Meeting the Information Needs of Older People: A Challenge for Local Governance

Abstract

The challenge of the ageing population is not just to provide more services but to employ new strategies. One of these is the need to rethink the provision of information to older people and their carers. This paper makes four points. First, that information and access to information have become more critical issues. Second, that older people may place a much higher value on information than other citizen groups but their access is poor for a range of reasons. Third, that the processes by which older people seek information may be empowering. Finally, effective partnerships with creative older people can be a catalyst to changing governance cultures which is a vital step in modernising local government. The paper draws upon examples from the author's experience of working alongside older people under the umbrella of the Better Life in Later Life project in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Notes

Discussion held at a workshop session at a seminar on ‘Choice in Later Life: Living Arrangements for Later Life, Policy on Ageing’, London, 30 September 2002.

These are partnerships between central and local government and the voluntary sector with a broad aim of involving older people in inter agency strategies which affect them (http://www.bettergovernmentforolderpeople.gov.uk).

See Patsy Healey's (1992) paper ‘A planner's day’ for an in-depth discussion of analysis of ‘planning talk’ by listening to one sided conversations.

Intermediate care is care provided for a short period (normally no longer than six weeks) of intensive rehabilitation and treatment to enable patients to return home following hospitalisation, or to prevent admission to long term residential care; or intensive care at home to prevent unnecessary hospital admission. It is becoming more important in a health service concerned with bed blocking.

Some years ago I facilitated a workshop of older people on housing issues. The discussion moved on to consider the cost of residential care which was a very topical issue. I attempted to cut off this discussion by stating that this was not a housing topic. It was only some time later that I realised my error. Where you live is your home; this is true whether your home is a house, a sheltered flat, a shared room in a nursing home or indeed a long stay bed on a geriatric ward. I learned (I hope) to break out of my institutional box.