Annual Report 2020-2021
NATIONAL DIGNITY COUNCIL ANNUAL REPORT
2020-2021
Dignity in our Hearts Minds and Actions
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 1
Annual Report 2020-2021
ANNUAL REPORT 2020-2021
CHAIR’S COMMENTS
Like many organisations the National Dignity Council has needed to find new ways of working that have enabled us to continue functioning throughout the pandemic. We were extremely conscious of the fact that frontline workers were being challenged in all sorts of ways, from obtaining the right sort of equipment, staying safe whilst still delivering excellent services, and ensuring that those they were supporting and their loved ones continued to be treated with Dignity and Respect despite the compromises that inevitably had to be made. Throughout all that time we have been constantly amazed and humbled by the ingenuity, inspiration, innovative thinking and sheer resilience of those working in health and social care. To say WELL DONE hardly seems sufficient under the circumstances but those words convey a wealth of admiration and congratulations. The Council too has needed to develop and innovate and respond to the needs of our Champions.
In summary our achievements this year have been:-
-
Increase in the number of champions to over 120,000
-
Continued to maintain the website in an up-to-date and user-friendly state.
-
Continued to increase the number of members on the Dignity in Action Facebook page. Now over 3,500 members.
-
Continued to maintain positive links with our Dignity Lead at CQC, Sue HowardDeputy Chief Inspector ASC North.
-
Used the Dignity in Action FaceBook Page and Website Discussion Forum to share practical tips, support each other and raise key topics for a wider debate.
-
Held another successful Dignity Action Day – despite the restrictions on close contact people found all sorts of ways of celebrating the day and holding events, from virtual parties to garden entertainment, to tea parties and links with the local community.
-
Raised funds through Dancing with Dignity events.
-
Raised funds through the AVIVA funding challenge
-
Promoted and disseminated the Dignity Postcards – over 44,000 of these have been sent out to organisations, and we are grateful for the support received from Spectrum Consortium to fund these.
-
Meeting administration has been excellent
-
Received continued practical support from Registered Nursing Homes Association in terms of providing an office base for the Council.
-
Continued to ensure that the costs of supplying wristbands and badges are covered, and increased the range of organisations using these resources.
-
Maintained links with Champions and other stakeholders.
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 2
Annual Report 2020-2021
-
Held four successful on-line events with presenters from a variety of services, e.g. CQC, Skills for Care, Providers from Health and Care Services, looking at resilience, maintaining mental health for workers and training.
-
Maintained and developed the production of a regular Newsletter, and received very positive feedback for its content.
-
Continued to promote our suite of audit documents.
-
Maintained strong links with, key stakeholders - Care England, End of Life networks, National Care Association, NICE and SCIE and SFC.
-
Represented the Council as speakers on National Events including; Norfolk Care Awards, Spectrum Consortium, Equality and Diversity conferences, Promoting Dignity for Young Women and Girls.
-
Represented the Council as Member on DHSC Quality Matters Board.
-
Represented the Council on CQC Provider meetings.
-
Been part of judging panels at Staffordshire Dignity Awards, Great British Care Awards
-
Supported the development of active champion networks.
-
Made better use of our Twitter account and continued to increase our number of followers
-
Raised funds/donations by working with a number of health and social care services to promote dignity, person centred practice and continence services.
So despite the challenges the year provides the Trustees and the campaign with a number of opportunities for the forthcoming year:
-
Dignity Action Day continues to provide a real opportunity for the promotion of Dignity whilst raising the profile of the Council and the Campaign.
-
Dancing with Dignity continues to provide the opportunity to celebrate, raise funds and have fun.
-
To ensure that the resources on our website are current, wide ranging, and useful to both champions and the public.
-
Applying for funding for specific projects to enable the Campaign to grow and be targeted.
-
Working closely with others to develop our contact with citizens and thus meeting our charitable objects.
-
Working on developing and sustaining links with Health Colleagues.
-
Continue to develop our suite of audit documents.
-
Promote the Dignity Do’s for both young people and adults.
-
Develop local Dignity Champions who are able to speak to staff teams and local groups.
-
Develop and promote a training programme on Dignity, for staff and managers.
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 3
Annual Report 2020-2021
Finally, I would like to say a few thankyous. To everyone who has supported the Dignity Campaign in the last year, a tremendous thank you, without you we would not be able to achieve all we have. To the Trustees who have given unstintingly of their time and energy a big thank you, and to those organisations who gave us support. A special thankyou too to our Treasurer Jane Finnerty for looking after our finances so well and to our faithful Secretary, Liz, who goes way beyond an administrative role, she is no doubt a major asset to the functioning of our charity. And, of course last but not least to all of our Dignity Champions who continue to make a difference on a day-to-day basis to a range of people in a variety of settings. Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing your kindness , respect and compassion so widely.
Jan Burns MBE
Chair
SOME EXTRACTS FROM DANCING FOR DIGNITY EVENTS 2020
The pictures that have appeared in this report are taken from the Memory Book and the entries were chosen at random.
Fenton Links Dance for Dignity day -Staff and the people we support are dancing for dignity at 1pm!!! In there’s uncertain times what better way to release the stresses of the day than with a good boogie!!!! All staff within the department are ambassadors of the dignity for care champions and enjoyed promoting the day!!!
At Ashview Nursing Home, creative staff always find ways to make residents happy in this
difficult time.
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 4
Annual Report 2020-2021
Community Carer Dances for Dignity - Uploaded my DigniDance to TikTok to raise awareness of dignity in care.
SOME EXTRACTS FROM DIGNITY ACTION DAY 2021 MEMORY BOOK
The pictures that have appeared in this report are taken from the Memory Book and the entries were chosen at random.
Due to Covid we were unable to do our usual event but this did not stop our team!!! Complete Care West Yorkshire Ltd is passionate about making a positive difference and with Dignity Action Day coming up, it was our opportunity to show how our team promote dignity.
The team were invited to complete the dignity quiz. All entrants would be entered into a draw to win a small cash prize.
Lisa (Training Coordinator) and I (Sara -RM) decorated the training room wall with dignity posters. These will be kept in place all year round to help our new staff.
Page 5
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Annual Report 2020-2021
Brackenley - Earlier this month we spent time talking about the types of support that make our residents feel loved and cared for. We discussed how dignity was a type of good feeling and not just about privacy. Our residents really enjoyed the conversations and added their statements and ideas (along with the staff) to our permanent Dignity Tree in the entrance
Foyer of the building.
Here at Briardene we've been finding fun ways to get the conversations started about Dignity. We managed to combine exercise and discussion with this great idea from our Activities Lead Leanne.
We threw our soft gym balls to each other to remove a sticker at a time with a trigger word to spark discussion, we talked about what it felt to feel valued, respected and strong enough to speak up for ourselves. We kept the inspiration going by creating new leaves for our permanently installed dignity tree showcasing our conversation starter stickers.
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 6
Annual Report 2020-2021 Let's get the future of care RIGHT Caro should b&takèn to the person Not the taken earn Dignity in our hearts minds and actions. Page 7
Annual Report 2020-2021
ACCOUNTS 2020-2021
National Dignity Council
Treasurer’s Report to the AGM
Statement of Accounts and Balance Sheet for the year ended 31st March 2021
I present my report for year ended 31[st] March 2021. No grant income was received during the period.
The website and hosting remain our largest cost but are essential to maintain as the main communication channel with our champions. No major upgrades were required during the year, so we were able to minimise this overhead as far as possible.
Sales of badges and wristbands are only slightly down on the previous year; however, our income levels were affected as we were unable to generate any revenue from the Dignity Conference as we had successfully been able to do in January 2020.
We have a deficit this financial of -£2387.49 but thankfully had a surplus in 2020 of £3113.43. Cash at the bank is therefore at £9167.97 on 31.03.21 down from £11,555.46 at the end of the previous financial year. Our sales for 2020 due to the pandemic have only taken a moderate hit and thanks to our honorary secretary’s hard work chasing payments and posting out. We have had substantial additional costs relating to the Dignity Postcards which are now and established and important part of what we do and will we hope will be covered in the future by the crowd funding exercise in May- June 2021 with AVIVA.
Thanks to everyone who has been involved with our fundraising through donations, sales of badges, training provision and sponsorship. Bank statements are available monthly to all trustees and on request.
Jane Finnerty
Treasurer April 2021
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 8
Annual Report 2020-2021
| Dignity Council | Accounts - 31st March | Accounts - 31st March | 2021 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 | 2020-21 | ||||||
| INCOME | |||||||
| Donations | £1258.00 | £1807.08 | |||||
| DONR | £147.01 | ||||||
| Sales | £5818.00 | £5,252.47 | |||||
| Conference | £4304.07 | ||||||
| DAD - dancing |
£695.00 | £90.00 | |||||
| Training | £657.00 | £860.00 | |||||
| Just Giving | £807.65 | £426.04 | |||||
| Pay Pal | £244.80 | £968.26 | |||||
| Repayment Admin | £461.54 | ||||||
| £14,507.98 | £9288.94 | ||||||
| EXPENDITURE | |||||||
| Repayment | Huntsmoor | £235.00 | |||||
| Insurance | £189.06 | £189.06 | |||||
| Web Maintenance | £5,528,25 | £5,243.84 | |||||
| Travel Exps | £87.45 | ||||||
| Secretarial | Consultancy | £500.00 | |||||
| Conferences | £1086.42 | ||||||
| Badges / Wrist Bands / Dos | £2565.00 | £1462.00 | |||||
| Admin | |||||||
| Stationery /postage | /postcards/ | travel | £957.92 | £3565.53 | |||
| Misc | £9.45 | ||||||
| Honorarium | £500.00 | £500.00 | |||||
| Bank charges | £0.00 | ||||||
| Just Giving | £216.00 | £216.00 | |||||
| £11349.55 | £11,676.43 | ||||||
| Surplus / Deficit | £3113.43 | -£2387.49 | |||||
| BALANCE SHEET | |||||||
| Opening balance | 01/04/2019 | £8,442.03 01/04/2020 | £11,555.46 | ||||
| Surplus / Deficit | £3113.43 | -£2387.49 | |||||
| £11,555.46 | £9,167.97 | ||||||
| Represented by | |||||||
| Cash at Bank | £11,555.46 | £9,167.97 | |||||
| Creditor | £0.00 | £0.00 | |||||
| Closing Balance | £11,555.46 | £9,167.97 | |||||
| J A Finnerty | |||||||
| Treasurer |
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 9
Annual Report 2020-2021
CHARITABLE AIMS AND OUR KEY WORKPLAN AIMS
Charitable Objects
-
The preservation and protection of health for the public benefit by promoting best practice in standards of care, in particular the importance of dignity in care
-
For the purpose of this clause ‘dignity in care’ means care, in any setting, including but not limited to hospitals, residential homes and care homes which support and promotes, but does not undermine, a person’s self respect.
Key Workplan Aims
-
Increase suite of audit tools
-
Develop a training pack for Dignity in general and Champions in particular.
-
Improve the accessibility of the website and availability of resources for Champions
-
Maintain a regular newsletter
-
Improve and build on links with Dignity and other networks. Including the use of the Facebook page and Discussion Forum.
-
Maintain and forge robust strategic links with key stakeholders.
-
Ensure the sustainability and financial probity of the Council.
-
Promote National Dignity Day as a vehicle for raising the profile of the Campaign.
-
Hold a National Conference
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 10
Annual Report 2020-2021
POEM
This Poem was shared by Ruth Beard
This is lovely advice.....When I wander don’t tell me to come and sit down. Wander with me. It may be because I am hungry, thirsty, need the toilet. Or maybe I just need to stretch my legs.
When I call for my mother (even though I’m ninety!) don’t tell me she has died. Reassure me, cuddle me, ask me about her. It may be that I am looking for the security that my mother once gave me.
When I shout out please don’t ask me to be quiet…or walk by. I am trying to tell you something, but have difficulty in telling you what. Be patient. Try to find out. I may be in pain.
When I become agitated or appear angry, please don’t reach for the drugs first. I am trying to tell you something. It may be too hot, too bright, too noisy. Or maybe it’s because I miss my loved ones. Try to find out first.
When I don’t eat my dinner or drink my tea it may be because I’ve forgotten how to. Show me what to do, remind me. It may be that I just need to hold my knife and fork I may know what to do then.
When I push you away while you’re trying to help me wash or get dressed, maybe it’s because I have forgotten what you have said. Keep telling me what you are doing over and over and over. Maybe others will think you’re the one that needs the help!
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 11
Annual Report 2020-2021
With all my thoughts and maybes, perhaps it will be you who reaches my thoughts, understands my fears, and will make me feel safe.
Maybe it will be you who I need to thank.
If only I knew how.
Norman McNamara, affectionately known as Norrms shared this poem with The Caregiver’s Voice. Although, we were unable to find the poet, we are posting this to honour Norrms and others who also walk the road of dementia and are taking steps to bring to light what it means to live with this disease
TRUSTEES AND COUNCIL MEMBERS FOR 2020-2021
TRUSTEES
Jan Burns MBE Chair [retires September 2021] Rekha Elaswarapu [retires September 2021] Susan Brand [resigned September 2021] Alan Clarke MBE [retires September 2023] Kelly Campbell [joined October 2020 resigned September 2021] Clare Copleston [retires September 2021] Lesley Flatley [joined March 2021 retires September 2024] Roisin Burton [retires September 2023]
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Jane Finnerty. Treasurer Liz Taylor Secretary
Dignity in our hearts minds and actions.
Page 12