difference

having an impact, making a difference

impact

IMPACT REPORT 2013

having an impact, making a difference

Welcome to our Impact Report 2013. This report captures in summary what we have achieved in 2013 and briefly sets out what we aim to do in the year ahead. This has been an important year for Age Concern Kingston; we have seen an increase in the demand for our services and, as funding pressures mount on local authorities and the NHS, our role and our services are becoming increasingly important for more and more people. Our award-winning Stay Well at Home service fulfils a critical role in helping people proactively access both practical and emotional support, reducing isolation and loneliness and their spiralling consequences: depression, anxiety and failure to self-medicate, which can often lead to an emergency. This year an independent evaluation was carried out to examine just how much impact this work has and what difference it makes. The headline findings of this evaluation showed: a social return on investment of 11:1 11 of value for every 1 spent savings in public sector expenditure of 268,000 around three times the investment made by NHS Kingston in funding the pilot volunteers responsible for 25% of the total value of the service 350,000, more than 10 times the value of their input an average value of 3,500 achieved for each client, 10 times the average cost of input to support them Most importantly, the service is highly valued by those it has helped. The volunteer was excellent, reliable and efficient. Up until I needed Age Concern I wasnt aware of what they offered. Now my home help is through Age Concern too. I havent got anyone else who could do it. Its wonderful. With those responsible for planning public services under huge pressure to save money, it is critical that new services are developed which deliver real returns that maximise outcomes for the community. Stay Well at Home is an example of just such a service. Stay Well at Home does not stand alone; it is one of the fantastic examples of what Age Concern Kingston does well. Its success is in many ways due to the way it links people with other services. Our challenge for the coming year is to build upon such examples and to work with partners who share our vision and values, such as our local community health provider, Your Healthcare. By combining our efforts we can generate greater value to the community, continuing to have an impact and make a difference

What we said we would do

work with our partners in health and the local authority on the development of an outcomes-focused, borough-wide day service, which will support people in staying safe, well and independent in their own homes and communities continue to champion quality information and advice as crucial for older peoples independence, working with our local authority to ensure this valued service continues to be supported enhance facilities at our Raleigh House day centre to meet the needs of frailer people develop our services for people living with dementia, their families and carers, building on our successful Saturday Club model achieve all the targets of our new Fit as a Fiddle programme funded by NHS Kingston and ensure this evidence-based work will continue beyond 2013 achieve all the targets of our Stay Well at Home service, demonstrating its effectiveness and value in supporting older peoples independence and well-being explore options for the development of our In Touch telephone befriending scheme increase the capacity of our Help@Home service, to meet the demand for high quality practical help and support in the home review the options to sustain our Handyperson service, working with our local authority partners explore opportunities to enhance our housing-related services meet the targets of our Lend a Hand project, working with carers of people nearing the end of their lives invest in our IT infrastructure to support our organisational development for the next five years launch a new website, with improved accessibility standards maintain our commitment to providing quality services that help make later life a greater life

What we did
generated a social return on investment of 11 for every 1 invested in our award-winning Stay Well at Home service, saving the public purse over 240,000 hosted a listening event for the general public on the theme What things make later life a greater life? and published the findings championed the importance of day services through our partnership work with health and the local authority maximised our service users income by 570,973 an increase of over 47% on the previous year achieved 2,222 successful outcomes for users of our Information, Advice and Advocacy Service opened a new accessible shower room at Raleigh House enabled 197 people to improve their fitness, lose weight and eat more healthily through our Fit as a Fiddle programme increased hours of support provided by our Help@Home service to 995 per month, with 97% of customers surveyed agreeing the service helped maintain their independence at home continued to provide our popular Handyperson service through charitable resources managed our first house sale through our Housing Choices service developed, through our Lend a Hand project, specialist Loss and Bereavement training for our staff and volunteers upgraded our IT network, launched our new website, unveiled our film, Making Later Life a Greater Life, and developed our social media presence to provide new ways of engaging with the public added over 300,000 worth of value to our activities through the work of our volunteers

Next year we will

modernise our constitution to ensure the on-going relevance, appeal and evolution of our organisation expand and develop our housing-related services by joining forces with Kingston Community Furniture create a borough-wide universal day service, working with health partners, to improve access for people with a range of needs scale up our proven Stay Well at Home programme further increase the capacity of our Help@Home service to meet the demand for high quality, trusted and reliable support in the home expand the services provided by Help@Home to meet the needs of more frail people further enhance facilities at Raleigh House to meet the needs of people with greater disabilities and those with dementia renew our Advice Quality Standard (AQS) accreditation champion the value and importance of preventative services in keeping people safe, well and independent review and improve our arrangements for risk, health and safety continue to deliver a wide range of services that make your life a greater life

Feedback
We already knew you provided a great service. We now have proof of that. Thank you very much for all your efforts. I am 82 years old and have suffered with poor health and low finances for quite some time. I am grateful for the help. If everyone is treated as well as I have been, there cannot be much room for complaint. Keep up the good work. I'd like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for your continuing care of my parents. Raleigh House is a vital lifeline for them. Having a place where you can get information for our age group is very valuable. The Bradbury helped me fill a big hole in my life that appeared when I retired late at 78 and stops me getting depressed.

Volunteering
Over the last year and a half that I have been a volunteer at Age Concern, I have learnt a lot, gained my confidence and made new friends, both staff and day centre members. I would like to thank everyone for giving me this opportunity.

Contact details:

14 Nelson Rd, New Malden, KT3 5EA 020 8942 8256 ageconcernkingston.org

Registered Charity Number: 299988