Leeds wins national Dignity in Care award » Communities » 24dash.com

Leeds has fought off competition from across the country to win the coveted Dignity in Care Award in the NHS Health and Social Care Awards for 2008.

The trophy was presented at a ceremony in London, attended by leading practitioners in health and social care services in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

The award was given in recognition of the way older people in Leeds who receive care services are treated with respect and have their dignity protected.

The Dignity in Care Campaign, spearheaded by Leeds City Council, Leeds health services, private sector care home owners, the voluntary sector and older people themselves, came out of talks with the Leeds Older People’s Forum who identified ‘being treated with respect and dignity’ as top of the list of improvements they wanted to see in health and social care services in the city.

This prompted Leeds City Council’s Adult Social Care Scrutiny Board to launch one of its largest-ever inquiries into Dignity in Care, coinciding with the launch, by the Department of Health, of the national Dignity in Care Campaign.

Leeds’s own campaign included a series of posters depicting older Leeds citizens voicing their expectations from the services they receive. The Scrutiny Board inquiry resulted in a thorough review of care services in the city, during which senior managers in public and private health and social care services were called to account.

Action to meet the scrutiny board recommendations for improvement is taking place all across the older people’s care sector. This is being backed up by the development of a ‘Dignity Audit’ so that improvements can be measured and monitored.

Councillor Peter Harrand, Leeds City Council’s Older People’s Champion and Executive Board member for Adult Health & Social Care, explained: “This award for the city’s pioneering work with older people is excellent news, as it recognises what is being done to bring major improvements to the lives of older people in our city.

“Leeds is committed to giving older people more say in how their care is delivered, in how their dignity and privacy are respected and more back-up to help them speak out when they are not.”

Last year, Leeds won £1 million of government funding to improve the way personal dignity is protected in care homes all across the city – and it was older people themselves who decided how the money was spent.

Improvements included creating more small lounges so that people can talk to visitors in private, better garden areas to create opportunities for fresh air and exercise, and small kitchens where residents can prepare their own snacks and meals when they want to.

Earlier this year, Leeds announced a further step in promoting and protecting people’s dignity in care homes, with plans to recruit ‘Dignity Watchdogs’ – older people who volunteer to inspect care homes to ensure residents’ dignity is being respected at all times.