Tendring Community Assets Full Final Report

26 St Osyth enjoys some lively local groups, including a keep fit class for mature ladies run by the users themselves. Officially the club is for the over 60s but most members are now mostly aged over 70yrs. They have been meeting weekly for many years, and are on their feet for an hour a week exercising to their own selection of 1960s music on a CD player. The small cost of a £2pa membership fee pays for the rental of the hall, and new members join all the time to keep the regular numbers attending at about 20 women. Another local weekly club, again run by a keen amateur, is aimed at providing a friendly social session for able and disabled adults. There is no fixed attendance fee, everyone is simply asked to make whatever contribution they can, with around 30 regular attendees. The leads of both these groups speak enthusiastically about the people who come to their sessions, clearly each giving years of service to their community over many years. 6.11 End of life 6.11.1 It is recognised that End of Life care is not only an issue for older people but can affect anyone at any age. The recent report ‘Investing in quality: The contribution of large charities to shaping future health and care’ looks at collaboration and impact of health, social care, community health and community and voluntary sector working together on delivery of health and care. In the section regarding End of Life care it states “Around one in four deaths are thought to be unexpected; the rest could potentially benefit from proactive care at the end-of-life (Association for Palliative Medicine of Great Britain and Ireland et al 2012). However, there are longstanding challenges in meeting this need effectively. People with life limiting conditions other than cancer (e.g. circulatory disease and cognitive problems like dementia) are less likely to access care even when they would benefit (Dixon et al 2015). People from lower socio-economic groups (Buck et al 2018) and vulnerable groups such as people who are homeless (Hudson et al 2016) are similarly less likely to access palliative care. Geographical variation remains an issue, as does co-ordination of the numerous professionals involved in supporting patients and their families near death.” 27 This is certainly relevant for and a challenge to providers of end of life care in Tendring, with relatively high numbers of older people in the population. The number people dying in hospital, rather than at home or in hospice care is high compared with Colchester. Families and carers need to be made aware of what to expect and how to cope with it to be able to manage at home. Preparation for end of life is very important, to give peace of mind to the individual and their family/loved ones. This means early identification of the need for end of life care, having open discussion about wills, lasting power of attorney, advance statements of wishes and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) forms before they are needed to facilitate planning, end of life planning and coordination of care to deliver on expressed wishes. Many organisations do some of the awareness raising through relevant speakers but this could be more widespread. There is a role for organisations like Age Concern, Tendring Stroke Services, PPGs, as well as the Hospice and MacMillan Nursing, to develop information to support awareness raising. 6.11.2 For people with a terminal diagnosis, there is good support from MacMillan Nursing and St Helena Hospice. MacMillan Nursing provides support to people living with or caring for someone with cancer and equips them with the information to help them cope. They offer 27 Investing in quality: The contribution of large charities to shaping future health and care, The Kings Fund, Helen Gilburt and Leo Ewbank, 2019