Dignity Champions top 3,000
The number of Dignity Champions across the country has risen to more than 3,000, Minister of State for Care Services, Phil Hope, will announce today.Dignity Champions, who include frontline staff, MPs and, most famously, Michael Parkinson, are volunteers who commit to make a difference to the way older people are cared for.
Minister of State for Care Services, Phil Hope said: "People want, and have a right to expect, services with dignity and respect at their heart, so I am delighted that we now have over 3,000 Dignity Champions dedicated to ensuring that dignity and respect are central to the care people receive."
Dennis Parkin-Bowes, from Warrington, Cheshire is a Dignity Champion. His wife Maureen is Dennis's carer.
The Dignity in Care Campaign, launched by Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis last year, aims to inspire and equip people to drive up care standards and encourage people to become Dignity Champions, spreading best practice and giving advice to other health and social care workers. Dennis Parkin-Bowes, from Warrington in Cheshire, has signed up as Dignity Champion.
Dennis was diagnosed with early-onset vascular dementia at age 58; he is now 73. His wife Maureen has been acting as his principle carer since the onset of his dementia. In order to give her a break he attends a care home during the day. At the care home he became passionate about ensuring dignity is at the heart of care and he signed up as a Dignity Champion.
As part of his illness, Dennis' natural perfectionism became more marked and if everything wasn't exactly as he thought it should be he found himself becoming angry and upset.
Maureen and the respite care home manager saw this as an opportunity to turn his perfectionism and obsessional behaviour into something more positive by encouraging Dennis to act as a Champion for the other people in the care home. He thought this was an excellent idea and has eagerly developed the role.
His wife Maureen said:
"He "goes to work" every Wednesday at the home, where he goes through everything with a fine-tooth comb, speaking to the other people in the home and raising any issues or suggestions with the manager, who values Dennis's contribution. It has given him a new purpose in life and he really enjoys his new work."
The manager has remarked that the home staff had thought they were pretty perfect, but the points that Dennis raised on behalf of himself and the other people at the home have shown them that there are always improvements they can make. Each week, the manager briefs Dennis on particular areas she would like him to observe, which could include hygiene at the home, quality of the food and the quality of care being received by clients.
Already, Dennis has had a significant impact. He discovered that some clients who suffered from short-term memory loss and word recognition problems had difficulty understanding the care home's lunch menu. At his suggestion, the home photographed each meal option, so clients can now flick through a photographic menu and see for themselves what is on offer each day.
As a consequence of having this new role Dennis has become much happier and his behaviour has improved. He enjoys the role and it is a great way for him to channel his energies in a positive way.
Maureen says, "I cannot thank the home enough. Through their understanding, kindness and respect for us, Dennis and I are both much happier. This has been dealt with very sensitively and Dignity has been at the heart of their approach right from the start."
The Dignity in Care Campaign, launched in 2006, aims to inspire and equip people to drive up care standards and encourage people to become Dignity Champions, spreading best practice and giving advice to other health and social care workers. At the start of the tour the Government's aim was to double the number of dignity champions to more than 3,000 by the end of the year, and Sir Michael Parkinson was appointed as the first National Dignity Ambassador to help raise the profile of this important agenda.
Dignity Champions come from different walks of life. Anyone can become a Dignity Champion, and the current 3,000 include frontline staff, MPs, local councillors, people from voluntary organisations, volunteers, and of course people who use care services, their relatives and carers, and members of the public. What they do in their roles as Dignity Champions varies widely but what they all share is a commitment to making a difference, however small, to the way older people experience care.
In order to promote the campaign we have enlisted the help of a new Dignity Ambassador, Michael Parkinson, who will help spread the Dignity message through media work and engagement with stakeholders. Michael himself has signed up to become a Dignity Champion to show how close to his heart the Dignity Campaign is.
Thousands of people in care homes and hospices have benefited from £117m investment to promote dignity through improvements to their care environment. High quality care services that respect people's dignity should:
1. Have a zero tolerance of all forms of abuse
2. Support people with the same respect you would want for yourself or a member of your family
3. Treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service
4. Enable people to maintain the maximum possible level of independence, choice and control
5. Listen and support people to express their needs and wants
6. Respect people's right to privacy
7. Ensure people feel able to complain without fear of retribution
8. Engage with family members and carers as care partners
9. Assist people to maintain confidence and a positive self esteem
10. Act to alleviate people's loneliness and isolation
Further events for the dignity campaign will take place until November this year.
Photo:
TV and Radio personality Michael Parkinson
Related Links
For further details or to sign up to become a dignity champion click here
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