CAFE Survey — PETS

Posted on June 13, 2013 by john graham

This is continued feedback on the CAFE group Introduction survey.   (see previous posts by clicking on ” CAFE Project ” in the Tag Cloud )

Pet

Just less than 20% of the group have pets which is rather a surprise to me.   I expected it to be quite a bit higher.    I wonder how this compares to pet ownership in the general population ?

Pets can provide good company in later life and for dogs especially – a reason to get out and to exercise as well as an opportunity to meet people.    At the same time they can be an expense in terms of vets bills and also pet food is not cheap.

 

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CAFE survey — ACCOMMODATION

Posted on June 12, 2013 by john graham

This is continued feedback on the CAFE group Introduction survey.   (see previous posts by clicking on ” CAFE Project ” in the Tag Cloud )

Accommodation

68% of the group live in a house, which probably was their family home.  Given that now most  are married or single and are over the age of 60, it suggests the majority are likely to be under occupying their house.   This is a significant issue in terms of the direction of current Government policy.   For renters it could mean that they would be hit by the “bedroom tax”, if it were extended to older people.    For home owners, they probably have a financial nest egg which they could cash in, to pay for a better lifestyle in their old age, provided they were prepared to downsize to smaller accommodation.

Footnote :- it may be useful to do a housing options appraisal ( YouTube discussion )

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CAFE survey — EMPLOYMENT

Posted on June 11, 2013 by john graham

This is continued feedback on the CAFE group Introduction survey.     ( See previous posts by clicking on ” CAFE Project” in the Tag Cloud. )

71% of participants described themselves as retired.    Only 11% were employed full-time or part-time.     50% were aged under 70 and therefore potentially many more people could  or may have to work in future as Retirement Age rises.    Always provided the economic outlook improves and jobs are available.

Employment

Now that the formal Retirement Age has been abolished, it is likely that more and more older people will continue to work beyond the 60 /65 cut- off that previously existed.   This is further reinforced by the State Pension Age which is to be progressively put back, probably as far as 70 eventually.   Currently the Tax system and some pension rules discourage this, but I expect that to change over the years ahead.

Footnote :-  An App that identifies skills and matches them to opportunities for older workers may be useful.

 

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CAFE survey — DEMOGRAPHICS

Posted on June 10, 2013 by john graham

This is the beginning of the first GrumbleSmiles project examining the idea of Coventry as an Age Friendly City.  These are the results of our survey of our first group our “expert” explorers.    More results will be published in subsequent posts.

They comprised forty six older people who live in Coventry.  They were self-selected and so were not intended to be representative of the  true demographic of the 40,000+  older people living in Coventry.   By virtue of the fact that the events were held at the Technology Park, it seems reasonable to assume that the participants are likely to be more active, more connected and more computer literate, and also more healthy.

Preliminary comments on the graph results are entirely my own and will hopefully be further qualified by comments from the “expert” participants.

The age profile  of the participants is slanted toward the younger end of the  older people spectrum, probably because the location of the venue  was not easily accessible.  Therefore older less mobile people were under represented.

Footnote:-    We must be able to find the age profile  of Coventry’s older population.

Gender

A one third male / two thirds female split corresponds with experience elsewhere, especially for the younger age range in the profile.

Marital Status

Half the participants were married with a current partner.  However, half were single, which is probably a significant factor in terms of loneliness and isolation.

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GrumbleSmiles CAFE Project – Introduction

Posted on June 3, 2013 by john graham

This gallery contains 7 photos.

GrumbleSmiles is a Charitable Trust whose primary aim is to develop new solutions to social isolation amongst older people. The objective of our new project is to establish a social network within Coventry that will enable members to connect and help … Continue reading →

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“A Stroke of Bad Luck” – a health ladder

Posted on June 2, 2013 by john graham

I have written a lot since starting this blog about research into the right foods for maintaining a healthy diet in later life.   I have a strong self-interest in it, even though I am certainly not a health food fanatic, nor someone who can stick to a diet for long.   Gradually as the years have advanced, so have the pounds.   Advice about keeping fit and exercise also largely falls on deaf ears.

So today I found a new piece of research from Leeds University, that is particularly unwelcome —– eat a bowl of bran a day to avoid a stroke.   I am sure it is good advice that I should be reminded of every time I wake up, but have the researchers eaten bran themselves ?    I guess not, otherwise they would know why people don’t eat it !    It is like eating cardboard, which must be why so few people keep it up for long.  Little children stop eating it after about 6 months or certainly as soon as they can get down from the table by themselves.

The important message behind this research is that 150,000 people in the UK suffer a stroke each year.   Most of these are over 65 and although only one in five people die from strokes, many others are left with disabilities.

The key issue is to have a regular intake of fibre.   My Dad worked at ICI Fibres but I think they were plastic 🙂

It is not so much “All Bran” as no bran for me.   Fruit is a good alternative.  (Click on “FRUITFUL RESEARCH” in the TAG CLOUD).

The other option mentioned by the researchers is half a can of baked beans a day.   Trouble for me is that I usually accompany that with sausage, bacon, egg and fried bread, which I guess defeats the object !

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“Don’t Fall Asleep”

Posted on May 28, 2013 by john graham

My friend Pilly Galore would be delighted to read that GPs are continuing to prescribe lots of sleeping pills to elderly people.  (See my earlier blogs by clicking in the TAG CLOUD on PILLS).

Around 10 million sleeping pill prescriptions are issued every year.   I think it is the “go away” pill for GPs who don’t take the time to find out why people are not sleeping.   The problem is that these pills don’t just make you sleep, they can also lead to increased falls and fractures.   They are intended as a short-term intervention but up to 30% of patients remain on them for the long-term.

Two thirds of insomnia sufferers have never had their drugs reviewed, nor have they been offered alternative treatments such as relaxation techniques, sleep education or psychological therapy.

dont fall asleep copy (2)

80% of insomnia patients, half of whom were over 65, rated their quality of sleep while taking sleeping pills was bad or very bad and half reported suffering from tiredness during the day.

The NHS spends £50 million every year on sleeping pills !

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“Don’t Fall Asleep”

Posted on May 28, 2013 by john graham

My friend Pilly Galore would be delighted to read that GPs are continuing to prescribe lots of sleeping pills to elderly people.  (See my earlier blogs by clicking in the TAG CLOUD on PILLS).

Around 10 million sleeping pill prescriptions are issued every year.   I think it is the “go away” pill for GPs who don’t take the time to find out why people are not sleeping.   The problem is that these pills don’t just make you sleep, they can also lead to increased falls and fractures.   They are intended as a short-term intervention but up to 30% of patients remain on them for the long-term.

Two thirds of insomnia sufferers have never had their drugs reviewed, nor have they been offered alternative treatments such as relaxation techniques, sleep education or psychological therapy.

dont fall asleep copy (2)

80% of insomnia patients, half of whom were over 65, rated their quality of sleep while taking sleeping pills was bad or very bad and half reported suffering from tiredness during the day.

The NHS spends £50 million every year on sleeping pills !

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“Pensions Black Hole”

Posted on May 26, 2013 by john graham

When I left university in 1979, my first job was working for a Local Authority in Nottingham.    It was a great job to start out my working career but in my early twenties, I certainly was not thinking about retirement.    Luckily I was enrolled in the public sector pension scheme without me really realising it.    I was not hoodwinked, it was a paternalistic gesture and almost everybody accepted joining, even though you paid a small amount of your salary into the pension each month.    Now 40 years later I am glad I did, it pays me £10,000 a year!   ( for ten years of hard work — not a great return, but better than a kick in the pants ! )

BUT   —-  I am soon to become a pariah.   A burden on society.    Nobody told me that the Government who promised me the pension, was not actually saving any money towards it.  Now the current working generation of taxpayers are going to have to pick up the tab.    I may not be able to walk down the street without feeling guilty.

From April 2011 to April 2012, the total cost of the state pensions was £8 billion.  Obviously I don’t receive all of it.    By 2017/18 this figure will have risen to £16.2 billion.    I am in for a BONANZA !

I got these figures from the Government Office of Budget Responsibility.    Sadly this new office was only formed a few years ago and before that previous Governments did not act responsibly towards pensioners.    Promising things they could not afford to pay for.

Pensions black hole copy (3)

Local Authority pensioners may well be castigated for years to come for their “gold-plated pensions”.    Unless of course the next Government raises the state retirement age to 90 and solves the problem at a stroke !

P.S.   The report that inspired this blog came from a think tank called the C.P.S. — Centre for Policy Studies, and they ominously forecast that by 2018 the full cost of public sector pensions will be £39 bilion.      Maybe the C.P.S. should really by the Crown Prosecution Service.     They could seek to convict all current public sector workers of fraudulently extracting money from the taxpayer. Retired public sector pensioners, like me, could all be prosecuted  for receiving stolen goods.

                                    HAPPY DAYS AHEAD 😀

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” Disappearing G.P.’s “

Posted on May 19, 2013 by john graham

Years ago, or maybe it is just in my rose-tinted imagination, I seem to think that if you wanted to see your Doctor, your own personal Doctor, you just turned up at the surgery and after a little wait,   …….   there he was !!!!     What is more, if you were too ill to visit the surgery, he would come out and see you in your own home !!!!     NAH I must be dreaming.

Then things got a bit busier and GP’s all huddled up in group practices.   So you did not always see your own Doctor.   Also to keep the patients in order, they appointed security guards, called receptionists, who were especially recruited for their customer-not-friendly skills.   Their main job seemed to be to hold back the tide of ill patients wanting to see the Doctor.

It wasn’t long before the hard pressed receptionists and their over-worked GP’s came up with another wheeze to keep the irritatingly ill patients at bay.   The Appointments System,  other wise known as “now see if you can get through the door”.    With this  new approach most people got better before they managed to see the Doctor.    Sadly a few didn’t make it at all.

The next big advance in patient care was the appointment of Locum Doctors  to cover out-of-hours calls.    They were selected because of their complete lack of knowledge of the patients.     This enables them to take an entirely independent view of whether you are wasting the Doctors time.   If not they will frequently send you off to A&E, which must partly explain the significant rise in people turning up at hospitals unannounced.

Then the Government stepped in with a big “we must cut the waiting time boot”, and banned appointment lists.   Now all you had to do was ring up first thing in the morning and ask to see the Doctor.    Along with the other 550 ill people who wanted to see the Doctor on the same day and were also ringing in.   After hanging on the phone for an hour or so, you eventually got through to the security guard, who told you that all the appointments were taken and you should ring back first thing tomorrow.

Disapearing GPs copy

This system didn’t work very well, so they have come up with a new idea.    It is called   ……..

An appointment system !

But at least now the GP’s have the weekends off and are not disturbed in the night.  Eventually patients will learn not to get ill at these inconvenient times .

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