On Thursday, May 16th, South Staffordshire Council hosted a Working Better Together Ageing Well Summit where partners were invited to attend and hear from specialised guest speakers, before engaging in insightful discussions during the workshop sessions. The purpose of the event was to identify with key stakeholders collective projects to promote independence and resilience across South Staffordshire.
Throughout the day, a range of threads and factors were discussed both by guest speakers and attendees highlighting the challenges and opportunities faced in facilitating residents in Staffordshire to age well and continue to be healthy into their elder ages.
The event was opened by Dave Heywood, Chief Executive at South Staffordshire Council, who identified why ageing well was a priority, and thanked everybody for supporting the event. Closely followed by Dr Richard Harling, Director of Health and Care at Staffordshire County Council, who presented a detailed overview of the current health status of our population. This spiked the curiosity of attendees and led to in depth discussions around the many factors surrounding ageing well and how collectively we can prepare for this.
Mark Jenkinson, Assistant Director Community Services at South Staffordshire Council, gave some local examples before sharing further details about how South Staffordshire Council are tackling and supporting residents to age well. A video was shared at the end of Mark’s presentation highlighting the key work completed by South Staffordshire Council’s Locality Enablers within this field.
Carl Bennett, Chief Executive at Age UK Staffordshire, presented how Age UK’s delivery model in South Staffordshire has been adapted for South Staffordshire’s communities through working in partnership.
A cross section of partners attended the event held at the Community Hub.
The event concluded with outcome-based workshops surrounding three key projects; living independent, feeling connected and planning for later life led by Annette Roberts, Corporate Director of Place and Communities at South Staffordshire Council.