Social inclusion: Dignity in care videos

What is the video about?

What does a discussion about football have to do with providing dignity in care? This film looks at people doing normal, everyday things like catching the bus or socialising with friends. The film shows a care worker discussing a recent football match with someone he cares for and supports. It shows other examples of supporting people to keep in contact with family and friends, and to participate in social activities; it’s an important part of providing dignity in care.

Social inclusion, in practice, means doing things such as promoting and supporting access to social networks; or resolving transport issues so that they do not prevent people from participating in the wider community.

• Video transcript Open

  Narrator and words on screen

  What does social inclusion mean to you? Catching the bus, getting the paper, socialising with friends, getting out and about, spending time with others, and sharing experiences?

  Being part of the community can help people live fulfilling lives.

  Janis White, Manager, Equal Partnerships

  It’s about being completely person-centred, to support that person to be part of their local community, to have social inclusion.

  Title

  Dignity in care

  Social inclusion in practice

  Karen Turnbull, Activities Coordinator, Harton Grange Residential Care Home

  Understanding that their life is very important because it’s a feeling that I know them and I can talk to them freely like I would a friend. Sheila likes it to be in her room, she’s not a very outward person where she’ll go and sit and talk to everybody. I don’t think she feels confident enough for that. We have a nice little rapport together. She likes food. She likes food a lot.

  Karen

  Is there anything that you’d like to do today Sheila?

  Shelia

  Yes, I want to get my red coat on. I’ll go to the shop. Do they want to know what I want?

  Karen

  I don’t know, what do you want?

  Shelia

  Well, wait and see what I get. (laughs)

  Karen

  If she wants to go to the shop, I’ll take her down to the shop. It’s great for Sheila, just to be out in the fresh air, seeing people passing, the dogs, cars, there’s lots of things for her to see.

  Karen

  Are you feeling a bit peckish?

  Shelia

  I am, I’m starving.

  Karen

  And she used to do all her shopping down there, so it brings back memories for her. When she was bringing her children up, taking them to the shop. It gives her a sense of being in the community, and a sense of choice because she can buy things at the shop. It makes her feel like she’s got some control in her own life.

  Shopkeeper

  Anything else?

  Karen

  It’s nice for her to be part of that, to see that, and staying in touch.

  Lesley Gregg, Manager, Harton Grange Residential Care Home

  Harton Grange is a residential home. It’s all about what each individual resident wants to do. Thelma is you know, like the knitting she’ll say ‘can you cast us twenty stitches on’ because once I’m casted on, I’m fine. Betty likes to read Take a Break and she’ll sit in my office all day and read the paper and she’ll comment about different people.

  Ken would like to go for his papers, so he’ll ask to go and get his morning papers or the Gazette or whatever.

  Darren Kinghorn, Senior Care Worker, Harton Grange Residential Care Home

  Well on a morning I’ll knock on Ken’s door and I’ll always get ‘Entrez’.

  Ken

  Entrez

  Darren

  I’ll go in and I’ll ask him if he’d like to go for his newspaper, depending on how he’s feeling, he does tend to go. And it gives him a lot of confidence. And it just makes him relaxed. That for me is person-centred care, targeting what that person wants and what needs they have. It’s just conversation as well, with him being a football fan, I have a great conversation, I can be there for hours, just talking about football.

  Ken

  What’s the headlines, Sunderland win 2–nil, with only eight men?

  Title

  Ken is a Sunderland fan, Darren is a Newcastle fan

  Darren

  It’s great, because it gives him some sort of self belief, and it gives him a lot of confidence.

  I’m not biting, not today.

  Narrator

  Enabling a person to live an ordinary life promotes dignity.

  Words on screen

  Living an ordinary life

  Matthew

  My job, I’ve got a job, at 10 till 2. I walk down to the bus station, cross the road, where it’s safe, you cross them, look behind you. I do this every morning, I do it on my own now. It means to me, I’m doing a fab job.

  Gill Williams, Personal Assistant, Equal Partnerships Ltd

  For Matthew, with his travel to work, you know he now does that independently. But that was a massive task to do. We changed his support plan every day, but he was doing it so well, but we still needed to make sure that we managed the risk. Specifically for Matthew, on that journey what he does is he will text when he’s on the bus, and then he will text when he’s getting off the bus, so he lets the staff know, the PA’s know, that he’s got off the bus safely.

  Matthew

  Well I do scanning, stickering, photocopying. It means to me that I’m doing a fab job at work. I get paid as well.

  Catherine Gunnewicht, Manager, Care Concern Homecare Ltd

  For older people who can get very isolated, it’s extremely important to try and maintain any contact that they’ve got with the outside world. So we really really do try from the very first visit that we do when we do the assessment we try and find out if there’s somewhere that they go regularly, so we make sure then that the carer’s visits don’t clash with that. We just realise how important it is for people to be able to get out and keep in contact with the outside world.

  Emma

  I’ve just noticed you’ve got some letters, shall we have a walk to the post box?

  Gaenor

  We could do, is that alright?

  Oh I live on my own but of course with great help from the girls as I call them. As you get older, you are more dependent on the carers.

  We can hand that in at the newsagents.

  Emma

  OK, yeah, that’s a good idea.

  Gaenor

  They just provide you with a bit of comfort really, when they come in, chat, now the weather’s improving I would expect to have a few little trips down to the shops or just round the block.

  Emma

  Did you need your handbag?

  Gaenor

  No, no.

  It’s a friendly neighbourhood. At least I can get out of the house when I want to. It’s important to keep going.

  Emma Fisher, Care Worker, Care Concern Homecare Ltd

  I think social inclusion’s very important. I don’t like people to feel isolated. I will go beyond and above my job, and think outside the box. I will normally get to know the person, and get to know things they like.

  Gaenor

  Being left handed, going the wrong way.

  Emma

  Just have the little chat. When you’re going down the road or to the post office or to the fruiterers, just to see people, it is basically, it’s nice, just thinking outside the box again. Of what would include them, what they like, maybe activities, hobbies. Just things to get them out of the house, even if it is just for half an hour, an hour, you can’t just be isolated in one place for twenty-four hours a day inside a house.

  Words on screen

  Recognising the needs of different cultures

  Narrator

  Recognising the specific needs of different cultures is essential.

  Saeed Malek, Equality & Diversity Coordinator, Age UK

  We provide a range of services. We provide wellbeing services, lunch clubs, drop-in activities, they get an opportunity to meet other people. They feel valued. They get the opportunity to participate in activities which they may not have done ever in their lives. It’s quite a big step for them to attend a completely new environment full of different people and faces, particularly if they’ve lived fairly isolated and have been quite vulnerable. The importance of social interaction, I think it’s absolutely huge. There are many many people amongst the users who attend Catherine House, who probably have very little interaction outside of their immediate family circle, so to meet your friend once a week, is so important.

  Person to camera

  I come once a week here, but I like few more days come here, because when I’m at home I’m feeling bad, alone, I remember.

  I suffer from Parkinsons, and we get treated, but my doctor said I need to have some time of my own with same kind of people and they can share their experiences with each other. So that is why we are here, I’m here. It’s worked wonderfully, I’m more confident, you know how with Parkinsons you lose your confidence just like that. I wasn’t sure where I was, I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to somebody, what I was going to eat as well. And how I’m going to see my friends.

  It’s nice to come and talk to people. In the house you’re lonely, you don’t know what to do.

  It gets us out of the house. Because I’ve got severe rheumatoid arthritis, and my mobility is very limited so we get together, we see each other and enjoy ourselves. You get to know each other’s problems sometimes, we share our problems and we talk to each other, it just gets us out.

  Sharon Hedley, Manager, Laverneo Care Home

  There’s four ladies who live here at Laverneo. Val goes to the local neighbourhood centre twice a week and she does craft and cookery sessions there. They are just courses that can be attended by anybody from the local area.

  Good morning Valerie.

  Good morning Valerie.

  Val

  Morning

  Carer

  I’ll hang your coat up on this hook behind us, alright? And I’ll see you at twelve o’clock.

  Sharon

  And we’ve worked in a way where for example with Val we were supporting her to go along, we were staying with her in those sessions until she started building friendships and people got to know her a little bit and she got to know them.

  Val

  It’s nice cooking. I make all sorts. Shortbread biscuits and cakes.

  Teacher

  You’ve done it perfect. One down, three to go.

  Val

  Doing that, the reason why I’m doing it, because I like to do those things. It’s nice to see other people, to see, we keep talking to each other when we’re doing this and that. It makes us feel happy when we get them done. That’s my certificate there. Certificate of Achievement that is.

  Narrator

  It’s important to continue to be part of everyday life, and maintain skills.

  Words on screen

  Being part of everyday life and maintaining skills.

  Sharon

  Each of the people involved in the day-to-day running of Laverneo, by just doing the everyday stuff that we all have to do at home, like doing the dishes, washing and drying, setting the table. And it’s something that we really encourage because that’s what makes the home yours, that’s what gives you ownership of where you live. So we encourage people to help do the tidying up and strip their own beds and do the dusting. Obviously at each person’s ability, but everyone’s able to do something. And it’s just one of those little ways that you can take the onus off of somebody being looked after to somebody looking after themselves and not being in a home, but being in their own home.

  Narrator

  To reduce isolation, support people to have social networks.

  Words on screen

  Supporting social networks

  Janice, Manager, Equal Partnerships Ltd

  If you’ve got a disability you can be quite socially isolated. So for the people who work for Matthew and for James, you know they’ve got their own house, they’re on a budget, so we’ve supported them to not only think about going out and about, but also the same things as lots of other people would do. Maybe invite people for a meal and say you can do a nice meal, reasonably cheaply, but you can all have a lovely time.

  Matthew

  We’ve got friends who are coming tonight, me, James, Alan, we’re making spag bog tonight.

  Janice

  And if you do that hopefully you’ll get invited back to the person you’ve invited. And they might have somebody new at their house, so you can get to meet somebody else. And that’s the way we’ve developed that system with all the people we support. Most people we support will invite friends back to their house and get invited back to that person’s house.

  Alistair

  It’s me, Matthew.

  Matthew

  It is Alistair.

  Alistair

  Hello Lynn.

  Matthew

  Alan this is Nick.

  Alistair

  There’s my coat for you. I’ll hang it up.

  Janice

  And that works, not only for friends, but they also will invite family back and have meals and just do the social networking but have the initial support to start and think about it.

  So it really is a key factor for us as an organisation supporting people in friendships and relationships and it’s a key aspect of social inclusion.

  Narrator

  Build links to enable people to be part of their local community

  Words on screen

  Building links with the community

  Karen Turnbull, Activities Coordinator, Harton Grange Residential Care Home

  The relationship with the local school is really important to the people here. We like to bring the children in about once a month, doing craft. The interaction is really lovely with our residents and the children, when everyone starts to chat together. It’s really nice to see them helping each other, because it’s a lovely interaction. One of the residents told me that the first time we went over to the school she was so excited and she said it was the energy of the children that she’d really loved that. They do have a lovely time when they come, and when we go over to see them.

  Ken

  Well I do like to see young people, I’ve only got the one daughter. This is the little girl’s handiwork. You know she was telling me, she’s still at school and I think she wants to be a nurse, and I hope she succeeds. But it’s nice to see the young people, it keeps you young as well. I remember when I was young, the older people made a big fuss of you and I love to see the children and all that.when they come, and when we go over to see them.

  Karen

  It’s that playfulness and honesty. And that also makes them feel part of the community, which is something that can be maybe forgotten, when they’re in care homes.

  Title: Key learning points

  Many older and disabled people are at risk of becoming socially isolated

  People should be involved in all aspects of daily living so that they can live ordinary and fulfilling lives

  People should be supported to become active members of the community

  Care staff should support people to develop and maintain social networks

  END

Who will find this useful?

Anyone who has contact with people who need care and support. Caring staff and managers, commissioners of services, carers, volunteers, dementia friends and others in the wider community. The film is also useful for people who use care and support services.