International Day of Older People

1st October marks United Nationals International Day of Older People to raise awareness of opportunities and challenges faced by ageing populations.

Sadly we know that the older adults get, the more likely they are to be at risk of, or experience, abuse or neglect. Newcastle City Council are co-applicants on a new research project, led by Sunderland University: Safeguarding Adults For Empowerment (SAFE). The research will explore the perspectives of older people around safety and their involvement in safeguarding adults procedures. Dr Sarah Lonbay and Keith Chappell, who are leading this research, have published a blog to coincide with International Day of Older People. The Newcastle Safeguarding Adults Board received a presentation on this research at their last meeting and are looking forward to further updates on the findings and the publication of toolkits to support practice.

Also published today is a new season of The Portal Podcast: Linking Research and Practice for Social Work which is hosted by Dr Sarah Lonbay. The new season focusses on social work with older people and is a great listen on International Day of Older People.

Newcastle is a World Health Organisation Age Friendly City, and celebrates older people’s contributions to society throughout the whole month of October. Read more on InformationNOW about Older persons day events in Newcastle