In 1941, Walt Disney wrote “One reason the Christmas
season appeals to me is that it makes us suspend business-as-usual routines and
lets our mind soar for a while. It is a time when the imagination is more
sprightly than at other periods of the year; Christmas seems to release even
the most solemn of us from the Scrooge realism that occasionally besets all of
us”.
I know from some
of my CEO colleagues that the scrooge mentality is already stalking the Council
corridors in some parts, with big cuts to third sector funding on the way and more
challenges to philanthropy and giving. But there are always opportunities. That is why I have always been such a
passionate advocate of more third sector service delivery.
How stupid it is that the NHS are not looking for a major
push by the voluntary sector to help out with demand on A+E. We all know older
people stay in hospital too long and we know many A+E visits are preventable with
intervention at home. We know many older people get admitted to hospital not
because of a medical condition but because of social conditions or simply lack
of transport to get them home. The third sector should be mobilised to support
the NHS. But as usual the system seems incapable of thinking more broadly about
how to use us to solve problems. Still, one day they will get it! In the
meantime I continue to bang the drum, and key ACEVO members make the case
through their everyday work with older people at home and in the community.
2015 will be soon
upon us. In the meantime its good to relax and enjoy the peace and goodwill of
Christmas. I'm blogging from a peaceful Charlbury where the hound is currently
snoozing in front of the log fire.
Have a very Merry Christmas.
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