Calderdale Forward - Healthy Ageing Programme
Calderdale’s Healthy Ageing Programme prevents isolation, stress and a deterioration of health and well-being through developing early intervention services in response to older people’s feedback and delivering these at lower cost to more people. Partner organisations share the management, evaluation and development of the six projects in the programme, which were developed in response to what older people said at various forums, concluding a Stakeholder Day in May 2007.
Projects include Neighbourhood Schemes, Health and Wellbeing of Carers Project, Home from Hospital service, Handyperson service, and a Falls Prevention service. No decisions are made unless an older person is present and over 75 older people are now involved in delivering and developing these projects.
To date around 1,500 people have benefitted from the projects. People like Mrs A, caring for a mother-in-law with Alzheimer’s, who struggled to find things to do together. The ‘Feelgood Singing Group’ helps them to meet other people, find support, and hear about other services through the group.
Involving older people in service development and delivery at a practical and strategic level has brought about some great ideas and is a powerful demonstration of the benefits of service users shaping, developing and delivering service.