The Care Commission has recently published a Report on ‘The Quality of Palliative and End of Life are in Care Homes for Adults and Older People’ which is defined as “ensuring a good quality of life for both residents and their families at every stage of a life limiting illness which can be from diagnosis onwards. One part of palliative care is care given towards the end of life, which can be the last few months, days and hours of a person’s life.
The palliative care approach is about caring for people as individuals, recognising that they may have needs which are physical, social, psychological, or spiritual, or a combination of these and it is important for this approach to be adopted by anyone in a care setting, including care homes.
FiOP welcomes this report which includes an emphasis on meeting the spiritual needs of older people and their families and we also recognise that many care staff find it difficult to elicit the spiritual care needs of residents or patients. The FiOP courses and events and the DVD that is currently being developed are aimed at providing practical and supportive ways to build the confidence of staff to enable the spiritual needs of those they care for to be met.
Wednesday 30 September 2009
Jewish Faith and the Elderly
Judaism is a faith based on action. Jews believe that be performing G-d’s commandments called mitzvot, they connect to the Divine and bring holiness into the world. These rituals cover all areas of life from the intimate to the political but the main issues Judaism impacts on in daily life concern food and time. Jews have a series of food laws called Kashrut, which in brief concern not eating certain animals, eating meat that has been slaughtered and prepared in a certain way and separating milk and meat. Keeping kosher, as it is called, is of importance to many Jews though levels of observance differ. The same is true for issues surrounding time, the Sabbath and the Festivals. Judaism sanctifies periods of time such as the Sabbath or Shabbat, that goes from Friday evening to Saturday night. It also has many festivals with their different customs and rituals, often revolving around food. Again, while levels of observance may differ, these special times are important in the lives of most Jews.
This becomes especially true when people become older. Practices that were part of someone’s childhood, which may have been discarded in their youth, often assume increasing importance as people age and contemplate their own mortality. Elderly Jews who may have not particularly observant for much of their lives, may want to make up for it in their old age. Freed from the pressures of work and often family life, they reconnect to the Jewish community and may become more observant of the Sabbath or seek to keep Kosher to a higher degree. For those who have been relatively observant all their lives, it often becomes important to be able to continue this observance into their later years. This is especially true as their circumstances change and they may be forced to leave their own homes to enter care. Here Jewish observance becomes a link to their past life, even as it sometimes becomes more difficult in the context of non-Jewish institutions. In all these cases the Jewish community seeks to help older people to continue to maintain a Jewish lifestyle to the extent they wish to do so, and thus make their final years spiritually and culturally rewarding.
This becomes especially true when people become older. Practices that were part of someone’s childhood, which may have been discarded in their youth, often assume increasing importance as people age and contemplate their own mortality. Elderly Jews who may have not particularly observant for much of their lives, may want to make up for it in their old age. Freed from the pressures of work and often family life, they reconnect to the Jewish community and may become more observant of the Sabbath or seek to keep Kosher to a higher degree. For those who have been relatively observant all their lives, it often becomes important to be able to continue this observance into their later years. This is especially true as their circumstances change and they may be forced to leave their own homes to enter care. Here Jewish observance becomes a link to their past life, even as it sometimes becomes more difficult in the context of non-Jewish institutions. In all these cases the Jewish community seeks to help older people to continue to maintain a Jewish lifestyle to the extent they wish to do so, and thus make their final years spiritually and culturally rewarding.
News Malcolm NZ
One of our trustees, the Reverend Malcolm Goldsmith is a keynote speaker at the International Conference in September 2009 This will be held in Auckland, New Zealand hosted by The Selwyn Centre for Ageing and Spirituality
The conference builds on evidence-based models of medical care which have paved the way for people to live much longer, healthier, physical lives. But has the quality of spiritual guidance and care offered to older people kept pace? Are older people's spiritual needs being adequately met in healthcare and social systems around the world?
The issues of ageing and spirituality will be discussed against the backdrop of gender, culture and new models of care. This conference will consider the positive possibilities of ageing well, and flourishing, despite difficulties.
It will bring together researchers, aged care practitioners and those with an interest in helping older people find meaning and fulfillment towards the end of their lives.
Themes include:
http://www.selwyncare.org.nz/?t=233
We would welcome feedback on the themes of this conference as we are in the process of planning a similar event in Scotland next year.
The conference builds on evidence-based models of medical care which have paved the way for people to live much longer, healthier, physical lives. But has the quality of spiritual guidance and care offered to older people kept pace? Are older people's spiritual needs being adequately met in healthcare and social systems around the world?
The issues of ageing and spirituality will be discussed against the backdrop of gender, culture and new models of care. This conference will consider the positive possibilities of ageing well, and flourishing, despite difficulties.
It will bring together researchers, aged care practitioners and those with an interest in helping older people find meaning and fulfillment towards the end of their lives.
Themes include:
- policy formation and influencing political thinking
- spiritual models of care for the baby boomer generation
- indigenous issues and cultural case studies
- end of life issues
- pastoral care and ministry
- funding and spiritual models of care
http://www.selwyncare.org.nz/?t=233
We would welcome feedback on the themes of this conference as we are in the process of planning a similar event in Scotland next year.
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