I guess the news last night rather put a perspective on
other new stories. Of all the tributes to Mandela, I thought Paul Boateng's was
most pointed- he put Mandela's contribution into the political context. Paul
was our first Black Ambassador to South Africa- his wife Janet was on the
council with me and we both sat on social services. Not an easy task in
Lambeth, and we both remember the momentous time Mandela came to Brixton. The
crowds around and in the Recreation Centre were enormous and ecstatic and rightly
so. All this reminded me of the work I, and friends did in Amnesty
International (I was the Medway Towns secretary) in the late 70s and 80s
supporting a group of political prisoners on Robben Island (the
Pietermaritzburg 13). For those of us old enough to remember, not everyone
supported the anti-apartheid struggle. But the genius of Mandela lay in his
message of reconciliation. The tributes we have been listening to remind us
that not all politics has to be adversarial.
This week turned frenetic. We are finally getting traction
from the Department of Health on our plan for charities to help relieve
pressure on A+E over the winter. I have been working on this with my colleague
CEOs in the Red Cross, RVS and Age UK. It’s
clear we can make a big difference in demand by building on the work that
charities do in cutting admissions to hospital and securing early discharge. It’s
a classic win-win. We get better care for our elderly and we get more cost
effective use of hospital resources.
The plan we drew up
on a request from No 10 showcased how using charities can tackle the root cause
of increased demand over the winter.
We’re delighted at now getting the green light from the
Secretary of State on our plans to help the elderly receive the support they
need this winter. This issue is far too important to be kicked into the long grass.
Getting the health service to understand the role professional charities can
play has difficult, but I think we are now getting real progress.
Our members - large, professional charities and their armies
of skilled volunteers - can help relieve pressure on beleaguered accident and
emergency services for many winters to come. I’m looking forward to working
with the health service on this; but I shall be holding their feet to the fire.
Action not words is what our beneficiaries need to see.
We have had a letter from Jeremy Hunt to say he wants to
support ACEVO in working our plan up into a strategic offering for all
hospitals for next year. So, we are going to see how the consortia of red
Cross, RVS and Age UK, working locally with other charities can galvanise
volunteers and staff in an offering hospitals would be silly to refuse!
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