Silver Surfers 55 plus

New Enhanced Day Care Centre Opens

Charnley Fold, Age Concern’s South Ribble flagship Enhanced Day Care Centre, opened for business this month.

Situated in Cottage Lane, Bamber Bridge, the new centre will cater for people with various forms of dementia.

Centre manager Cheryl Schofield said “This enhanced day support Centre focuses on providing person centred care, maximising individual potential and rehabilitation opportunities. There is an expectation that this will enable and promote independence for service users and in addition carers will be offered support, education, information and respite.

“The service will support older people with a range of very complex needs which may be unpredictable and fluctuating. Service users may also have a mixture of mental health and physical needs, possibly displaying severe mental health problems, degrees of behavioural disruption, and an inability to communicate responsively or participate in social activities, problems with continence or requiring support with daily living skills.

“The team consists of 14 experienced staff who will be working in partnership with the range of health and social care professionals based at Charnley Fold Resource Centre. This multi-disciplinary team will develop individual care plans to fully maximise service users’ potential and rehabilitation opportunities.

Deputy Chief Executive Judith Culshaw has had a major role in bringing the centre on line. She commented: “The strength of local partnerships in Central Lancashire, which have seen shared capital and revenue investment in specialist services for older people with mental health needs has resulted in Charnley Fold. This has come about by:

• Listening to local carers and their representative groups who strongly support broadening the base of community and health care services in this area, and see real value in having a buildings-based resource which could be operated and used for a wide variety of purposes.

• Commitment from a wide ranging professional of staff including consultant psychiatrists who are keen to develop services outside the traditional hospital environment and in partnership with Lancashire County Council and the voluntary sector.

“Our Caring Café, Flexible Outreach Service and Enhanced Day Care is testament to our reputation in providing high quality services and the trust that older people and their carers place in us.”

Just prior to opening the centre took delivery of a brand new 16-seater minibus which will be used to transport service users to and from Charnley Fold.

There will be opportunities for a number of volunteers to complement the staff team. Keep an eye on this website for details.

Established in 1981, Age Concern Preston and South Ribble provides a wide range of quality services for older people within the political boundaries of Preston and South Ribble to meet the needs identified by older people and their carers. Our aim is to promote the well being of older people and help make life a more fulfilling and enjoyable experience. In order to achieve this objective we are committed to: Promoting independent living and reducing social intervention. Encouraging informed choice and decision making for older people. Striving to ensure all older people are fully informed of their rights and social welfare provision. Enabling older people to influence the quality, nature and methods of delivery of initiatives and provisions that seek to meet their needs.

Age Concern Preston and South Ribble have ten major areas we can help you with from Day Support provision, Foot Care, Lunch Clubs and help you with your shopping. Services are upgraded frequently and new ones are coming online all the time. We strive to offer services second to none that make a difference to your independence. Day Support - provision is for the physically and mentally frail older person who still lives at home- Monday to Saturday and most Bank Holidays Community Links Scheme - visiting or telephoning socially isolated older people and supporting their participation in community life Home Support - helping people to regain their confidence and independence in their own home after medical treatment in either the hospital or through the community health teams Foot Care - offering basic nail clipping in clients own homes by fully trained staff and volunteers Supported Shopping - a new service to provide assistance to people who are normally independent but for some reason cannot currently shop for themselves Information & Advice Service - Provided through a team of specialist staff and volunteers by either personal visit or telephone enquiries. Over 3,600 older people used this service in 2003/2004 and we helped to access over £153,000 in benefits for older people Advocacy Services - for people with dementia living in care homes or independently Social/Leisure & Recreation Centres - Offering a range of activities aimed at promoting independence, improved mobility and health as well as combating isolation - come along and have some fun Lunch Clubs - Providing social contact and a delicious hot meal in various locations including a multi-cultural lunch club. Intergenerational Work - Working with local colleges, schools and nurseries for the provision of educational courses and opportunities to support younger people by sharing life’s experiences.