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Time to Talk Day is the nation’s biggest mental health conversation. Happening every year, it’s a day for friends, families, communities, and workplaces to come together to talk, listen and change lives.

Time to Talk Day 2024 will take place on 1st February 2024. It’s run by Mind and Rethink Mental Illness and is being delivered in partnership with Co-op for the third year running.

The more conversations we have, the better life is for everyone. Talking about mental health isn’t always easy and sometimes it’s even harder to say how you really feel. But a conversation has the power to change lives.

Time to Talk Day is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation about mental health.

Why talking is important

1 in 4 of us will experience a mental health problem in any given year. And the cost of living crisis is only making it harder to look after our mental health – the poorest fifth of the population are twice as likely to develop a mental health problem.

Sometimes it’s easier to tell people we’re ‘fine’ than it is to say how we really feel.

We want everyone to feel comfortable talking about mental health – whenever they like. Recent research shows how important open conversations in communities are to support everyone’s mental wellbeing. Talking about mental health reduces stigma, helping to create supportive communities where we can talk openly about mental health and feel empowered to seek help when we need it.

Time to Talk Day is the perfect opportunity to start a conversation about mental health.

Support available in North Tyneside

If you are struggling with your mental health, there is support available.

Improve your mental health

There are steps you can take to improve your mental health. While these steps can help lift your mood, they are not a replacement for medical support. You should speak to your GP if you feel like your mental health is affecting your daily life or causing you distress.

  1. Connect with the people around you.
    Close relationships with friends and family can add up to 7 years to our lives.  Have a conversation, pass the time of day, make time for a chat or a cuppa with a neighbour. If you want to expand your friendship circle, join one of our Wellbeing Centres.
  2. Be active.
    Exercise makes you feel good and can improve your mood. Find a physical activity that you enjoy and suits your level of mobility and fitness.
  3. Take notice.
    Whether you are walking around a local park, eating your lunch or talking to friends, savour the moment and take notice of what’s around you. It will help you appreciate what matters to you. You can find your nearest park here.
  4. Keep learning.
    Enjoy achieving a new challenge and boost your confidence by trying something new or rediscovering an old interest. Find out more about Adult Learning from North Tyneside Council.
  5. Give.
    Join a volunteer group or just do something nice for someone – it can be incredibly rewarding and a good way to connect. VODA provide support, advice and training to volunteers. Or you can view Age UK North Tyneside current volunteering vacancies here.

This National Older Workers Week, we want to highlight the importance and value of older workers.

The Age UK North Tyneside Group is proudly an Age Friendly employer. We work to harness the skills and experience of older workers to enhance our services.

Dawn McNally, the Group Chief Executive at Age UK North Tyneside, said:

“As a charity working for the benefit of older people in North Tyneside, combating ageism is something very close to our hearts. We’re delighted to be able to demonstrate our commitment to supporting older workers by signing the Age-friendly Employer Pledge.

“We’re proud to have many employees in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. From carers to office staff to members of our Senior Leadership Team, there is no reason that age should exclude anyone from a role they’re capable of.

“By signing this pledge, we hope to demonstrate to older workers across the region that they are welcome at Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Care & Support. We also like to think we can serve as an example to other organisations in the region, and hope that they will follow suit in signing the Age-friendly Employer Pledge.”

Older workers have often been overlooked and experienced prejudice. However, multigenerational workforces bring a wider set of experiences to any organization. We encourage other employers to become Age Friendly Employers by clicking here and signing the pledge. The pledge allows us to encourage career development at all ages as older workers fill those key skill gaps in the market. You can also read more about our experience with the pledge here.

Inclusive hiring is especially important to us in the Age UK North Tyneside Group as we work towards our vision of helping create “a world where everyone enjoys later life”. It is evident our efforts have paid off with our diverse workforce. Olga Storey, a 79-year-old care worker with our care provider EveryDay Care & Support explains better than anyone the benefits of working for an age inclusive organisation:

“I have been employed by EveryDay Care as a Support Assistant since the beginning of January 2023 and I must say that it has been an extremely enriching experience for me as an older employee.

What I love about working for EveryDay Care is the people I work with and knowing that, whilst there is an obvious obligation to follow the guidelines, there is still the freedom to create a way of working without the need to be micro-managed in the knowledge that there are always Line Managers on-call to guide you.

I have learned that EveryDay Care has a proactive approach to its employees’ well-being no matter their age. All employees are treated as equals.”

It fills us with pride to hear such wonderful things about our organisation and efforts to make a more inclusive space for all workers. Too often negative stereotypes and attitudes, particularly when they are internalised, make older workers feel less confident and impede their performance. A more positive outlook that embraces the benefits of age diversity must underlie any work to tackle ageism at work. That means being aware of all the negative stereotypes that are embedded in our attitudes to hiring, managing, and promoting workers.

Find out more about the vacancies and volunteering opportunities across both Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay to be part of a workforce that encourages career growth at all ages.

Would you like to help shape local health services? Join Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and have your say.

In 2006, Northumbria Healthcare were one of the first NHS organisations in the country to become a foundation trust.

This means they are accountable to the people they serve in Northumberland and North Tyneside and have greater freedoms to plan local services and respond to the needs and wishes of their communities.

As a foundation trust, they are authorised and regulated by independent regulators including NHS Improvement and the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Anyone can join as a member of their trust to help shape local health services by simply completing an online form today.

The Department for Work and Pensions has announced the dates for autumn’s cost of living payments, and the dates for people applying for the qualifying benefit.

The Government announced the qualifying and payment dates for the next Cost of Living Payment for people on means-tested benefits. The payment of £300 is the second of three payments due to total £900 by Spring 2024. Recipients must have been entitled to a payment of a qualifying benefit between 18 August 2023 and 17 September 2023. For universal credit, payment for an assessment period ending between those dates will qualify.

Qualifying benefits are:

Payments from the Department for Work and Pensions will be made automatically between 31st October and 19th November 2023, whilst HMRC will make the payments between 10 -19 November 2023. It is also still possible to backdate a Pension Credit claim for three months to qualify for this payment. If a claimant has not received a payment they believe they were entitled to, they can report that online at Gov.UK.

For help with backdating a Pension Credit claim or knowing if you qualify for the Cost of Living payments, get in touch with Age UK North Tyneside. Contact the Information & Advice team on 0191 280 8484 or email enquiries@ageuknorthtyneside.org.uk.

This year, experts think that there may well be more flu and other respiratory viruses around. We need to do all we can to protect ourselves and others this winter.

Flu is a seasonal illness which is usually at its most prevalent from October to March each year.

Flu is much more than a nasty cold. Last winter, it’s estimated there were around 12,500 excess winter deaths amongst the 65+ cohort attributed to flu in England.

As we age, our immune system weakens meaning our body is less able to fight off illnesses. This happens even if we are fit and healthy.

The best way to protect yourself and others against the flu is with to get the flu vaccine. Antibiotics and other medication won’t help to prevent you from getting it.

There are different flu strains and so each year the vaccine is created to protect against the most prevalent strain. This is why you should get a new vaccine each year.

Don’t believe everything you see or hear – there are a lot of myths around the flu vaccine. Check the facts at www.ageuk.org.uk/flu.

Who should get the flu vaccine?

The following groups can get a flu vaccine for free from their GP, Pharmacy, or other healthcare professional:

Coronavirus booster jabs

It’s important to get your coronavirus booster jab as well as your flu jab. Find out more about the COVID-19 autumn programme here.

For help booking your flu vaccine or COVID-19 booster, call Age UK North Tyneside on 0191 280 8484 or get in touch online.

EveryDay Care & Support has signed the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, a free nationwide programme launched by the Centre for Ageing Better to improve the recruitment, retention and development of older workers.

A recent poll commissioned by Ageing Better reveals the scale of ageism in the workplace and demonstrates the urgent need for action. More than a fifth (21%) of UK adults aged 50+ indicated that since turning 50, they had regularly experienced ageist attitudes in the workplace or when applying for roles. And while approximately two thirds (64%) agreed they would feel comfortable in reporting ageist behaviour in the workplace, less than half (42%) said they would be confident any complaint would be taken seriously.

Sky-high labour and skills shortages are one of the biggest challenges facing our economy today- the latest ONS statistics revealed over one million vacancies in the final quarter of 2022-3. And with an ageing population, older workers can play a vital role in overcoming this. It has never been more important for employers to become age-friendly and take advantage of older workers’ skills and experience.

Signing the pledge

By signing the pledge, EveryDay Care & Support is demonstrating their support to tackling ageism in the workplace and committing to taking at least one action a year to improve the way they recruit, manage and support older workers. Under the initiative, EveryDay Care & Support will also identify a senior sponsor for age-inclusion within their workforce and ensure that age is specifically named within Equality, Diversity and Inclusion policies.

Over 100 employers have already signed the pledge, including Virgin Hotels, Osborne Clarke and the Department for Work and Pensions. EveryDay Care & Support is proud to be joining other leading organisations in taking action to help older workers flourish in the workplace.

A word from Age UK North Tyneside

Dawn McNally, Group Chief Executive at Age UK North Tyneside, said:

“As a charity working for the benefit of older people in North Tyneside, combating ageism is something very close to our hearts. We’re delighted to be able to demonstrate our commitment to supporting older workers by signing the Age-friendly Employer Pledge.

“We’re proud to have many employees in their 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s. From carers to office staff to members of our Senior Leadership Team, there is no reason that age should exclude anyone from a role they’re capable of.

“By signing this pledge, we hope to demonstrate to older workers across the region that they are welcome at Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Care & Support. We also like to think we can serve as an example to other organisations in the region, and hope that they will follow suit in signing the Age-friendly Employer Pledge.”

A word from the Centre for Ageing Better

Dr Carole Easton, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said:

“The pledge has been designed to support businesses to go on a journey at a pace that works for them. By taking manageable and measurable steps, employers will learn over time what steps they need to take to make the biggest difference in their own organisation.”

“The labour market is changing and employers are facing huge challenges with skills and labour shortages and near-record vacancy rates. Workers in their 50s and 60s are key to filling these gaps – now, more than ever, the older workforce is the workforce.

“And yet older workers are continuing to leave the labour market in droves. We want to help businesses understand how they can be attractive employers to older workers and reap the benefits of a multigenerational workforce.”

The Centre for Ageing Better supports the network of Age-friendly Employers by providing a full framework of actions to take alongside a range of learning resources and content to help employers make changes within their organisation. Regular newsletters share tips and guidance, while Ageing Better also host webinars where pledged employers can learn and share best practice. Organisations report back to Ageing Better on the progress of their age-friendly actions too.

Join the EveryDay Care & Support team

To find out more about the age-friendly roles available at EveryDay Care & Support, call us on 0191 287 7011 or click here.

After picking up two regional wins at The Great British Care Awards 2022, we’re absolutely delighted that Alex Rose and Michelle Orange have done it again.

Both Alex and Michelle were Highly Commended in their categories, effectively coming second place nationally. We’re incredibly proud of the amazing work that these two do, they couldn’t be more deserving.

Kerry Parker, Head of EveryDay Care & Support, said of our winners,

“We are so proud to have you both as part of the EveryDay team in Newcastle. Your professionalism, commitment, passion and caring approach to making every day for our customers the best it possibly can be shines through. Keep doing what you are doing. you are both absolute stars.”

Alex Rose was Highly Commended for The Home Care Co-ordinator Award. The judges said,

“For someone at the start of her care career, Alex has an incredible insight into the roles and values of social care, and how domiciliary care can really make a difference. This natural talent, paired with determination, will see her far in the sector.”

Michelle Orange was Highly Commended for The Home Care Worker Award. The judges said,

“Michelle is a passionate professional who truly cares about those she supports. She is a shining example of excellence in home care.”

What are The Great British Care Awards?

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout the UK and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards is to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.

There are twenty-one awards categories available for nomination, which represent all areas of the social care sector, whether it be older people or specialist services, residential or home care. From frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training and innovation.

The awards are all-inclusive, bringing together the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors, as well as unpaid carers; promoting joint working. Working in partnership with care partners and local care associations is at the heart of the initiative; working and linking directly with local managers and networks to further promote the event.

EveryDay Care & Support

EveryDay Care & Support is a social enterprise, formed in 2015 by the charity Age UK North Tyneside, which has been delivering professional personal care and support to people in the local community for more than 20 years.

To find out more about our award-winning services, call us on 0191 287 7028 or get in touch online.

If you would like to join our award-winning team, call us on 0191 287 7011 or click here to view our current vacancies.

What is International Women’s Day and why is it important?

Written by Holly Christie, Marketing Apprentice 

Today marks International Women’s Day – a time for us to focus on the celebration of women and push for a world with no gender discrimination. This year’s theme is #EmbraceEquity, a chance to show the difference between Equality and Equity.

“Equality is the goal, equity is the means to get there” is the definition given by IWD, which we couldn’t agree more with! It is all about giving women the help they NEED (not giving everyone the same help). It is definitely not a “one size fits all”.

IWD began to take the UK by storm in the early 20th Century, before first-wave feminism. This was vital to women for them to be recognised in society as a minority. It created a platform where women could use their voices and come together to fight inequality. From then, it has developed to share information on female rights, opportunities, and barriers women often face in day-to-day life.

International Women’s Day and EveryDay Care & Support

One aspect of IWD that means a lot to us is ‘Women at Work’. This mission aims to break down systemic barriers within a working environment. The Age UK North Tyneside Group’s aim, to help older adults make the most out of life, has started conversations about our role in fighting inequality through our work. At Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Care & Support, we are believers in the recognition of our strong, female–led, Senior Leadership Team. So, we are taking this opportunity to recognise their achievements and allow them to share their knowledge. Many of our leadership team have been with us for many years and have seen the progression of both them and their colleagues.

Let’s meet some of these amazing women!

International Women's Day

Dawn McNally is our Group Chief Executive Officer. Dawn says, “I have the great privilege of leading this fantastic organisation as Group Chief Executive and have done so now for the last 4 years. The role is not a straightforward Chief Executive role. As Group Chief Executive I am responsible for three subsidiary companies, EveryDay Care & Support, EveryDay Homes and Age UK North Tyneside Corporate Support Services, as well as Age UK North Tyneside.”

Michelle Adams, our Group Chief Operating Officer, says, “My role as Group Chief Operating Officer is to help lead a multidisciplinary team. I work closely with the CEO and leadership team to ensure our strategic priorities are delivered.”

We also have Kerry Parker, our Head of EveryDay Care & Support, and Registered Manager with CQC. And Sonya Roe, our Head of Charity Services. Sonya says, “I’ve very recently been promoted into the Head of Charity Services role which is very exciting. I’ve been with AUKNT for 8 and a half years now and it is our policy to nurture talent from within the organisation and ideally, where possible promote from within. My area includes; support for older adults in prison across six north east prisons, a large specialist dementia service including a team of Admiral Nurses, a number of Health & Wellness services designed to support people to improve their health and resilience, and of course our Befriending service. A very wide portfolio designed to support older adults to make more of life.”

Finally, we have Sharon Robinson, our Head of Finance who is responsible for all aspects of the finance function across the Group, and Angela Dawson, our Head of Quality & Transformation. Angie says, “I have just moved in to my new role as Head of Quality & Transformation, to lead on the maintenance and succession of quality standards and frameworks across the group to support continuous improvement and to support with the development, planning and delivery of change projects in different areas across the Group to achieve measurable improvements.”

What International Women’s Day means to us

With the range of talents and roles, we took the time to ask what IWD 2023 means to our leadership team.

Dawn put it simply, “Equal opportunity for everyone.”

Sonya said, “The Australians have a term, “a fair go” and for me it is important for everyone to have the same opportunity to be the very best they can be, level up the playing field to allow everyone to shine. People have different strengths and it’s important that they can be developed to achieve the best that they can in their chosen field.”

Women in leadership

It is known a leadership role presents itself with a set of challenges alone, without considering the struggles of inequality. Women face bias and discrimination when progressing in their careers due to the stigmatism surrounding femininity and motherhood. Research shows that 60% of women face workplace micro-aggression. This has driven the improvement of workplace environments for women. Therefore, our leadership team at Age UK North Tyneside have some encouraging words for women wanting to get into leadership.

Sharon says, “Go for it. If you work for a strong organisation they will support you all the way, and your colleagues will be there on the good and bad days. Both of these shape who you will become as a leader.”

Angie echoed Sharon’s sentiments, saying “Go for it! You can achieve anything you put your mind to. Inspire and motivate your team and bring them with you as you can’t do it on your own. Remember ‘respect’ is earned. Be strong, confident and honest.”

Sonya added, “In this day and age there is no reason why female leads should not exist in every sector and field. The only thing which could hold them back is their own lack of knowledge or confidence and both can be worked on.”

“Find your passion,” says Michelle, “Create your own brand. Play to your strengths and do not shy away from your weaknesses. You need to have a genuine desire to serve others. Find a great mentor. Leading people comes with great responsibility and a wonderful feeling of achievement.”

Creating a fair and equal world

At Age UK North Tyneside and EveryDay Care & Support, we want to support people from all walks of life, and our leadership team couldn’t agree more. We asked them to explain how they believe the Age UK North Tyneside Group displays fairness and equality.

Sonya said, “We never discriminate. We embrace differences and that, importantly for both staff here and the customers we serve, includes age. We recruit based on our values and that creates the spine of our work and what we achieve as a result.”

Kerry added, “Strong values that underpin everything we stand for and do across the organisation, robust policies and processes for all to follow to support fairness and equality.”

Finally, Michelle said, “We have an environment and culture where every individual has a sense of belonging and purpose and is empowered to achieve their full potential. From recruitment, to selection, training and retention, everyone is treated equally, with fairness, and respect.”

How can we progress?

Activism proves that there is strength in numbers. So, it’s no surprise that the work and missions of IWD need to be incorporated into our everyday lives. We should recognise the struggles women face and celebrate their achievements more, and with that will come change.

We’d like to say a huge congratulations to our amazing team. We’re delighted to have had five nominations and two wins at The Great British Care Awards 2022.

Kerry Parker, Head of EveryDay Care & Support, said of our winners,

“We are so proud to have you both as part of the EveryDay team in Newcastle. Your professionalism, commitment, passion and caring approach to making every day for our customers the best it possibly can be shines through. Keep doing what you are doing. you are both absolute stars.”

Michelle Orange, winner of the Home Care Worker Award, said.

“For me it has been so unreal, hard to believe that I actually won. It’s overwhelming for me. It was an honour to be nominated, and even more to actually win. I think I am still in total shock that I did win, but it’s a good feeling to be appreciated in what I do.”

The Wallsend Community Team, who were nominated for the Care Home Team Award, said,

“We are totally overwhelmed by the nomination. We are so proud of ourselves. Our team will always be winners in our eyes #TheEveryDayGirls.”

Our Winners and Shortlisted Nominees

Winners

Shortlisted Nominees

What are The Great British Care Awards?

The Great British Care Awards are a series of regional events throughout the UK and are a celebration of excellence across the care sector. The purpose of the awards are to pay tribute to those individuals who have demonstrated outstanding excellence within their field of work.

There are twenty one awards categories available for nomination, which represent all areas of the social care sector, whether it be older people or specialist services, residential or home care. From frontline staff such as care workers and care managers to people who have made an impact in other ways such as training and innovation.

The awards are all inclusive, bringing together the statutory, independent and voluntary sectors, aswell as unpaid carers; promoting joint working. Working in partnership with care partners and local care associations is at the heart of the initiative; working and linking directly with local managers and networks to further promote the event.

EveryDay Care & Support

EveryDay Care & Support is a social enterprise, formed in 2015 by the charity Age UK North Tyneside, which has been delivering professional personal care and support to people in the local community for more than 20 years.

To find out more about our award winning services, call us on 0191 287 7028 or get in touch online.

If you would like to join our award winning team, call us on 0191 287 7011 or click here to view our current vacancies.

The Care Workers’ Charity – Founding Member

We are proud to be a Founding Member of the £500 Challenge – a fundraising campaign launched by The Care Workers’ Charity encouraging businesses across the adult social care sector to commit to an annual donation of £500, the same as an average grant they award to a care worker experiencing financial hardship.

Workforce Crisis

Social care is experiencing a workforce crisis, and it is important now more than ever that organisations in the sector come together to recognise the immense value and tireless contributions of care workers across the UK in helping services to stay open. Age UK North Tyneside are contributing to this worthwhile cause to ensure that there is a helping hand for care workers in these difficult times.

Founder Member

By signing up as a Founding Member, we hope to encourage other organisations to sign up themselves. The Care Workers’ Charity is experiencing high demand for their services – since 2020 they have made over 6000 grants to care workers in crisis. If one in ten organisations providing and organising care in the UK accepted the £500 Challenge, they could raise £2.5 million per year to support care workers.

Karolina Gerlich, CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity said:

“We are extremely grateful to Age UK North Tyneside who have signed up as a Founding Member of our £500 Challenge. Every organisation who signs up and spreads the word is making it more likely that our charity can support care workers across the UK, providing the right support when it is needed most. We hope to sign up hundreds of businesses, ensuring that we have the funds we need to continue providing essential grants and mental health support in the years to come.”

Dawn McNally Chief Executive of Age UK North Tyneside said:

“As a large provider of quality, adult social care in North Tyneside and Newcastle we were delighted to support the Challenge. Now more than ever we find ourselves living in challenging times. Our care team has done incredible work before, during and after the Covid-19 pandemic and we support our workforce by whatever means available to us”.

Age UK North Tyneside urges organisations working in adult social care to accept this challenge and show that they really care about supporting the people who make up our essential workforce. It is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that care workers are supported to stay in their jobs and have a place to go in times of crisis.

Care Workers Charity Challenge 500 QR Code

 

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