Rotherfield St Martin research into a community group in an English rural village

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Rotherfield St Martinresearch into a community
group in an English rural village

• Its not steamrollers and hats

Marylynn Fyvie-Gauld
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Setting the Context

• The numbers of older people are increasing and
  set to increase steadily over the coming years
• Particularly of issue are people aged 75 and over
  because they generally require more help and
  social care than other age groups
• Expenditure on older people is also increasing
  especially on home care
• Home care hours have increased but the numbers of
  home care recipients has dropped

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• The countryside faces particular problems
• More older people (age-specific migration flow)
• Fewer younger people
• Mostly a wealthier population than urban dwellers
• Rural communities have the same percentage of
  poor people as the town
• Rural communities have the same percentage of
  people with restricted mobility as the urban
  areas
• People are widely dispersed in rural areas often
  with little access to public transportation
• The mixed economy of care varies with no lower
  threshold of provision
• Patchy delivery of services involves greater
  reliance on community groups in rural areas

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• The local authorities have a new role to play in
  the care and support of older people in a climate
  of spending cuts and increased demand as set out
  in Equity and Excellence Liberating the NHS
  Opportunities and Challenges (2010)
• A critical role in the assessment of need and
  allocation of resources
• Commissioning and monitoring services
• Overseeing local care markets
• taking action in case of neglect or abuse
• In order to fully discharge their obligations
  Local Authorities will have to work closely with
  others to find innovative ways of meeting needs

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t
Shropshire Voluntary Sector, 2007)
The Research
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• This small-scale study was sponsored by the
  University of Brightons Community University
  Partnership Programme
• The aims of the research
• To assess the effectiveness of the services
  provided by RSM to older people (including
  low-level)
• To determine volunteer motivation within the
  success of RSM
• To evaluate RSM in terms of a mutually beneficial
  college of people within the community
• To assess if RSM as a model could be transferable

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The Research Findings
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The Members Of Rotherfield St Martin
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15.3 are registered disabled
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Services Used (in percentages)
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Exercise Classes

• Making new friends and improving my activity
  level (80-89 female)
• The exercises classes were very beneficial
• (70-79 female)
• exercises classes have helped since having
  heart problems (80-89 female)
• useful exercises (70-79 male)
• more mobile now thanks to the exercises
  classes (70-79 female)

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Benefits of Exercise

• Evidence indicates that exercise is associated
  with lower risks of dependence and mortality
• Physical activity decreases the incident of
  chronic disorders
• Exercise is linked directly to a reduction in
  falls and therefore reduces costs to both the
  National Health Service and Social Services

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The effect of falls and therefore the need for
exercise

• Fear of falling can lead to loss of confidence
  and affects the ability to perform activities
  safely
• Falls and accidents are the fifth leading cause
  of death in people aged 65 and over
• Falls cost the NHS millions in 2002 in excess of
  942 million was spent on osteoporotic fractures
  of which 87 was spent on hip fracture
• Falls have financial disbursement for the NHS as
  well as the person themselves, family and carers
• Research indicates that older people will not
  admit to falls because it undermines their status
  as independent.

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Social/Chats/Friendship

• Over 51 of people aged 75 live alone (Age UK,
  2010)
• Over 1 million people aged 65 say they are
  always or often feel lonely (Age UK, 2010)
• Over 5000 older people spent Christmas day alone
  in 2006 (Age UK, 2010)
• Isolation is one of the causes of depression and
  affects 10-16 of people aged 65 (NIMH, 2003)
• There is a key role for the voluntary sector in
  combating depression and preventing isolation and
  depression among older people (Manthorpe and
  Illiffe, 2005)

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• I get out more and meet different people
  (80-89 female)
• The social side, as being on your own can be
  lonely, making new friends (80-89 female)
• It has given me a more positive attitude,
  opportunities to meet and make friends (70-79
  female)
• Ive got someone there I can always go to for
  help or just a chat (70-79 female)
• Its lovely to get out of the house and have
  some social time with other people (51-69 male)

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Isolation in Context

• According to Age UK (2010)
• 12 of older people (1.1 million) feel trapped in
  their own homes
• 6 of older people (that is nearly 600,000) leave
  their house once a week or less
• Nearly 200,000 older people in the UK do not
  receive enough help to get them out of their
  house or flat
• 17 of older people have less than weekly contact
  with family, friends and neighbours
• 11 have less than monthly contact
• isolation has become one of the main problems
  for people in the country. St. Martins in all
  villages would help (80-89 female)

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Other important services

• The car transportation Scheme
• The shrinking world of one member
• The transport scheme versus the taxi a tale of
  the hospital visit
• Trips out When you no longer have a car it is
  easy to become housebound, especially when you do
  not live in the centre of the village. The
  Scotney project has forced me to use old skills,
  such as embroidery and painting which I had lost
  confidence in doing(80-89 female)
• not everyone has the means of transport and any
  trips are well organised with transport,
  especially for people in wheelchairs (80-89
  male)

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• Meetings with speakers I look forward to
  meetings each week, also the speakers I have
  leaned a lot from them (80-89 female)
• Bereavement support Visiting Rotherfield St
  Martin when feeling at a low ebb was so helpful
  (70-79 female)
• Odd Jobs as one becomes old, the little jobs
  that seemed so simple become difficult and it is
  very difficult to get professionals to come.
  (80-89 female)
• Computer help and training the computer
  training was beneficial and enjoyable (70-79
  female)

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Making a differencepast and current service use

• the vast majority of respondents felt that
  Rotherfield St Martin had made some difference or
  a big difference to their lives
• Reduced use of the district nurse
• Reduced use of home care services
• Reduction in the use of Social Services
• Increased use of neighbours and relatives
• Reduction in the use of other services
• Reduced use of personal care

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Volunteer Characteristics

• Traditionally more women than men volunteer
  especially in caring organisations because of the
  link to the carer as female (Kuntz 2001).

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The Volunteers of Rotherfield St Martin

• Ive always volunteered
• Able to give back to the community in which I
  enjoy living in
• Because thats what you do you dont really
  think about it as volunteering
• social contact and giving of self worth
• Getting to know other people and their needs
• Im very pleased that I have been able to meet
  so many lovely and happy people
• Im lucky to be 81, fit and able to give my
  time
• I am proud to be associated with such a useful
  project
• I think you can enjoy giving and still be
  altruistic

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• It has strengthened the sense of community. The
  benefits of the services and the facilities it
  provides are recognised not only by the members
  but also by their families and friends. It has
  shown how readily people are prepared to give
  their time and money for the benefit of other
  (volunteer)
• Professor Heinz Wolf has proposed a time-bank
  concept called care-credits- RSM volunteers
  have already established this concept
• Those who are well, look after those who are
  poorly until they die, and then the next lot
  underneath will have retired and be able to
  volunteer to look after that lot, and so on. It
  will fuel itself (Volunteer)

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Support for volunteers

• Rotherfield St Martin is good to is volunteers

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• 97 of the volunteers said that their
  expectations of volunteering had been met
• Women were more inclined than men to rate their
  experience of volunteering as excellent (?2
  4.381, df1, p 0.014)

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The Community and Rotherfield St Martin

• Provides a focus for the elderly members of the
  village
• Puts Rotherfield on the map! Brings the
  community together i.e. surgery church, school,
  all involved
• Helps community relationships, saves them some
  money, enriches their lives
• Stronger sense of community, bringing people
  together in an area where the population is
  widespread
• It provides a fantastic community spirit,
  which appears to be unique to Rotherfield

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Rotherfield St Martin a unique community group?

• Absolutely, it is so successful. But it really
  needs another Jo and there are people like Jo,
  full of enthusiasm and energy. The problem is
  the cash. They need premises and this is so
  expensive and so that is the problem that needs
  to be overcome. It is not the idea or the person
  probably, but it is the money
• I believe it could be a local and national
  model
• This model could be adopted in other rural areas
  designed to support all aspects of peoples
  needs emotional, social, physical and mental

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• Small is beautiful
• I think this organisation is suitable to a
  village such as Rotherfield. I dont think it
  could be quite the same in a town, more people to
  satisfy
• Great for a local area, local people, local
  services. If you think nationally you get too big
  and centralised and lose the local character
• It is no use thinking you want to do good, that
  will not work. You have first to establish a
  need. A group is successful by knowing the
  community and tailoring the needs to that
  community

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• Dont make it too big because people become
  alienated outside their community
• If it became larger and more people involved, it
  would become more bureaucratic, more paperwork,
  more rules and the nice touch would be eroded,
  the nice touch of Jo and the helpers
• RSM is a prime example of what can be achieved
  in a small community, borne of the vision and the
  enthusiasm of one person, Jo, now with the
  encouragement and backing of her team of
  knowledgeable Trustees and hard working
  Committee. We are lucky to live in such a caring
  and friendly village

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But, of course, not everything can be perfect

• Please, please may we have savoury or sweet
  biscuits available at all meetings in addition to
  cakes (which are fattening and unhealthy) also
  the Cona coffee in the office should be
  discontinued.
• Opportunity for voluntary drivers to share tips
  (e.g. hospital parking, how to know if your
  passenger is ready to go home, etc)
• list in the office of things that need doing to
  which one could sign up
• Use the central village notice board
• Encourage volunteers to bring a plate of
  savouries, salads or puds to the Annual Party

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In conclusion

• Research indicates that low level services such
  as those provided by RSM is important in primary
  prevention and reduces or delays the use of
  hospital services
• Low-level care is being squeezed out in favour
  of crucial and substantial care services
  (Counsel and Care, 2007)
• Low level care helps in the prevention of older
  people having to go into residential care

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• Government is clearly intending to become
  increasingly reliant on community groups to be
  partners in provision of services
• The cost of running RSM is the equivalent of
  employing one senior social worker
• 250 volunteer hours per week translate to
  approximately 30-36 pence per ho
• Volunteer England suggest that every 1 of
  volunteering return 4-8 in direct economic value
  not including added value benefits
• The potential exists within the voluntary sector
  to produce a wide range of services and clearly a
  capacity that needs to be harnessed in the future
  by health and social care

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Final words from the volunteers and members of
Rotherfield St Martin

• what I consider most important is the
  commitment of all the volunteers from the
  Trustees and Project Manager, the Committees and
  Sub-committees to the many volunteers
• There can be no doubt that the fame and good
  works of Rotherfield St Martin have spread well
  beyond the village boundaries
• where there are large numbers of elderly
  people in need to similar services. With growing
  numbers of elderly people in need to help in many
  areas of their daily lives, would not all welcome
  such close community support? I believe so.
• I would like it to continue forever, it is an
  inspiration to many. God bless everyone involved

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Thanks to all of you For your help in this
research