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www.faithinolderpeople.org.uk

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Social Care

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Welcome to our Social Care section. “Spiritual Care underpins all holistic care” – participant in the FiOP Mentoring Programme. There is an increasing focus on providing ‘person-centred’ care which includes the physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions to fully meet the needs of older people. It is important not to consider an approach to care as being either person-centred or spiritual care but to consider the crucial areas of overlap. What do we mean? Our spiritual needs encompass the need to be included; to be comforted; to be occupied and sometimes to be given a chance to give time and help to others. It also embraces the need to be quiet; to be able to enjoy being outdoors; to hear birdsong and feel the wind or smell the soil and leaves. Equally this might be music, art or an expression of faith. What do we do? Faith in Older People works with staff in residential and day care settings to develop their understanding of the spiritual dimension of people’s lives. We want to stimulate thought and action; Enable staff to discover their own spiritual needs to increase their confidence in understanding the needs of residents and we provide practical suggestions. From our research we know that many staff in residential care settings have difficulties in completing the spiritual care element of a care plan. Why? Because spiritual is only seen as being religious; because the focus is on which church or faith someone belongs to with little attention being paid to understanding that a person’s life history, likes and dislikes, routines and rituals are necessary elements of enabling someone to have their spiritual care needs met. Staff members often say that ‘it feels as if they are intruding on private matters’ so it is important to be able to open up discussions with residents and family to get a deeper understanding of each individual’s identity which can be built up over time. FiOP has established a Mentoring Programme for care homes to provide on-going support. Spiritual care is central to inclusion, equality and diversity and is incorporated in Standard 12 of the National Care Standards for Older People (Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) ). Please share your views with us. You can contact us using the e-mail address at the left side of the page. Visit our Resources page to find out more. Click here.

Our new DVD - 'Spirituality- Have you found any yet?' - is now available. See below for a preview....

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For further information please contact our Director, Maureen O'Neill  email info@fiop.org.uk