MP visits to our care homes

When it comes to engaging with our politicians, older people have an important role to play, bringing years of wisdom and experience and giving voice to the issues that affect them.

In the Autumn, those living with us delivered copies of Empowering Communities to Care to their local MPs. Authored by Pilgrims’ Friend Society and signed by 10 other like-minded organisations, the document outlines ways resources could be unlocked at a local level to better support older and vulnerable people.

These deliveries have paved the way for greater engagement by MPs with our care homes. In December, Greg Stafford, Conservative MP for Farnham and Bordon, visited Shottermill House in Haslemere. He spent time meeting our ‘family members’ (as we call those who live with us) in the lounge, answering their questions and concerns about social care.

Greg Stafford is part of the government’s cross-party Health and Social Care Committee and has pledged to feed back recommendations from the Empowering Communities document and views shared by our family members with this committee as he is able.

Earlier this month, Shockat Adam, Independent MP for Leicester South, came to visit Evington Home in Leicester. During the visit, we shared with him details of the Community Club which has recently launched at the care home to support local older people, particularly those living with dementia and their carers.

Our family member Haydn, 92, highlighted how loneliness is a big issue for older people and the potential this initiative could have to help counter the problem. “Places like this could be an epicentre of care in their communities,” he said.

We also raised our concerns that the timescale of three years for the cross-party social care review (announced by Wes Streeting on 3rd January) was too long.

During the visit, we were interested to learn that Shockat used to visit our care home in his former life as an optometrist, and we think Shockat was impressed to learn that Haydn is 1112 months old (i.e. over 92 years!).

We are grateful to these local MPs for coming to meet us and look forward to developing these relationships further. And a special ‘thank you’ goes to those living with us who have been such great ambassadors for our organisation and older people across society.