Monaghan Older Persons Information Booklet

Description

Monaghan County Council, partnering with Monaghan Age Friendly Programme and Monaghan Integrated Development collaborated to develop the Older Persons Information Booklet. It will be made available to all older persons across County Monaghan. The booklet will help people find out important information to help them in their daily lives. Both agencies in their daily work with older people recognised the real need for this booklet.

As the world becomes more digial, older people can get left behind. They often have limited access to information on key services. The booklet will be made available to all older people throughout the county so they can refer to it for contact details when needing to access a particular service. Whilst the booklet is primarily aimed at older people it will be of great benefit to their families, carers, nursing home staff and local service providers.

The information in the booklet will ensure that older people will be able to independently make a decision of which service can be of help to them when they face an issue. This gives older people autonomy over decisions in their lives that can sometimes be removed for them by family/carers who think they are helping the older person. It will help them live independent lives, with the provision of services such as the Healthy Age Friendly Homes, which will allow them live in their own homes for longer.

The guide focuses on ensuring that Older People can participate fully in community life in Monaghan, including access to healthcare, transportation, and social activities, as well as promoting respect and social inclusion. Key elements include promoting physical and mental well-being, encouraging social participation, and ensuring access to information and services. It is a guide that provides key day to day information such as GP Services, Hospital Bus times and local bus services. It also provides information and signposting on planning for the future, for example Assisted Decision Support Services.

The booklet has been designed for Older People, with their input to the content at all stages. The booklet was intially requested at a Monaghan Age Friendly Alliance meeting, with progress being on the agenda of the Monaghan Older People’s Council monthly agenda’s. This ensured that Older People had an input to the content and approved the draft version of the guide. Their primary message was that the guide would be concise, easy to read and that the informaiton would be easy to find, hence the colour coded sections.

The guide has a distinct local Monaghan flavour with photos including murals of Monaghan legends, day care centre activities, Monaghan Hospital Age Friendly launch, as well as local landmarks. It was hoped that this would help with reminiscence therapy. There is also a quote from Monaghan’s famous son Patrick Kavanagh.

The guide has also been designed so that it can be updated on an annual basis, with future print runs being cost effective.

The initiative saw the key stakeholder in Monaghan working together to enhance the lives of our Older People.

Aim of Initiative

The project aims to provide an information booklet for Older People throughout County Monaghan which will provide vital information on a range of relevant topics which will assist in everyday life, and improve their quality of life.

It is a concise booklet but there was much consultation with Older People, in particular the Monaghan Older People’s Council, which ensured that all information required is included. The booklet is divided by topic into five sections: Taking Care of Your Health, Getting Out and About, Safety and Security, Supports and Sevices and Planning for the Future. Each section is colour coded, for example the pages in Section 1 are purple.

The booklet came about following requests from both the Monaghan Older People’s Council and the Age Friendly Alliance. It was felt that such an “easy to find

Who is it aimed at

included

3 Steps critical to success

1. , “The initiative is primarily aimed at Older People living in County Monaghan. It aims to provide vital information to Older People to help them live independent and meaningful lives in their own homes, for as long as possible.

   The initiative originated from a request made at a Monaghan Age Friendly Alliance meeting, which includes local stakeholders such as the HSE, An Garda Síochána, CMETB and Local Link. The guide is also aimed at their service users, with a supply of guides being made available to all relevant local service providers for distribution.

   The guide is also aimed at carers and family members, who provide crucial support to Older People and who will value the informaiton provided.

   The “Useful Contact Numbers Page” of the guide is designed to be torn off and placed in a prominent place such as a fridge. Contacts such as GP numbers can be added. This section is aimed at Emergency Services or neighbours/family members, as it will provide vital details, if required.

2. Identifying the need for the Guide
   The need for the guide was identified at a meeting of the Monaghan Age Friendly Alliance. Each stakeholder provides updates on their activities and this led to a discussion whereby information was not flowing to the Older People. There was a need for a “one stop shop” guide which would provide information and signposting to local services. The information provided in the guide will provide direct contacts to services.

   The idea of the guide was then brought to the Monaghan Older People’s Council who were on board immediately. They provided advice on the contents of the guide and acted as a soundboard on the size and layout. There was a need for a concise guide where informaiton could be located quickly if needed, which led to the colour coded sections.

3. Content of the Guide
   The Older People’s Council provided advice on the contents of the guide and acted as a soundboard on its size and layout. There was a need for a concise guide where informaiton could be located quickly if needed, which led to the colour coded sections.

   They also wanted the guide to be made available in both paper and ditigal format. Older People are not a homogenous group and they have a variet of skills, including IT. The digital copy will be made availabe via the Council and Monaghan Integrated Development’s websites.

   The OPC also wanted the guide to be easily updated as information and contact details can change very quickly. It has been agreed to update the guide annually and to order reprints when required. This should also prove to be cost effective.

3 Challenges in Planning / Delivery

1. Monaghan Older People’s Council AGM

   Monaghan Older People’s Council had not held an AGM post Covid until November 2024.

   The production of the booklet created a huge deal of snergy, with the Older People’s Council expanding in numbers and attendance at the Alliance Meetings increasing. New contacts were made when looking for content/information for the booklet and it lead to new people/organisations becomoing involved in the Age Friendly Programme.

   It also led to a number of new contacts and speakers for the AGM, for example from organisations such as Alone, SAGE, Alzheimers Society of Ireland and Patients Advocacy. One of the positve outcomes here is that local groups have invited these organisations back to Monaghan for talks to their members. It led directly to the Age Friendly Programme growing in Monaghan.

2. The primary challenge was producing a concise guide, while at the same time ensuring that all relevant information and contact details were included.

   This was achieved by getting both the AF Alliance and Older People’s Council involved from an early stage. Progress on the booklet was on the agenda of each meeting and members were provided with draft copies of the booklet.

   This ensured that there was buy in from the beginning and it also led to the inclusion of new topics and contact details of organisations being provided.

   The production of the booklet was a colloboration between the many services providers in Monaghan who worked together, which ensured the booklet was a success. They have also benefitted by receiving copies for their service users.

3. One of the most time consuming challenges was the process of deciding what to include and most difficulty – what information to omit. The Older People’s Council members requested at an early stage that it would be a concise guide. They were given an excellent guide from another Council but they felt it was too bulky. They wanted a guide that you could get to the information/telephone number quickly and easily.

   Updates on the guide and draft were given at a number of the OPC meeting. Denise from Swift Printer was also helpful and gave advice as to the idea format and number of pages, but it was a challenge!

   However, we agreed five sections/themes and this helped us to focus on the content under each theme.

   We are fully cognisant that some content will go out of date, and that there will be new key areas and organisation, so the guide can be easily updated and reprinted.

3 Outcomes / Benefits

1. Stakeholder Cooperation
   A previous edition of an Older People’s Guide had been produced by Monaghan Integrated Development. It was agreed that they would work with the Monaghan Age Friendly Programme to produce a new guide. They would increase the budget and staff resources available, eliminate duplication and lead to the guide being produced in a timely fashion.

   The stakeholder on the Age Friendly Alliance were on board from the beginning and provided useful information within weeks. They were also key to making contact with other local services providers to collect all the information needed for the guide. It was inportant that the contact details came directly from the service providers, in order to ensure accuracy.

   All of the members of both the Monaghan Age Friendly Alliance and Older People’s Council are very proud of the cooperation receivede from all of the organisations involved. It is clearly a very positive example of service providers working together for the benefit of our Older People, and this level of cooperation has already led to other positive initiatives, such as Monaghan Hospital receiving Age Friendly Recognition.

2. Circulation of Age Friendly Information amongst Older People in Monaghan

   The booklet was intended to help our Older People find vital information on a range of services which can help them in their everyday life. It will also signpost them to services which will help them to plan for their futures.

   This outcome has been achieved by the production of a concise, eary to read guide which is packed with information and contact details of vital local services. The guide was made with the input of older people who directed what topics would be included. It is accepted that a concise guide cannot include every details so contact details are included, as well ask links to websites which provide further details.

   Guides, particularly contact details, can go out of date very quickly. The guide was produced so that it can be updated and reprinted when needed.

3. Age Friendly Stakeholder in Monaghan working together

   The idea of the guide originated in a Monaghan Age Friendly Alliance Meeting. Monaghan Integrated Development had produced a previous guide and it was agreed that they would work with the Monaghan Age Friendly Programme Manager on a new guide. This would increase the budget, staff resources and be fully supported by the Alliance members.

   One of the outcomes of this collaboration was the contacts and information which the Age Friendly Programme brought. For example, it was used to promote the then new Age Friendly Homes Coordinator, Elizabeth Doherty Mooney.

   This increased collaboration led to other positive outcomes, such as CMETB providing IT courses for Older People in Monaghan Libraries, and Monaghan Hospital recieving Age Friendly Recognition.