Left To Right: - Dot Gibson NPC General Secretary, Claude James NPC Minority Elders London, Assistant Mayor of Leicester Councillor Manjula Sood, and Ruth Lake Director of Care Services for Leicester. Photo by Mina Rodgers.
This Conference was attended by around 200 delegates from the ethnic Minorities Group of Leicester and was chaired by Claude James from the NPC Elders Minority Group London. In opening the conference Councillor Manjula Sood welcomed all the speakers and delegates and spoke at some length about the Care Policies of the coalition Government and the effects of these cuts on our local communities. One of her core goals was to allow the real life experience of black minority elders to be heard by the policy makers, and in so doing change their experience of old age for the better. When asked a question by Brian Herbertson- why did Leicester City Councillor Mohamed Dawood not respond to the NPC Dignity Code sent to her office for distribution to all care agencies and Care Homes in Leicester? Her response was not very forthcoming.
Ruth Lake - Director of Care Services for Leicester, spoke about her own experiences as a Nurse and about making good quality care a reality for all, but she did not agree that there was a problem because young carers were not receiving proper training in how to care for the elderly. She also stressed that by enabling people to get more out of life is all about helping people to gain access to the things that makes for a decent quality of life. However, she did recognise that the ingredients of a fulfilled old age include experiences that encourage people to remain active and to engage with the wider world - such as recreation, friendships, networks and opportunities to learn as well as having services such as health and social care that caters for basic needs. During question time Ruth was attacked by several delegates about the effects of the cuts on their personal care and public services, she responded by stating that she would look into the issues raised and expressed solidarity with the Ethnic Elders Pensioners.
Dot Gibson: - General secretary of the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) provided the highlight of the Conference with an astonishing speech, which covered the following issues: She outlined to delegates the work of the NPC, how it meets with Government Ministers on a regular basis, closure of care homes, personal budgets, the NPC Dignity Code and the privatisation of the social care services. Today's pensioners are fighting not only for themselves but also for tomorrow's pensioners. All is not well as far as the health of the majority of older people is concerned. Increasing poverty, ill health, practical difficulties in gaining access to the right health and social care, all prevent the possible experience of a normal and decent life in old age.
For many older people managing a personal budget is stressful and in many cases unmanageable. Owning a budget is meaningless if the market is not equipped to supply services to meet ones needs, She stated that care should be paid for through general taxation and delivered free of charge at the point of use. The prospect of the emerging market in Care Provision as a results of the Government's modernisation programme theoretically offers an opportunity for private and public providers to work together to provide high quality care. However elderly people are still not getting high quality care which they need. We still have a care system which is means-tested and people are having to sell their homes to pay for care.
Dot also expressed her concern about younger and untrained carers who are employed by many Care Agencies to care for the elderly. On top of doing the obvious Care givers, also need to have clear policies on how to accommodate the cultural sensitivities of their clients, on issues to do with body-care, which although not perceived by the service providers as important, may be very important to some of their service users (several examples were given by dot).
Liz Kendall: - Leicester MP - shadow Minister for Health & Care Services, addressed the Conference in the afternoon, but due to her very heavy work schedule, had to leave early. She spoke about her own elderly family member's experience of our health and care services. The shadow Minister stated that she was aware of all the problems facing older people in our society. She also mentioned that she was currently engaged in working on some new Health and Social Care Policies, but for obvious reasons was unable to discuss the issue with the Conference. The Conference ended with with a question and comment session, where the focus of attention was mainly on Carers allowance and families of Ethnic Minority Groups who care for their elderly relatives on a day to day basis, without any social or financial help from the Government.
In Conclusion: - The following are the main points arising from the floor during the discussion period:
a) The need to provide proper training for care staff - this a shift in outlook to make the principle of providing culturally sensitive care a core element in the training of carers.
b) Recruiting highly trained Care staff and looking at the age of Carers. Making ethnic minority career - seekers aware of opportunities available in the caring profession.
c) Dispelling of stereotypes and Developing an Evidence based Policy. Services must be designed to reflect the diversity of the population.
d) Health inequalities. The high rate of heart disease and Diabetes among ethnic minority communities, we need to look at how health advice is communicated to elderly people.
e) Representation of minority elders, involving minority services users in the design of Health and social care programmes.
f) Easy access to Care Services/aids and equipment, and shaping the care minority elders receive rather than having to put up with whatever services are provided. Statutory providers who failed to make appropriate provision for minorities should be held accountable for their actions and inaction's.
Thank to all the speakers, the NPC Elders London for funding the Conference and all the delegates for attending.
Mina Rodgers - Conference Organiser (East Midlands NPC).
