Integration Outcomes and how the Dumfries and Galloway Hard of Hearing Group is working towards these outcomes:
Outcome 1: People are able to look after and improve their own health and wellbeing and live in good health for longer
Hearing Aid Maintenance
At our drop-ins we provide support and advice to people about maintaining their aids and getting the best out of them. We regularly show people how to clean their aids.
In a survey we carried out in 2013, asking our service users about the advice they received: cleaning the aids was the biggest area where Service Users received advice, but the range of advice covered ten different areas, which shows that our volunteers are confident in giving a broad range of advice to Service Users.
In terms of cleaning aids, 82% of Service Users felt confident in cleaning their own aids. Of the 18% who were not confident, this was mostly down to the fact that they did not have the dexterity or had eye sight issues which meant it was very difficult for them to do manage this.
45% of Service Users said they had received advice about this from our Volunteers, again showing that we are supporting our Service Users in helping them to independently manage their aids.
In 2015 we plan to increase the number of service users attending our local, community based drop-ins from an average of 328 a month to at least an average of 350 service users.
Signposting and Speakers
As well as maintaining hearing aids, we signpost people to other services which may help them such as Age Scotland, DeafBlind Scotland and Visibility. We also make referrals to Social Work for people who would benefit from equipment to help them remain independent.
At our Wigtown Drop-in we have regular speakers including the Police and Fire Service, Age Scotland, Alzheimer’s Scotland, pharmacy services. This is something we plan to develop in other areas as people come along to the drop-in even when they don’t need their hearing aid maintaining to hear from the different relevant organisations.
In 2015 we plan to increase the number of drop-ins where we have speakers and tea and coffee from five to eight
Outcome 2: People, including those with disabilities, long term conditions, or who are frail, are able to live, as far a reasonably practicable, independently and at home or in a homely setting in their community.
Our drop-ins
We have drop-ins in 21 locations across D&G which mean that people are never far away from support for their hearing loss.
90% of the people who attend our drop-ins are over 60, 43% are over 80. Hearing loss is predominantly age related and with an aging population we are seeing more and more people attending our drop-ins.
We saved 48% of our Service Users more than a 30 mile round trip to get support with their hearing aids and another 22% of people lived in the town where there is an Audiology Service and where we operate a drop-in.
Working in partnership
We work closely with the Sensory Support Team within Dumfries and Galloway Council. Our volunteers are aware of the support which is available from the team and can refer people to the service in order to help maintain independence.
Care Home Service
We recognise that there are a substantial amount of people living in care homes who have hearing loss. We have trained staff in two care homes in D&G in how to maintain hearing aids and provide volunteer support, negotiated with the care home. This is a service we would like to be able to offer across the region.
Home Visits
We also are able to do home visits for people who are unable to attend our drop-ins, these are often referred to us through audiology or social work.
In 2015 we will deliver a care and maintenance and deaf awareness service to 25% of the care homes across Dumfries and Galloway. There are 34 care homes in Dumfries and Galloway.
Outcome 3: People who use health and social care services have positive experiences of those services, and have their dignity respected.
Feedback from Service Users
About our volunteers……
"Service is good, got faith in the volunteer"
"Good service, very good volunteer, very clear on advice"
"Excellent, volunteer prepared to listen"
"Like the volunteer he is ever so nice and very kind, grand"
"Volunteer very pleasant, enjoy coming in"
"Quite happy with volunteers, very pleasant"
"The volunteer can sort it out in two minutes, it is good to have volunteers to sort out aids"
"It is a home from home and I look forward to it"
About the service……..
"Great difference, well worth it, a god send"
"I can explain the trouble face to face, better than in a letter or on the phone"
"Great, fantastic, I rely on my wife to drive and it would be extra journeys to Dumfries"
"Big advantage to me I am a carer for my wife so I can't leave for any length of time - it is a valuable service"
"I was a bit desperate and worried about cleaning the aid myself", "Tremendous difference I am 91 and I can drive to Lockerbie but not to Dumfries"
All these comments came from drop-ins across the region.
Outcome 4: Health and social care services are centred on helping to maintain or improve the quality of life of people who use those services.
In 2013, we supported 1610 people, In 2014 this increased to 2123. In 2013, 3228 visits were made to our drop-ins in 2014, 3999 visits were made to our drop-ins. One in six of the population has some degree of hearing loss.
Our main focus is on helping people with hearing loss have better lives. We do this through our drop-ins where over 325 people a month get their aids maintained, providing support and advice and a social opportunity for people.
By delivering Deaf Awareness Training to organisations across D&G we hope that other organisations, including the public sector, who support older people will have a greater understanding of the issues facing people with hearing loss and be able to support them better, which in turn should help them to maintain or improve the quality of lives of their service users. We plan to deliver Deaf Awareness to 60 organisations in the next 12 months.
Outcome 5: Health and social care services contribute to reducing health inequalities.
Dumfries and Galloway is a large, rural region, with limited public transport and many communities located more than a 30 mile round journey away from an audiology service.
By providing local drop-ins, run by local people, we are reducing health inequalities in terms of access for people who may not have transport, or have other conditions which limit their mobility.
This is appreciated by our service users, 43% of whom are over 80 years old.
"Far better than having to go to Dumfries", "a lot handier than having to travel to Dumfries", "Two buses to Dumfries", "Handy, only five miles away"," otherwise it is a trip to Dumfries" "Before it was almost a mornings work going up to the hospital and it was always very busy there"
Older people, living in a rural environment do not always have the social and community networks.
By having local drop-ins we are improving accessibility for people whom without the service would struggle to manage their hearing loss.
Outcome 7: People who use health and social care services are safe from harm
People regularly attend our drop-ins. They get to know the volunteers, they meet other people in the community and this reduces isolation. Several of our drop-ins offer tea and coffee and people come along just for a chat with other people. Isolation and loneliness can be harmful for people, reducing their independence and impacting on their physical and mental health.
At our drop-ins we can make people aware of equipment that would be helpful in the home, for example pagers which are linked to care call in the event of a fire, doorbells, telephones which can help people feel and stay safe. We can refer them on to the Sensory Support Team.
Outcome 8: People who work in health and social care feel engaged with the work they do and are supported to continuously improve the information, support, care and treatment they provide.
Our Service Co-ordinator undertakes regular training, in the past 12 months she has gained an SQA Level 1 in Deaf Awareness, undertaken Train the Trainer training, Impact Assessment, Carer Aware Training.
Our volunteers all receive Deaf Awareness Training from our Service Co-ordinator, Hearing Aid Care and Maintenance Training from Audiology, regular refresher training from Audiology. We hold an annual volunteer support day where we have training opportunities and speakers from relevant organisations.