | Tagged GPs | 2 Comments

“GP’s Cry for Help”

Posted on August 12, 2014 by john graham

The Chair of the British Medical Association GP Committee recently gave a warning that the family doctor system is “imploding” under the weight of more patients who are increasingly frail. Dr Nagpaul claimed they were doing 40 million more appointments than five years ago, and that they were forced into providing conveyor belt care 60 times a day. He added that surgeries are being forced to close because of funding changes, which could leave thousands of patients without a family doctor.

The problem is they are unlikely to get much sympathy from many patients who have long since lost their family doctor.

The old fashioned GP knew you well and looked after you and your family for years. Would come to your house if necessary at any time of the day or night. Always over-ran surgery times because consultations took as long as they needed to. In return they were universally respected as a pillar of the community for their vocational commitment to their profession and their patients.

This is not a nostalgic look back through rose tinted glasses. It was the reality of a trusted service over many years for the majority of people in this country.

Then all that began to disappear (see “Disappearing GP.s” by clicking on “GP’S” in the TAG CLOUD).

Group practices broke the family connection – any doctor can see you now;
Over protective receptionists and 10 minute, one issue consultations broke the family friendly service;
Deputising services ended night time calls from someone you knew;
NHS Direct became a way of by-passing GP’s altogether;
Pills were substituted for compassion;
£100,000 a year salaries destroyed the idea of vocation.

Now we have a fractured service that both GP’s and patients are unhappy with.

Posted in HEALTH | Tagged GPs | 2 Comments