FRAILTY is one of the biggest challenges facing the UK’s ageing population. According to the Office for National Statistics UK 2021 census over 18.6% of the population are aged 65 years and over and this is estimated to rise to 25% in the next 20 years.
Nottingham charity, The Renewal Trust, is helping to pioneer an innovative approach to the challenge by leading community engagement for the Nottingham City Place-Based Partnership (PBP) – bringing together frontline practitioners with organisations from across health, social care, public health and the voluntary sector.
Together, they’ve identified the health-related needs of local communities including a person’s socio-economic and cultural circumstances having a significant impact on their ability to attend appointments or access primary care.
In response, The Renewal Trust has developed a range of services including monthly Health Hubs with the NHS providing primary care in the heart of communities, such as diabetes testing, blood pressure checks, flu jabs and Talking Therapy sessions for better mental health.
The charity also runs a Feel Good Gold programme for older people aged 60+ to address social isolation and loneliness, including those with long-term health conditions such as frailty and dementia. Weekly Feel Good Gold sessions provide warm spaces, hot food, fun activities like bingo, quizzes and crafts, chair-based exercise, travel to and from sessions and access to additional support services from national partners such as Dementia Friends, MySight, Independent Age and National Energy Action.
The Renewal Trust’s approach is backed up by a recent report by the Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Partnership (ICP) – which said addressing frailty in society, long-term condition health prevention, and ensuring people are signposted to the correct support are some of the best ways to improve health outcomes.
Cherry Wells, CEO at The Renewal Trust explained:
“The healthcare system is medically focused on individual diseases or issues with a person’s treatment and care often split across different providers. Focusing on cure rather than prevention.
“We meet the health-related needs of our diverse communities by focusing on holistic, tertiary prevention – helping people to manage long-term conditions and improve their ability to function, their quality of life and their life expectancy.
“Our partnership approach enables us to take a joined-up approach to support multiple needs, including people experiencing Severe Multiple Disadvantages such as poor physical health, mental health issues, and community isolation.”
Older people aged 60+ can self-refer to Feel Good Gold or be referred by another organisation.
Julie Ellender, Community Connector at Nottingham City Council has referred a number of people to the programme. She said:
“Feel Good Gold has made a huge difference to the many people I have referred. Most would not have been able to access the community independently and would still be sat at home lonely and isolated. Attending the sessions has taken their minds off their issues and given them time to chat and have fun with others while being fed and entertained.”
As well as being the community lead in the Nottingham City PBP, The Renewal Trust also organises and facilitates three networks focusing on Health and Well-being, Hardship, and Children and Young People – bringing over 100 partner organisations together.
