ELDERLY CARE


The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough, Councillor Audrey Wales MBE (second from right) congratulates (l-r)


Deirdre McCloskey, Project Development Officer at MEAAP; Stephen Slaine, Pharmacy Lead, Northern ICP and Anne


Marie O’Boyle, ICP Business Manager (North) on receiving £1m funding from the Dunhill Medical Trust.


Initiative will have major ImPAct for older people


thE REcENt ANNoUNcEmENt of £1m fUNdINg ovER thREE YEARS foR A commUNItY ASSEt BASEd modEl of cARE foR oldER PEoPlE IS cERtAIN to BRINg BENEfItS to mANY. BUt, SAYS StEPhEN SlAINE, oNE of thE PhARmAcY lEAdS foR thE NoRthERN INtEgRAtEd cARE PARtNERShIP, thE AdvANtAgES foR PhARmAcY ARE EqUAllY ExcItINg…


E


veryone knows that we are facing a crisis in the care of older people. for some time


now, healthcare professionals throughout Northern Ireland – and elsewhere – have increasingly become aware of the needs of older people in their communities.


As community pharmacists we hear about the problems that our older patients face on a daily basis, whether that is in regard to long-term conditions, such as diabetes or osteoporosis, or social issues, such as loneliness and access to transport.


Initiated in 2013 in response to public provision failings in the care of the frailest people in our society, the dunhill medical trust’s older People’s care Improvement Initiative is designed to support research on improving safety, effectiveness and satisfaction in the care of older people to create a radical change in


8 - PhARmAcY IN focUS


public sector provision, which is not only technically excellent but, most importantly, has kindness, dignity and focuses on the person at its core.


one group which was greatly attracted by the challenge laid down by the dunhill medical trust was a Northern Ireland charity, mid & East Antrim Agewell Partnership (mEAAP), which has been representing and delivering services for older people in the Ballymena, larne and carrickfergus areas for more than five years.


As a result, mEAAP encouraged various health and social care statutory stakeholders – including mid and East Antrim Borough council, the Northern health & Social care trust, the Northern local commissioning group, Primary care and community together (PAct) and the Antrim/Ballymena and East Antrim Integrated care Partnership


committees – to create a community asset-based model of collaborative care which would work in partnership with the community and voluntary sector, thereby ensuring that the needs of increasing numbers of older people could be met more effectively and compassionately.


this model – the Involving many to Prescribe Alternative care together (ImPAct) - is a Social Prescribing model where there’s already a body of evidence that demonstrates outcomes of reduced demand on unscheduled care events for primary and secondary care. the key difference with these other models is the direct financial support provided to local community groups by the mechanism of Alternative care Prescriptions of the ImPAct model.


the aims of ImPAct are: • put older people at the heart of what happens


• improve health and wellbeing outcomes that matter most to the older person


• build knowledge and diversity within health and social care support


• develop and sustain integrated, valued and safe partnerships


• reduce cost of health and social care support


last year, under the auspices of deirdre mccloskey, Project development officer at mEAAP, an application was made to the dunhill medical trust for funding for research purposes in connection with the trust’s primary focus – ‘does a direct investment to the community and voluntary sector deliver a return in reduced unscheduled care events to secondary and primary care?’


In the latter part of last year, it was announced that mEAAP’s application had been successful and, as a result,


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