The second staging of this event at Ramsey Town Hall & Library, on Friday 27th June 2014, attracted an excellent attendance and already the feedback and benefits gained by many visitors on the day, are very encouraging.
The Northern Networking Group was initially formed in June 2013 to organise a regular event to enable local residents to gain knowledge about their entitlements and social options. The group consists of health and social care agencies working in the community, Department of Health and Social Care, Ramsey Town Commissioners, and members of the voluntary and private sector. Ramsey Town Commissioners kindly 'donated' the building for the event which is an ideal community location.
There was much demand from agencies to display their information and services in the Board Room, Mezzanine level and the main foyer of Ramsey Town Hall and the building was ‘buzzing’ throughout the day.
Many took advantage of having their blood pressure tested and learned what to recognise as possible early signs of a stroke.
A popular initiative this time was the introduction of a raffle with many attractive prizes from numerous sponsors and on the day ?300 was raised for the Northern Live at Home Scheme who worked hard all day serving tea, coffee and delicious cakes!
It was really pleasing to see so many agencies were represented and working together, including health professionals from Ramsey & District Cottage Hospital, Community Mental Health, the Occupational Therapy service, Age IOM, Hospice IOM, representatives from the Older Persons Community and Hospital Social Work Teams, plus many more.
Ramsey Town Hall is the venue for two regular chair-based exercise classes, held on Monday at 10.00 a.m. and Friday at 2.00 p.m.: some members of the Friday class gave a short demonstration in the main foyer and this provided an interesting focus for afternoon activities.
Ramsey Town Hall and Library is a versatile building being not only a popular venue for Weddings, coffee mornings and exhibitions, but also is now home to the Civil Registry in the north; Age IOM computer training; Isle of Man Hospice Drop In day every Wednesday, as well as housing the town’s Administrative Offices and Public Library.
Since the success of the first Information Day in November 2013, the group has grown, and is continuing to play a major part of information sharing within the health and social care sector. This is beneficial to both professionals and older members of our community. Networking and good communication is a vital part of health and social care and in certain areas this can, at times, be lacking, leading to crisis situations.
As Maria Clinton, Community Social Worker, explained
‘Our aim is to work together aiding prevention of risk factors therefore enabling older people to remain at home for longer and lead safer, happier and independent lives’.
If anyone would like more information on the Northern Networking Group, Maria may be contacted on 686432.
