兔子先生

Public health news: March 2023

Age-friendly communities are places where people of all ages can live healthy and active lives.

These communities make it possible for people to stay in their homes, participate in the activities that they value and contribute to their communities, for as long as possible.

To help us move forward, we need to know what is important to older people living in South Tyneside.

To do this we launched a survey on 1st October 2022, which was due to end in December 2022. We have since extended this to ensure we hear from a wider cross section of older residents across South Tyneside.

Of the surveys completed so far there is some really interesting data and comments emerging. This information will be analysed against the World Health Organisation (WHO) themes and an action plan will be developed for the next five years.

We are being encouraged to use a four-stage approach to our plan, with indicators to show how successful this has been. This approach will include:

• Engaging
• Planning
• Implementing
• Evaluation

The Centre for Ageing Better have collated different types of indicators that can be used to help chose the right measures for South Tyneside.

Some of the very positive comments received so far include:

• Access to public buildings
• Wanting to stay in my own home
• Access to the internet - but not necessarily how to use it
• Wanting more intergenerational opportunities

Negative comments received so far include:

• Improvement to the footpaths - particularly for those with mobility issues
• Better access to public toilets
• More information on entitlements
• A better selection of local shops with fewer hot food take aways

The next stage will be to work with residents and partner organisations to test out the data and comments so far, then start to set local indicators.

We will be looking for partners to work with to help set the initial indicators in line with the council priorities, health & wellbeing board priorities.