Issue 55November 2010

Still Hungry to beHeard Campaign

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Colchester Hospitalruns Protected MealTimes

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Remembering thewinter of 1947

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Leave our chequesalone

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Flu jab - not all itseems?

4

Fisherman’s Friend 5Are you beingconned?

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Dear Father Christmas 8Noticeboard 9Living through the Blitz 10Winter events 11Please wear a poppy 12

In This Edition

Age Concern Englandand Help the Agedhave formed a newcombined charity -

Age UK

Age UK’s latest campaign to ensurethe well-being of older people

NEGLECTEDIN HOSPITAL

Neglect by hospital staff which led tomalnutrition was blamed for the death of

89-year-old Anne Irons.

She broke her pelvis in a fall at her home inCraigleith, Edinburgh, in March 2005 and wastaken to hospital.

Her son, former Lord Provost of Edinburgh NormanIrons, said her weight plummeted because hernutrition and drink intake was not being properlymonitored..

When his mother eventually died of broncho-pneumonia, her upper arms were 'thinnerthan a broompole'.

Mr Irons said he believed his mother was'starved to death' at the Edinburgh RoyalInfirmary because no one was helping her atmealtimes, attributing her death to 'basicneglect' which left her with bedsores andmouth and throat infections.

She received no bath and only two showersin 28 days, he alleged. She was not taken tothe toilet quickly enough and her nightclotheswere left soiled in her locker for relatives tocollect. Clinical waste was left at her bedside.

Her self-esteem and welfare were neglectedto the point where she effectively lost the willto live, he claimed.

He said her care was a 'disgrace in adeveloped country. My mother's life wasextinguished by basic neglect.’

'Her only fault apparently was that she wastoo old to be a matter of concern and, ofcourse, she was not part of any waiting list.Quite the opposite. She was a bed blockerand her death cleared a space.'

Mr Irons later received an apology from thehospital and this case illustrates the researchthat has been carried out by Age UK on carein hospitals where there are numerous casesof older people not being able to managetheir feeding and so become more and moremalnourished in hospital.

Details of the Still Hungry to be Heardcampaign are on page 2.

ACCol NewsPage 2

Frail elderly patients 'left to starve in hospitals'

Nurses are not bothering to help frail patients eat their meals, according to a report whichlays bare the scandal of the older people being starved on NHS wards. More than twothirds of nurses admit hospitals do not ensure vulnerable patients receive the help theyneed to prevent them falling victim to malnutrition, it revealed.

The latest data shows that each year 175,000 are entering hospital malnourished, and185,000 leave malnourished. It means at least 10,000 cases have been directly caused bythe hospital stay - the highest number on record.An Age UK report has found that the NHS can be soneglectful that relatives are routinely bringing their lovedones food

Relatives routinely have to come in to hospital to ensuretheir loved ones are being fed - while others bring in theirown food to replace the inedible offerings of the HealthService, the Age UK report found. And a third of nursesadmitted that they would not trust their hospital to tacklea relative's malnutrition. Families told the charity thatpatients had been 'simply starved' by NHS staff who 'didnot have the time or will to be interested'.

Many who require pureed food have been offered onlysolid food, such as sausages and boiled potatoes. Andthose with arthritis or a broken wrist are not given helpto unwrap food, according to the report.

In 2007, 239 patients were reported as having died ofmalnutrition during their stay - although the true figure islikely to be higher due to under-reporting. One relative,whose mother was in hospital, told Age UK: 'Plates wereput in the serving area and left there, often untouched.Usually the patient could not pick up both a knife and afork because they did not have the strength.

'More importantly they could not cut up the meat etc intosmaller sizes to get into their mouths.' Fewer than halfof hospitals screen older patients for malnutrition onadmission, and only a third screen them during their stay,the report also reveals.

Former Carry On star June Whitfield, ambassador forAge UK, said elderly patients 'should just be able toconcentrate on getting better, without worrying aboutfundamental care needs such as food and nutrition'.

A poll of 1,000 nurses by the charity found that almost30 per cent would not trust their hospital to spot malnu-trition in one of their own relatives. Some 70 per centsaid the older people are not effectively screened formalnutrition on the wards due to lack of time, otherissues take priority or staff not being trained properly.

Michelle Mitchell, charity director at Age UK, said: 'It'sextremely worrying that nurses don't feel confident thata fundamental problem such as malnourishment will bepicked up. The Government must introduce compulsorymonitoring.'

The charity says the financial impact of malnutrition onthe NHS is £7.3billion a year - due to longer or avoidablehospital stays, the need for more medication and thehigher risk of infection.

Recently nurses were having to be reminded by NHSbosses it is part of their job to feed frail patients andcheck for bedsores. The High Impact Actions for Nursingand Midwifery report said 70 per cent of patients withmalnutrition are never identified.

About 40 per cent of hospital food is wasted, but aquarter of patients are malnourished, and almost four inten patients say they do not get enough help eating inhospital.

The Age UK report concluded: 'It is a national disgracethat we are still becoming malnourished, and that this isnot being detected. This must end, and it must end now.'

Peter Carter, general secretary of the Royal College ofNursing, claimed nurses did not have time to ensurepatients were well fed and called for protected meal-times. He said: 'Patients can be interrupted by cleaningand ward rounds, undermining their appetites.

'It is vital that staff are able to focus solely at mealtimeson serving nutritional needs of patients and allowingthem to eat in a conducive an atmosphere as possible.'

Issue Page 355

Do you remember the winter of 1947?Age Concern Colchester and ColchesterRecalled are going to work on a new jointproject seeking out peoples memories of thelate 1940s and the early 1950s.

It was the time when thousands were beingdemobbed and seeking new employment.There were shortages of food, buildingmaterials and fuel and this was exacerbated bythe very severe winter of 1947.

Food was rationed and probably the onlyhighlights during this era were the RoyalWedding of Princess Elizabeth and the Dukeof Edinburgh, and the Festival of Britain onthe South Bank.

If you would like to record your memoriesthen please contact Peter Simpson at AgeConcern Colchester on 01206 368420

Colchester Hospital runs Protected Meal TimesThe newly appointed Chief Executive of Colchester Hospital University Trust, DrGordon Coutts, has written to Age Concern Colchester to inform us of the review ofthe meals service and the changes which have taken place in the last eighteenmonths on wards which are designated as `Care of the Elderly` in Colchester.Meal times are now considered a priority anddrug rounds have been adjusted slightly so theydo not coincide, freeing up staff to assistpatients. Nurses involved in serving meals andassisting patients with their food wear greenplastic aprons.

The meal service itself has also been revised.Soup or juice are now served to all patients firstfollowed afterwards by the serving of the maincourse to ensure that the main course is servedhot. Patients requiring assistance are identifiedat the beginning of service and their food isserved towards the end by a nurse who is ableto assist them.

The use of red trays highlights those patientswho require some assistance and their dietaryintake to be monitored. The red trays alsoindicate that the food must not be taken awayuntil the patient has eaten as much as theywant. Red jug lids are used for those patientswho require assistance and encouragement totake fluids.

To assess patients` nutritional status onadmission to the ward, the MalnutritionUniversal Screening Tool (MUST) is usedacross the Trust to identify patients at risk.Information about this procedure is availableon the ward.

In terms of staffing, the post of NurseConsultant for Older People has beenestablished. She works closely with membersof staff throughout the Trust to improve thedelivery of patient care to older people. TheTrust is also working to recruit morevolunteers to support the meal service in thehospital. There are currently six volunteersworking within Care of the Elderly and theStroke Unit and this number is hoped toincrease.

Age Concern Colchester is pleased to hearthat the Trust has instigated changes in theassessment of nutrition and in the service ofmeals to older people in hospital in Colchester.

ACCol NewsPage 4

Leave our cheques alone!

Flu jab - not all it seems?

Almost 300,000 fewer cheques are written each day than a yearago, according to figures published this week by the PaymentsCouncil. That's a 10 per cent decline in a year, suggesting thatplans by the banking industry to scrap cheques by 2018 are logical.The council is certainly keen to trumpet the decline, using emotivewords like "plummets" in its announcement.But, age charities warn that doing awaywith cheques would penalise older peoplewho struggle with the plastic cards whichare the current alternatives pushed out bythe banks.

The problem for some older folk is partlythe need to remember a four-digit PIN,but also that they've used cheques alltheir lives and don't see a need to change.In fact it's suggested that instead ofturning to plastic cards they will revert tousing cash, which could mean keepingmore money at home, or with them. Thenet result of that, of course, would be thatthey would become a more attractivetarget for sneak thieves and muggers.

For that reason it's essential that thebanking industry doesn't rush to scrapthe cheque system. It wants to do sobecause the administration involved withcheques is costly, as the pieces of paperneed to be taken from shops to a bankbranch, and on to the issuing bank and soon. Electronic payments can all be doneat the touch of a button, saving millions ofpounds in costs.

But the banks shouldn't be solely drivenby cost savings. Giving customers whatthey want is important, and while there'sstill a sizeable demand for cheques, thebanks should meet it.

Many people will now be receiving from their GP an invitation tohave their annual flu jab - but did you know that this year your jabcould contain a ‘bonus’ in the form of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?

The National Heath Service has decided that this year’s jab shouldbe a cocktail of the normal flu and swine flu vaccines.Colchester PCT has confirmed that thevaccine will be a mixture of H1N1, theswine flu vaccine, and two other flu virusvaccines which are the common fluviruses identified by the World HealthOrganisation as causing Flu this winter.

The World Health Organisationannounced the influenza strains to beincluded in the 2010/11 seasonalinfluenza vaccine and this includes theH1N1 swine influenza virus.

H1N1 is one of the viruses causing fluthis winter.   There is no distinction madebetween seasonal flu viruses in the

vaccine, as they are different and newevery year, therefore this why H1N1 -the swine flu virus - has not beenspecifically mentioned in the GP inviteletters that older and vulnerable wouldhave received..

All those in the 'at risk' group are invitedto have the seasonal flu vaccineincluding those who may have had theH1N1 swine flu vaccine last year.

This years seasonal flu vaccine does notoffer a choice, there is only one availableto identified patients, and it  is a mix ofH1N1 and two other flu viruses.

Issue Page 555

Fisherman’s Friend

It was the first planned town of the Victorian era - landowner Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwoodenvisaged it as a seaside resort for the less well-off, but, by the second half of the 19

century Fleetwood in Lancashire had grown into one of the largest fishing ports in England.Life on board the fishing boats was tough, and although the fishermen were extremely hardy individualsaccustomed to danger and discomfort, the icy conditions they endured at sea meant that coughs, coldsand bronchial problems were frequent complaints. In 1865 a local pharmacist, James Lofthouse, createda strong liquid containing eucalyptus and menthol which, when administered to suffering fishermen, wasso effective that he decided to make the liquid into small lozenges which the fishermen could take withthem on their voyages. These proved to be very popular and the fishermen were soon referring to themas their "friends"...

James passed the recipe to his son Charles who indue course handed it on to his own son, also calledJames, who ran the pharmacy business with hiswife, Frances. For many years no one knew aboutthe powerful, sinus-clearing lozenges beyond thefishermen of Fleetwood, but when the family startedselling them in the seafront gift shops they owned,summer visitors to the town began buying them andliking them and the fame of the Fisherman's Friend,as the cough sweet was now known, graduallyspread.

People who had bought the lozenges while stayingin the town, and others who had heard of them byword of mouth, began writing to the Lofthouseswith orders. Frances sent the Fisherman's Friendout with labels she typed herself: her original use ofthe black typewriter ribbon for some words and thered typewriter ribbon for others continues to bereflected on the coloured lettering on the packets.

At the helm of the company today are husband-and-wife Tony and Doreen Lofthouse (ManagingDirector and Chairman respectively). Doreen'sinitiative was crucial to the swift expansion of thebusiness during the 1970s. When orders came infrom people, Doreen would visit shops in the townsof these potential customers, show theshopkeepers the letters, and promise that if theyagreed to stock the lozenges she would encouragethe people to go to their shops. A majorbreakthrough came when Boots, the giantpharmaceutical company, asked if the Lofthousescould supply Fisherman's Friend to their branchesall over Britain. Sales rocketed and to cope withdemand a factory was built on the outskirts of

Fleetwood. Incidentally, the trawler which isdepicted on the packet was a real fishing boat: theCevic.

The factory in Fleetwood now employs 280 staffand the Fisherman's Friend is exported to 120countries. They are particularly popular in Norway,Germany and the Far East, with 15 differentvarieties available {the Nordic one is a rather saltyconcoction called “salmiak") to suit local tastes.These include "cherry", “spicy -mandarin", "lemon"and "apple cinnamon". Doreen Lofthouse, whobased the size of their 1974 aniseed lozenge on thesize of the buttons on the dress she was wearing atthe time (!), was awarded an OBE for her charitywork, and the company is well-known in the townfor its fine philanthropic activity: £1.6 million wasdonated to renovate the local hospital.

It is estimated that five billion of the small brownlozenges are sold each year. So it is highly likely that,while you are reading this, someone, somewhere,whether at sea or on dry land, will be sucking oneand experiencing the invigorating effects ...

ACCol NewsPage 6

Are you beingOlder and disabled people are being preyed on in their own homes by rogue salesmen

flogging faulty mobility aids, such as stairlifts and scooters, at rip-off prices. The scamis thought to cost British pensioners and the disabled millions of pounds a year.

Trading Standards has launched a nationwide crackdown on these firms, winning millionsof pounds back for vulnerable residents over the past year. Complaints have soared byalmost a fifth, with Consumer Direct reporting 5,300 complaints last year. Officers havefound evidence of:

Hampshire County Council TradingStandards officers have recovered£277,000 for vulnerable residents inthe past year, while Bracknell ForestBorough Council has clawed back£125,000.

In one case, a man in his late 80s wasbullied into buying a £5,000 scooterwhen he already had one. An 80-year-old lady was cold-called andpressured into signing two contractsworth about £13,000.

n SALESPEOPLE posing as social care professionals.n HIGH-PRESSURE sales tactics,including cold calls and

home visits.n ROGUE firms closing down and relaunching under new

names.n FAULTY goods, or ones unsuitable for older people.n MOBILITY aids being sold for three times the

recommended retail price.n OVERBLOWN medical claims, breaching industry

guidelines.

Leicestershire County Council issued a warning tolocals after a spate of complaints from residentswho’d been missold mobility aids.

Councillor Paul Bettison, chairman of Local Gov-ernment Regulation, says: ‘These heartless crimi-nals are leaving people extremely worried and in agreat deal of debt. They must realise they will becaught, dealt with by the courts and punishedseverely. People who target vulnerable membersof society have no morals and will not think twiceabout piling on the pressure to ensure they get asmuch money as possible.

‘The equipment sold is rarely suitable, severelyoverpriced and will no doubt come with a cancella-tion policy that is extremely hard to get out of.’

Sharp practices revolve around sales of all mobilityaids — from bath aids to orthopaedic furniture.Inevitably, most customers are elderly — many arehousebound, living alone and vulnerable.

Typically, these firms will cold-call customers. Anappointment will be arranged and a salesman willmake a home visit.

Issue Page 755

served?The victim will then be subject to a hard sell, oftenbeing told they are being given a fantastic dealwhich will expire if they don’t buy on the spot.Some salesmen are even luring potentialcustomers into a false sense of security byposing as social care professionals working forthe Government.

Andrew Barker, managing director of MangarInternational — a manufacturer of mobility aids —says: ‘The private market in mobility aids hasbeen left to the backstreet salesmen. We’ve hadmany cases where these firms are posing ascustomers, buying products off our website andselling them on at vastly inflated prices — oftento people completely unsuited to them. It’sdespicable.’

Michele Shambrook, operations manager forConsumer Direct, says: ‘Prospective buyersneed to guard against the tactics of some rogueoperators.

‘Many of these products are sold to people in theirown homes where they can be vulnerable tohigh-pressure selling techniques.’

Disability and pensioners’ charities are dismayed.

Liz Sayce, chief executive of disability charityRADAR, says: ‘This is very concerning. There isa lack of information out there making thesepeople even more vulnerableto exploitation.’

John Inman from the 1970s BBC television series‘Are you being served ?’

Earlier this year, BBC’s Rogue Traders highlightedthe case of an elderly woman with dementia sold arise-and-recliner chair for £1,700 — a lot more thanit could be bought for elsewhere — by Nottingham-based ABM Mobility.

An undercover investigation revealed the high-pressure techniques used its salesmen, who canearn hundreds of pounds in commission for eachsale.

The firm, which generated more than 300complaints to Derbyshire Trading Standards lastyear, stopped taking calls from angry customersand became Virgo Healthcare Ltd, operating fromthe same office in Nottingham.

The firm is no longer trading.

ACCol NewsPage 8

Dear Father ChristmasMy friends are telling me that mytelevision, which is now gettingquite old, will not be suitable for thenew digital programmes and I willhave to purchase another TV. I’man oldie and I don’t know if this isthis true?Kath

Dear Father Christmas

I am finding it more and more difficultto get VHS tapes for my video re-corder and I understand that I willnot be able to record when we godigital.

Margaret

Dear KathYour friends are telling you porkies!Yes, the television programmes thatyou receive will change to digital nextsummer but there is no need tochange your television unless youwant to get one that is smaller andslimmer.Being an ‘oldie’ you will benefit fromthe Digital Switchover Help Schemefor those of us over 75 and you will beoffered a fitted ‘digibox’ for £40. Ifyou are on Pension Credit or anotherbenefit then you will not have to payanything at all and the engineer willmake certain you are quite happy withyour new ‘digibox’ before they leave.You won’t need to do anythingbecause the Pension Service willadvise the Help Scheme people as towill be eligible for a ‘digibox’Father Christmas

Dear MargaretYou are quite right in that VHS videorecorders and their tapes are becomingobsolete and it will very difficult for themto record programmes when we go digitalnext year.I would suggest that you considerpurchasing a PVR (Personal VideoRecorder) and, although I do not yet havedigital television here in Lapland, Iunderstand that Age Concern Colchesterhas done a very good deal for peoplesuch as yourselves with Anglian Electrics.They will supply and install a Humax PVRin your home for £135. That’s less thansome of the ‘big boys’ but, not only willthey set it up and provide the extra leadsrequired, they will also show you how it allworks so that you are absolutely happy.They will even take away your old VHSrecorder if you want them to.So, why not tell the children and thegrandchildren that you would like the‘£135 Age Concern Colchester SpecialPVR Deal’ from Anglian Electrics inMagdalen Street, Colchester for yourChristmas stocking!Father Christmas

Dear Father Christmas

Issue Page 955

Colchester Shops andBusinesses Quiz -

The Answers1. Swag Shop2. Boots3. Savers4. Past Times5. Corals6. Simon Says7. Kathleen’s Kitchen

8. Bakers Oven9. Red Lion Books10. Nationwide

Our Big Knit UpdateAge Concern Colchester is very happy to an-nounce that we have just reached the 5,000 markfor woolly hats and they`re still coming in!It has been a truly wonderful effort this year andour greatest thanks go out to all who have contrib-uted their efforts, whether great or small.Every single hat is appreciated. We have beensurrounded in the office by hats in the shape ofcats, bumble bees, teddy bears, punks, swansand chickens to name but a few. We`re sorry tosee them go!However we will be receiving money from Inno-cent at the rate of 25 pence per hat and this is tobe spent on our Winter Warmth Campaign thisyear which includes a Blanket Testing Day on 22October and two `Glow into Winter` informationsessions in Colchester and Tiptree in Novemberand the establishment of emergency food packsfor those in need.We look forward to seeing hats appear in theshops. It`s a shame that we probably won`t seeour own locally but that`s probably too much to ask.We also look forward to next year`s campaign sowatch this space!

ACCol NewsPage 10

Living through the Blitz

Edith

Reg

Joyce

Terry

Winnie

Some of the members of Tiptree Day Centre were living inLondon during the Blitz so we asked them to tell us of their

memories of this difficult time.Edith has memories of the Andersonshelter in the garden of her home inWalthamstow and she remembers thenight raids going on for week afterweek.

Reg lived in Hornsey at the time andremembers the terrible noise anddestruction of the bombs. He used toshelter in the Turnpike LaneUnderground Station and he said thatthere were hundreds, perhapsthousands, sleeping on the stationplatforms night after night.

Joyce remembers an incident whenher husband was due home on leaveand he was on the train. NearDagenham the train stopped becauseof the destruction and passengers

were told they could either get off orstay on the train. Joyce’s husbanddecided to stay on the train and itcontinued it’s journey past bombedand burning buildings on both sides ofthe track. Joyce said it had been avery frightening experience for him.

Terry lived in Walworth during the blitzand was bombed out so had to moveto another address. This was alsobombed, and on this occasion, healso lost both his parents and abrother in the raid. He remembers theARP wardens and the rest centreswhich provided cups of tea.

Winnie lived in Ingatestone during thewar and remembers the bombersgoing over night after night.

The iconic image of St Paul's Cathedralafter the very heavy raid of29 December 1940

Issue Page 1155

Electric Blanket TestingFriday 22 October

To book your appointmentring 01206 368420

Winter Warmth DayAt Lion Walk Activity Centre

Friday 19 November10am to 2 pm

Information and BenefitsAdvice

Home InsulationChanging Energy Suppliers

Home SafetyKeeping Healthy

Helpline • Free GiftsWinter Warmth Packs

Ready-prepared Mealsand much, much more ...

Tuesday 9 November2.00 to 4.00

hosted byThe Windmill Green Club

at St Luke`s Church Hall, TiptreeDetails on (01206) 368420

Information, advice and supportto get you through the worst ofthe winter weather

Globe House6 George StreetColchesterCO1 1TP

Phone: 01206 368420Fax: 01206 500984Email: info@ageconcerncolchester.org.ukWeb: www.ageconcerncolchester.org.uk

Working for all older people in theBorough of Colchester

"Please wear a poppy," the lady saidAnd held one forth, but I shook my head.

Then I stopped and watched as she offered themthere,

And her face was old and lined with care;But beneath the scars the years had made

There remained a smile that refused to fade.A boy came whistling down the street,

Bouncing along on care-free feet.His smile was full of joy and fun,

"Lady," said he, "may I have one?"When she's pinned it on he turned to say,

"Why do we wear a poppy today?"The lady smiled in her wistful way

And answered, "This is Remembrance Day,And the poppy there is the symbol for

The gallant men who died in war.And because they did, you and I are free -

That's why we wear a poppy, you see."I had a boy about your size,

With golden hair and big blue eyes.He loved to play and jump and shout,

Free as a bird he would race about.As the years went by he learned and grew

and became a man - as you will, too.

"He was fine and strong, with a boyish smile,But he'd seemed with us such a little while

When war broke out and he went away.I still remember his face that day

When he smiled at me and said, Goodbye,I'll be back soon, Mom, so please don't cry."But the war went on and he had to stay,

And all I could do was wait and pray.His letters told of the awful fight,

(I can see it still in my dreams at night),With the tanks and guns and cruel barbed wire,And the mines and bullets, the bombs and fire.

"Till at last, at last, the war was won -And that's why we wear a poppy son."

The small boy turned as if to go,Then said, "Thanks, lady, I'm glad to know.

That sure did sound like an awful fight,But your son - did he come back all right?"

A tear rolled down each faded check;She shook her head, but didn't speak.

I slunk away in a sort of shame,And if you were me you'd have done the same;

For our thanks, in giving, if oft delayed,Though our freedom was bought - and

thousands paid!And so when we see a poppy worn,Let us reflect on the burden borne,By those who gave their very all

When asked to answer their country's callThat we at home in peace might live.

Then wear a poppy! Remember - and give!~~By Don Crawford.~~