Luncheon Club, Age Concern Swansea
| Description | Provide nutritious hot lunches five days a week at reasonable cost |
|---|---|
| Setting | Brunswick Methodist Church, Swansea |
| Populationting | Older people aged 50 years and over |
| Intervention summary | Provide hot healthy meals and daily outings, and promote contact with other people |
| Outcome Summary | Healthier older people with regular social contacts |
| Startup Cost | N/A The project was taken over from existing club run by volunteers. |
| Running Cost | £60 001-70 000 for 2005-6 including 20% for core management costs. Recruitment is £1300 per person and computers are charged to the project. |
| Funding | Annual search for continuing funding including Communities First funds, Lloyd’s TSB, Garfield Weston Foundation and others. |
| Started | April 2004 |
| Ended | April 2007 |
| Location | Swansea, Wales |
| Contact |
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Background
We are providing nutritious hot lunches five days a week at reasonable cost in Swansea city centre, which is readily accessible, on several bus routes and near older people’s accommodation. In addition, there are cookery demonstrations, monthly tea dances and weekly coffee mornings. There is frequent referral from the Luncheon Club to other Age Concern services as we identify other needs especially benefit checks, and an opportunity to make new friends. We do talks to community based groups to widen the awareness of the service beyond the immediate area.
Luncheon Club is based at the Brunswick Methodist Church on St Helen’s Road, in a Communities First area (Castle), one of seven such designated areas in Swansea, but includes older people resident in the City and County of Swansea. We are meeting social and nutritional needs of a significant number of disadvantaged people from among Swansea’s older population – 81 000 people aged over 50 years. Six wards within Swansea are identified as having high needs (Jarman and Townsend indices and other studies) and five areas are identified by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Swansea has a significantly higher than the average number of people over 65 years claiming income support in Wales. Nearly half (45%) of pensioner households in Swansea are lone pensioners, with 62% of those experiencing long term illness. Of the lone pensioner households, half live in rented accommodation, and are less likely to have capital to pay for social and housing needs. The rate of persons aged over 65 years who are receiving-community based services is the second highest in Wales 1 .
What is the problem you are trying to solve?
Lonely and isolated older people need good food and company. We aim to meet these needs by providing them with hot healthy meals, daily outings and contacts with other people.
What local organisations are involved?
We liaise with local care homes in Swansea.
How many people are running this project and who are they?
The team comprises: one cook/coordinator, one assistant cook, one kitchen assistant, and 17 volunteers (three each day) who provided 3078 hours during 2005-6.
What local population are you targeting?
Older people aged 50 and over. There are no other eligibility criteria and it is based on an open referral system.
How many people are you targeting?
During 2005-6, there were approximately 200 people per week; for some of the regulars, we know it is their only meal of the day.
Interventions
What interventions are you using to address the problem?
We provide nutritious hot lunches five days a week, cookery demonstrations, monthly tea dances, weekly coffee mornings and talks to community based groups.
Is the project design based on evidence? If so, please state reference.
Age Concern services are based on their Services Information Framework Resource Packs, in this case, number 8: Lunch Clubs, December 1999.
Outcome
What outcomes or planned outcomes are you measuring?
We look for emotional wellbeing (measured through life satisfaction and self esteem); psychological wellbeing (measured by the indicator of anxiety); physical wellbeing (measures of nutritional balance and physical functioning); and social wellbeing (measured by indicators of social network structure and support, functioning in social roles). No standard outcome measures are being used currently in the lunch club but we are working with other Age Concern organisations to agree appropriate ones that are consistent with those used by statutory services in Wales.
Do you have any outcomes or results yet? If so, what are they?
We have received information from corporate compliments and complaints procedures. User evaluations have led to changes in menus and services as requested; there is follow-up on any regulars who do not attend; many clients bring in their friends and contacts. A recent satisfaction survey included separate questions on food quality and general issues. Twenty five people took part in the survey and a response rate of 100% was achieved, with 100% reporting satisfaction with the service.
Is your project relevant to a government target or guideline?
Welsh Assembly targets:
- Healthy eating is part of the nutrition strategy for Wales, and the work of the Food Standards Agency Wales. They are concerned with raising awareness of healthy eating with an emphasis on vulnerable groups in the community;
- Health inequalities target for older people to increase the present rate of moderate to vigorous exercise undertaken by people aged 50 to 65 to 30 minutes on five days a week by 2012. All clients come outdoors and walk or take the bus to the luncheon club;
- Two of the key objectives of the Strategy for Older People: to promote the health and wellbeing of older people, and to promote services which enable older people to live as independently as possible.
Swansea Council targets: SCA/002 rate of older people (65 years or over) helped to live at home per 1000 population aged 65 or over; and THS/007 to increase the percentage of adults aged 60+ who hold a concessionary travel pass (many clients come by bus). The council measures the number of people aged over 65 who are helped to live at home, and the number holding a travel pass.
Feedback
What obstacles did you have to overcome to set up this project?
Age Concern Swansea took over an existing club which had been run by volunteers in a local church, with no guaranteed external funding.
What have you learned about the project so far?
Paid staff have been appointed to provide guaranteed continuity and high standards of service, supported by voluntary staff who have time to spend with clients. It is difficult to balance the cost of lunches against the charge that our clients can afford. There are sometimes difficulties arising from the cooperative use of church facilities.
What would you do differently?
More research is needed to develop the best model for sustainable lunch clubs which fulfil both nutritional and social contact needs. We need more joint planning with other local organisations, including some businesses, which do (or could) offer a cost effective alternative.
References:
- Swansea Local Health Board. Swansea Local Health Board and City and County of Swansea: Health, Social Care Well Being Needs Assessment. Swansea Local Health Board. 2003. http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/Documents/267/Swansea%2DLocal%2DHealth%2DBoard%2DHealth%2DNeeds%2DAssessment%2Epdf (accessed 13 April 2007).