Ageing Well in Lewisham - LCC

J was referred to us because he was housebound, had poor mobility, he was depressed, lonely and had become isolated. He also lacked confidence in leaving the house. He had recently become a widow and was finding the loneliness unbearable. He had also just recovered from a hip operation, this added to his fear of venturing outside, and he lacked confidence using his walking frame. A physiotherapist had been working with him and was due to discharge him. He was keen to practice his walking but he knew he would not go out and practice his walking alone.

Over a course of 12 weeks I visited J on a weekly basis at home. I walked with him first of all ‘around the block’ and we built up the distance at his pace but with encouragement, until he was able to walk to the local shops with his three wheeled walker. He was motivated.

After a few visits I talked to him about starting one of our exercise groups, as his confidence for going outside was improving, and although the loss of his partner still played a big part in his depression, he wanted to meet people and needed to be able to go out alone without me. He agreed to join our ‘Falls Prevention Exercise Group’

I initially introduced him to the group and he felt he did not have the confidence to go alone. He now attends every week and really enjoys the company, the exercises and has made new friends.

After 12 weekly visits I reviewed his progress and re-established goals. It was important to him that he stayed active and did not slip back into the loneliness and depression he once was suffering.

I continued visiting him fortnightly for a further three months at the exercise group. I have referred J to the Voluntary Driving Scheme (VDS), so he now gets taken to the exercise group with other users. He can also use VDS whenever he goes out.
 
He has received a pension check, a referral for a blue badge, (I filled in all necessary forms); and he has had a home security check assessment resulting in all his smoke alarms being replaced. I keep in contact with the client and would revisit if he became withdrawn again. I have also made a referral to Contact the Elderly for weekend contact and he is now awaiting a start date!

J feels now that he is ready to join another group, I have spoken to him about the ‘Men’s Group’, where he will benefit greatly from meeting people in the same situation as him. He has achieved all his goals except for joining a weekend activity group but we have heard he is now top of the waiting list!