Age Happy Conference Report 30 September 2019

Johanne Mears

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Contents Page Number Introduction 3 Background 4 The national context 5 Our local picture 6 Conference objectives and programme 6 Key points from presentations:

Loneliness and social isolation

The state of ageing 2019

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Summary of main topics identified from the table top discussions:

What makes Newcastle a great place to grow older?

Friendliness

Communities and neighbourhoods

Activities

Age well

Access

Appearance of city

Safe

Affordable

Diversity

Cultural opportunities

Health

SEARCH and the Elders Council What could make it even better?

Transport

Health and exercise

Housing

Information

Communication

Neighbourhoods

Community safety

Waste disposal

Access

Education and training

Intergenerational opportunities

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10 10 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13

Conclusions 13 Next steps 14 Appendix See

https://www.searchnewcastle.org.uk/index.php/news/

146-age-happy-newcastle-report

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Introduction

SEARCH should celebrate 40 years of working with older people in the west of

Newcastle was a recommendation from an Organisational Strengths review

carried out in 2017. The review was linked to a grant from the Community

Fund at the Big Lottery. It came at a time when SEARCH trustees were

questioning whether the organisation should do more to promote the voice of

older people in Newcastle.

The idea for a conference emerged;

• To celebrate 40 years of community work with older people

• To begin a discussion of life in Newcastle for the over 55s

The Community Foundation agreed to provide some funding.

SEARCH Is not the sole provider of services for older people in Newcastle and

from the outset the intention was to involve others. It was especially helpful to

have Barbara Douglas and Anne Raffle from the Elders Council involved in

planning the conference programme. SEARCH would like to thank its partners

in Chain Reaction, KeyRing and Mental Health Concern, The Elders Council,

Scotswood natural garden, The Dementia Advice centre, Healthwatch

Newcastle, Independent Age, Age UK Newcastle/Gateshead, Newcastle Carers,

Healthworks and Tyne and Wear Museums Platinum programme for their

support.

Thanks, should also go out to all the 150 delegates who attended the

conference, 75 people over 55 years of age, living in Newcastle, and 75 people

from other organisations working with older people. The contributions are

valued, and it is hoped are just a beginning.

Of note and deserving a special thanks are the two speakers Tom Scharf from

Newcastle University and Natalie Turner from the Centre for Aging Better, who

delivered interesting presentations, challenging myths and stimulating ideas.

The staff, trustees, volunteers and SEARCH strummers Ukulele group also

deserve a huge thank you for making sure the day ran smoothly, ensuring

everyone had an enjoyable experience, and the conference achieved it aims.

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Background

SEARCH grew out of the work of the Benwell Community Development Project

(CDP) in the 1970s. The CDP worked with a group of local older people who

wanted pensioners to have their own organisation in the area to advise and

support them in obtaining their rights and opposing age discrimination. The

SEARCH we know today developed from this early work and registered as a

Charity with the Charity Commission in 1979.

SEARCH continues to provide an advice and information service from Adelaide

Terrace. While this remains a significant part of the work, SEARCH also

provides and supports a range of community activities including walking, local

history, arts and crafts, music and exercise groups. More recent developments

include a merger with West End Befrienders, enabling the provision of services

to Asian and Chinese elders, and the Chain Reaction service, commissioned by

Newcastle City Council, to provide a more intensive support service for people

over 55 who are becoming socially isolated.

SEARCH has survived for over 40 years when many other organisations have

fallen by the wayside, a testament to the support received from the local

community and the effectiveness of the services. There have been and still are

financial challenges, funding from the City Council has reduced over the years

and funding from Newcastle Gateshead Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)

has been withdrawn. The harsh decision to decommission work to improve

older people’s health and wellbeing appears short-sighted given the evidence

around preventative measures reducing health service funding.

SEARCH worked tirelessly to secure funding from independent Trusts,

fundraising activities and trading. In the financial year 2018/19 it had a

turnover of just over £500,000. It currently employs, 22 permanent members

of staff and is supported by 6 trustees and 70 volunteers who have reached

and supported over 1,600 people.

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The National Context

From the Office of National Statistics (2018)

We know the UK has an ageing population.

• There are nearly 12 million people aged 65 and above in the UK.

• 5.4 million people are aged 75+,

• 1.6 million are aged 85+.

• Over 500,000 people are 90+

• 14,430 are centenarians.

By 2030 it is anticipated there will be over 21,000 centenarians and in 50 years’

time there are projected to be an additional 8.6 million people aged 65 years

and over.

• 20% of people in the UK will be aged 65 or over,

• 6.8% will be aged 75+

• 3.2% will be aged 85+.

The 85+ age group is the fastest growing and is set to double to 3.2 million by

mid-2041 and treble by 2066.

Life Expectancy

Since the start of the 19th century, the UK has seen mortality rates decline and

life expectancy increase. Babies born in 2018 are projected to have a period

life expectancy of 79.9 years old (males) and 83.4 years old (females).

However, increases in life expectancy in the UK have stalled since 2011.

Although a slowdown has been evident internationally, life expectancy in the

UK is still lower than many other comparable countries. Theories about why

this is the case include austerity, health and care system integration

challenges, and increased prevalence of conditions such as cardiovascular

disease, obesity and dementia.

Healthy & Disability Free Life Expectancy

The number of years of life expected to be spent without a disability or in good

health is commonly referred to as disability-free life expectancy or healthy life

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expectancy. The likelihood of being disabled and / or experiencing multiple

chronic and complex health conditions increases with age. As life expectancy

has increased, time spent in poor health has also increased. Life expectancy

has risen more quickly than healthy life expectancy. In England, healthy life

expectancy is 63.3 years for males and 63.9 for females.

Our local picture

In Newcastle the number of people aged 65 and over is growing. The over 85

age group will increase most significantly over the next 10 years. The total

population over 65 is expected to be 61,000 by 2039, a 44% increase from

2011.

Newcastle has experienced increases in life expectancy in recent years but it

has improved more slowly than the average life expectancy for the rest of

England. Life expectancy in Newcastle for men is 74.9 years, compared to 76.9

years for the national average.

Within the city there are stark differences in life expectancy of almost 13 years

between the most affluent and the most deprived areas. Disability-free life

expectancy for men and women in Newcastle is shorter than the average in

the rest of England. Compared to those in the richest areas, women and men

in the poorest areas of Newcastle die younger and live a larger proportion of

their shorter lives with a disability.

Conference objectives

To celebrate 40 years of SEARCH working in the West of Newcastle

To bring together key decision makers to reconsider the agenda for

ageing in Newcastle

To learn about developments in addressing ageing in other parts of the

country

Conference programme

Welcome and introduction by Wendy Dale, SEARCH Chair.

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Presentation by Professor Tom Scharf, Professor of Social Gerontology,

Newcastle University. ‘Loneliness and social isolation in later life’.

Community responses to loneliness and social isolation – an overview of

SEARCH’s projects and an invitation to visit stalls of other providers.

Presentation by Natalie Turner, Head of Localities, Centre for Ageing

Better. ‘Report on the State of Ageing 2019’.

SEARCH strummers Ukulele group

Table top discussions

1. What makes Newcastle a great place to grow older?

2. What could make it even better?

Key points from the presentations

Loneliness and social isolation:

• People can become isolated and lonely in later life for a wide range of

reasons, including older age, bereavement, ill health, lack of local services,

poor public transport and a poor physical environment.

• It is possible to be isolated without being lonely and lonely without

being isolated. Social isolation relates to the quantity of social contacts a

person has. Loneliness is subjective, reflecting a perceived gap between the

quality and quantity of relationships that we have and those that we want.

• Although loneliness and social isolation can be related, they are different

and require different responses.

• It’s important to understand the distinction between loneliness and

social isolation in order to ensure that solutions are not focussed simply on

increasing opportunities for people to meet or speak, but on helping build,

maintain and re-establish meaningful relationships.

• Bringing people together to increase the number of social contacts may

not be enough to combat loneliness; the quality of relationships may also need

to be addressed.

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• Loneliness in older people is not at the epidemic proportions that some

newspaper headlines would have us believe. However, for those experiencing

loneliness, it can be devastating, and responses should therefore be sensitively

targeted.

The state of ageing 2019:

• The report ‘The State of Ageing 2019’ was published in March 2019 by

the Centre for Ageing Better, a national charity funded by an endowment from

The National Lottery Community Fund, working to create a society where

everyone enjoys a good later life.

• The report uses publicly available data to give a snapshot of ageing

today and explores the later life prospects for people currently in their 50s and

60s.

• The report considers four themes: housing, work and finances, health

and communities.

• The report highlights the inequalities faced by older people in poverty,

and those from Black and ethnic minority communities. Poor health and poor

housing are shown to be highly prevalent amongst older people living in

deprived areas.

Summary of main topics identified from table top discussions:

What makes Newcastle a great place to grow older?

Friendliness

All 15 table top discussions groups said that Newcastle was a friendly place to

live, where people were approachable and accepting. This applied to those

who had lived in Newcastle all their lives, as well as those who had moved to

the area more recently.

One quote captures this perfectly, “I wouldn’t want to grow old anywhere

elsewhere – warmth of people – you get people’s life story sitting on a bus.”

Communities and neighbourhoods

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People expressed a great sense of pride for their area and indicated that it was

very important for them to live in a place with a strong sense of community,

with networks of friends and family.

There was an extensive list of valuable local assets on people’s doorsteps,

including parks and gardens, community centres, pools and gyms and easy

access to the seaside and countryside.

A strong Community and voluntary sector was also mentioned with community

centres and projects playing an important part in how rooted and supported

people felt in their local communities.

Activities

The discussions included lots of information on various activities that people

could take advantage of to help their health and wellbeing. Most people

thought that there were lots of opportunities to be active and involved, but

you needed to know where to find them, be able to afford them, and have the

confidence to give them a go.

Age well

Support services and care for older people were thought to be good quality, on

the whole, but limited because of funding cuts.

There was a general perception that Newcastle City Council were taking some

steps to address the issues around more people becoming older with and Age

Friendly group, new housing initiatives and Dementia Friendly work.

The fact that Newcastle has two great universities with extensive research

programmes around ageing, and the Centre for Life was also seen as a

contributory factor to making it a great city to age in.

Access

Some thought Newcastle was a compact city with decent transport and access

to bus and metro passes at affordable prices for those over 60. There are large,

level pedestrianised areas with plenty of seating and toilet facilities.

Appearance of city

The regeneration of parts of city was seen as a very welcome aspect, with

cleanliness of the streets, notable architecture and flower displays all

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commented on as making a positive difference to how residents and visitors

feel about a place.

Safe

Most people said it was a safe place to live, and they were aware of their

community police officers.

Affordable

Good value for money and affordability were positive aspects mentioned in the

discussions. People felt that although expenditure often went down as you got

older, it was still difficult to live on pension credit levels, so this was an

important aspect when considering where to live. The cost of living in

Newcastle, compared to other UK cities, was thought to be low.

Diversity

People were proud that Newcastle was a multi-cultural city, which made it a

vibrant place to live with lots to offer.

Cultural opportunities

Access to good cultural venues and events was highly praised. Arts, culture,

music, museums and theatres were all mentioned as important aspects for a

good life which everyone should have affordable access to this.

Health

The excellent hospitals on our doorstep were discussed, along with good

facilities and initiatives to support healthy communities, although funding cuts

were felt to have had a negative impact community work.

SEARCH and the Elders Council

Both organisations were mentioned as great organisations, which Newcastle

was lucky to have.

SEARCH was praised for its multi-cultural approach; people enjoyed the Asian

and Chinese mix, and access to bi-lingual workers at SEARCH, following the

merger with West End Befrienders. The SEARCH Newsletter and SEARCH

outings were highlighted as making very positive contributions to bringing

older people to together.

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The work of both organisations was clearly valued and community meetings to

explore ideas and put forward points of view were very much appreciated.

One person said that “older people can be made invisible; it can be very hurtful

and lonely,” having opportunities like the conference help to mitigate against

this was welcomed by everyone.

What could make it even better?

• Transport

There were many ideas for improvements to transport systems including the

development of supported taxi schemes or door to door transport for those

with mobility challenges. Other suggestions included developing bus routes

across Newcastle, as bus routes to and from the city centre were seen as good,

but accessing other areas directly was a limited.

• Health and exercise

People suggested that there should be more local opportunities for

appropriate supported exercise sessions for over 75s and that GP surgeries

should support this. They also felt that GP surgery staff should have better

knowledge of the availability of these types of sessions in the community and

offer advice to people about how to access them.

Taking better care of our green spaces was another suggestion and that parks

should be more adapted for the enjoyment of older people, with more seating,

toilets, better transport links and more exercise and social opportunities

through concerts and social gatherings.

• Housing

People felt there was an unmet need for smaller, ground floor properties and

that there should be more social housing generally and of this nature.

Housing support services for older people were also a concern, with affordable

and reliable help on management and maintenance issues in short supply.

It was thought that multi-lingual workers were also needed to help with this

area.

• Information

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Recent public health reports have told us that people over 65 years of age are

not taking the advised amount of physical exercise. People attending the

conference suggested that improvements could be made by making more

people aware of what’s going on and that information should be available

using different approaches and diverse formats.

People suggested more face to face information centres. It was commented

that so much information is on-line, it can be confusing and often difficult for

older people to access and even more difficult for older people whose first

language is not English. It was recommended that Health organisations and the

City Council should work together to build a better media picture of our local

resources and celebrate what’s good in Newcastle to spread the word. Not just

a few press releases, but a whole movement!

• Communication

One idea to encourage older people to make use of IT was to include free Wi-Fi

in older people’s homes

More opportunities ‘like today’ for conversations and involvement giving older

people the chance to have their say.

• Neighbourhoods

Generally, people agreed that funding cuts for neighbourhood work had been

felt severely and that examples such as library closures had had an adverse

effect on the strength and resilience of communities.

People told us that ‘a well-funded centre in the west end for older people,

that’s easy to get to with activities, friendship groups, good food, computers

and access to information and advice’ would improve the lives and health of

many older people who really needed these interventions.

• Community safety

Most people felt safe in Newcastle; however, they suggested that a greater

police presence in the city would make it feel safer for older people at later

times of day.

• Waste disposal

People were upset that their neighbourhoods often looked and felt neglected,

which they said created problems with community cohesion.

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They suggested more powers for the Council to pursue greater corporate

responsibility from those businesses that generated litter i.e. fast food outlets.

People also discussed the difficulties they had using communal bins which they

often found too tall and heavy. They also made a plea for free removal of

garden waste and large items of rubbish and furniture.

• Access

This issue was wide ranging and covered larger, more visible signage,

inflexibility of services and systems to adapt to individual circumstances and

barriers for those with language and disability considerations.

• Education and training

There was a general feeling that lifelong learning was a good way to stay

healthy and connected. Therefore, it was suggested that more low-cost classes

should be available in community locations, covering a wide range of subjects.

• Intergenerational opportunities

A full city-wide programme of intergenerational opportunities was suggested

as a way of harnessing older peoples’ skills, and experience, whilst supporting

local schools and young people’s learning. Building care homes nearer schools

and supporting older people to be active volunteers and participants in schools

was suggested as ways to achieve this.

Conclusions

The overriding message from the conference table top discussions was that

people were proud of their City and felt that Newcastle had a lot to offer,

making it a great place to grow older. People acknowledged we have fantastic

health services, great natural resources and local assets and strong

communities.

However, many told us that poverty and the austerity measures over the last

11 years have had a severe negative impact on people’s health and the quality

of their lives. Cuts to local services, particularly social care services, have led to

greater inequalities and unnecessary suffering.

The conference illustrated the desire of older people to have a say and to be

involved in the plans for the future of their city. We hope to work together

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with others, particularly The Elders Council, to offer more meaningful

opportunities for this to happen.

Next steps

Our report will be shared through the networks from the conference, by

university colleagues, those in statutory services working with older adults, and

our own local networks across the Voluntary and Community sector.

We will aim to have our report presented at Newcastle’s Wellbeing for Life

Board and to be used to inform any future discussions and developments

associated with Healthy Ageing and Age Friendly Cities in Newcastle.

Appendix

See online for presentations from Tom Scharf and Natalie Turner:

https://www.searchnewcastle.org.uk/index.php/news/146-age-happy-newcastle-report