Age Concern field worker redundancy
Soon-to be redundant Age Concern field worker, Ann Fletcher. “I feel as though I’m abandoning people.” Photo: Neil Wilson.
Restructuring by Age Concern Nelson has led to the redundancy of the Bay’s field worker, Ann Fletcher.
Ann has been working eight hours a week for Age Concern for four years, though the organisation has had a presence in Golden Bay for more than 15 years.
Ann says she has worked with about 70 clients on a variety of issues, both serious and seemingly minor. Her role has been to visit elderly people, advocate for them, and network with other agencies to address the needs of elderly. The most pressing and challenging work field workers encounter are cases of elder abuse or neglect. Because of the nature of this work, Age Concern field workers have to deliver their services under an Accredited Visitor Service contract with the Ministry of Social Development.
Ann says that her biggest concern is that the people she is working with now have to be told that there will be no one here for them after 17 December.
“I feel as though I’ve got in and helped people to make important changes, but now I’m abandoning them.”
Age Concern’s restructuring means that a new manager and a new administrator will be working full time out of the Richmond office. Their job description states that they are to promote Age Concern to the community and ensure that the organisation delivers on its contracts with the Ministry of Social Development.
The secretary of the the Board of Age Concern Nelson, Kay Chapman, said in a statement to The GB Weekly, “The board has currently undertaken a review of how it delivers its services in the Nelson and Tasman regions to ensure we can continue to do so within our limited resources. We will continue to deliver the same excellent service across the regions, however in a slightly different way. Golden Bay will be serviced from Richmond, and a larger group of dedicated volunteers will assist us in continuing our other services from our Richmond base. The review has resulted in some changes in staffing, which will become effective from mid-December. For the staff that will be leaving us, the board would like to thank them for the incredible services they have provided to the community and the positive impact they have had on so many lives.”
The same statement had earlier been sent to five agencies in Golden Bay (the Police, Heartlands, the Collingwood RSA, Community Law and Grey Power) in the name of Ursula Lewis, the chairperson of the board of Age Concern. She chose not to speak to us because she was “out of the loop”.
Golden Bay Community Worker Glynn Rogers says that the loss of the field-worker position will leave a big gap here.
“Ann has been very responsive. When we contact her about someone we think she needs to know about, she gets on to it immediately. She has really good connections with all the different groups that can be brought in to assist an elderly person in need. She has a passion and she’s done brilliant work.”
Jan Dahl,the nurse manager at the Joan Whiting Memorial Rest Home, has had regular contact with Ann in her role.
“The decision to cut Ann’s position is utterly appalling,” says Jan. “It’s shocking that, when there are cuts, they always occur to services to the elderly. Ann has been fantastic for us. Whenever we’ve referred a case or a situation to her she’s dealt with it most efficiently. Now we’ll have no one to turn to, and that’s really serious.”
The GB Weekly asked our Members of Parliament to comment. Green list MP Kevin Hague said, “I’m really annoyed to hear about the decision to cut the Age Concern field worker in Golden Bay. Relatively isolated rural areas like the Bay are precisely those where other support services may not exist or where there are likely to be gaps between services, meaning that vulnerable older people end up not having their needs met. That means that somewhere like the Bay needs to be a high priority for Age Concern. I understand that the argument for ending the service is demographic. That’s just nonsense. Older people in rural areas are citizens too and have the same rights as their fellow citizens. Of course the population is more thinly spread in rural areas so services cost more compared with an urban area, but funders need to understand that this higher price tag does not make important services optional in rural areas.
“Nationally the NZ population is ageing and it’s important that the funding for groups like Age Concern needs to keep increasing to reflect the growing workload. I suspect that the root cause of this bad decision is Tony Ryall’s refusal to adequately fund the organisation for the expanding work it has to do. Within the Nelson region it may well be that demand is growing faster in areas like Stoke and Richmond. However, that is an argument for increased funding. The older people of Golden Bay should not have to pay for new services elsewhere.”
Tasman MP Chris Auchinvole said, “I’m always concerned about the loss of one-to one relationships between elderly people and their providers. Age Concern New Zealand is an independent organisation and their restructuring is presumably being done with the best intentions, taking everything into account. They do contract to the Ministry of Social Development and I’m not aware of any changes to that contract.”
Neil Wilson
Stop press: The board of Age Concern, through its spokesperson Kay Chapman, answered some supplementary questions close to our publication deadline. There may be other questions we wish to raise with the board of Age Concern next week.
Will the volunteers you speak of be based in Richmond?
It is our aim to recruit volunteers from across the region.
Will they be trained/qualified to deliver the Accredited Visitor Service contract with the Ministry of Social Development?
AVS volunteers are provided with training.
Assuming that intervention by Age Concern personnel from over the Hill will continue to occur only in cases of serious elder abuse, what will happen to the less serious matters that the current field worker has been dealing with?
The assumption is incorrect. All referred cases of elder abuse or neglect will be dealt with appropriate to the individual circumstances.
How has the board of Age Concern decided to manage the restructuring process?
By ensuring correct process has been followed in terms of the board’s obligations to its employees.
How involved were individual board members in the restructuring process that was so crucial, complex and potentially controversial?
A board member was delegated the responsibility of conducting the process and decision making. The board member was provided with the assistance of a professional employment relations consultant.
Can The GB Weekly see the accounts of Age Concern Nelson from the last AGM?
Information shared at the AGM is for members. Financial information that is available to the public can be accessed via the Register of Incorporated Societies. Their website is www.societies.govt.nz
We give absolute assurance that Age Concern Nelson Inc will continue to provide the excellent services the region has come to expect. If people wish to use our services, join us as members, or receive information about how we may be able to assist them, a friend or loved one, please do not hesitate to contact Sue Tilby on 03 544 7624.
