Making a difference at Christmas:  Part one - Our Services Impact

Most of our staff had a well-deserved break over the Christmas period, however we had some services staff regularly checking for urgent referrals or calls made to us. We also continued to process Household Support Fund claims, knowing how in need the money is, and made visits under the City Primary Care Network Winter Wellness Project. 

Here is a summary of work carried out between 24^th December 2022 and 3^rd January 2023 (11 days):

• Home Support Service: Delivered 15.5hrs of service, which included 8hrs shopping and 7.5hrs in older people’s homes, for those who would have struggled without our support
• Hospital Discharge: Working with Addenbrookes Hospital, Cambridge, we checked in on 8 discharged patients to offer support and re-assurance.
• Sharing Time: We kept in contact with an extremely isolated older person and another older person who was very distressed about his terminally ill wife and needed someone to talk to.
• Cambridgeshire Handyperson: Fitted 1 urgent Keysafe
• Community Warden Service: Made 103 phone calls and 26 Home visits
• Information and Advice Helpline: Staff monitored for urgent matters, whilst all calls were diverted to our National Partner, Age UK Helpline.
• Household Support Fund: 21 service users received call leading to 21 successful claims for support from the HSF fund. Staff worked 39 hours.
• We received 38 referrals from Cambridge City PCNs through the Winter Wellness Project* (brief below).  We made 14 telephone calls and 6 home visits .

A total of 148 calls, 38 home visits, and 92.5hrs contact time with older people. 

* Winter Wellness City Project: An Overview of our Role

We are supporting the four Cambridge City Primary Care Networks (covering 22 GP surgeries) with their Winter Wellness Project.  Age UK Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is working with Caring Together and Care Network to support this project, which reaches out to GP Surgeries most vulnerable older patients who live at home, maybe housebound, maybe with a carer, or living with a particular medical condition/s, or identified as being most isolated.  

Our staff visit and carry out a person-centred questionnaire, relating to “what matters to them”.  Asking how day to day life is, if there is anything that would help, what is most important to them etc. We then signpost or make onward referrals where needed and arrange the appropriate support. We also make Household Support Fund applications, and referrals for Carers Support and ‘What If Plans’. We can escalate anything of health or care importance/urgency back to the person’s GP. 

A few weeks after our visit, we follow up to see how things have improved and how the person is now feeling.

Our support has improved well-being and helps people to feel better, maybe more confident, maybe more included etc. This type of support can identify potential issues early and prevent or delay the need for greater interventions. For the individual it is welcomed timely help, enabling independence and supporting people to live their best life in their own home.

We look forward to continuing with this valuable project, which will end in March 2023.