SALLY DeRVAN
Photographer: Mike Browne
Assistant CeO AGe UK MANCHeSTeR
Dynamic Sally Dervan’s been hooked on caring for older people since her schoolgirl work experience at Withington Hospital’s Burton House. Disappointed that the nursing profession was attracting less vocation-led colleagues, she quit in 1995 to set up Age Concern’s over-50s Home Care Services in South Manchester.
20 years on, Assistant CeO Sally’s dual roles in administration and hands-on practice keep her finger on the pulse. She operates from AGe UK’s office and three day-centres, overseeing 150 staff and 150 volunteers. every week they provide 2,000 hours’ local homecare plus centre-based social and advisory activities for up to 105 people a day. The charity’s extensive outreach includes supervising medication and meals at home, housecleaning and transport to the charity’s drop-in arts, knitting and discussion groups, specialist benefits and pre-retirement advice services and its ever-popular ‘Silver Klick’ internet tuition.
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AGe UK Manchester also offers 24-hour residential care at Holmefield in West Didsbury.
Committed, positive and enthusiastic Sally explains: ‘Ours is a relationship for life. No one should have no one, and no one should be lonely. After all, we’re not here for a long time but for a good time. Whatever we put in, we get back tenfold. Your quality of life is in that moment. If someone’s visited us and doesn’t return, but they left with a smile, it’s a job well done.’ Sally regards nurturing personal ambitions, however humble, and socialising as fundamental for selfconfidence. Family referrals often entail individuals needing time to adjust to coping with groups after long periods of isolation. She adds: ’everyone, especially retired gents, must feel useful. When we refurbished the kitchen in our Wythenshawe centre, the new sink was fitted by one of our own octogenarians!’
Working with older people’s not all doom and gloom. On a week’s holiday in Llandudno, one chappie sat stuck, wedged in the bath. His room-mate’s valiant attempt to free him failed when the bathroom door handle came off in his hand — guess who sorted it? Sally grins. ‘That week was hard work. Forget early nights. The hotel bar stayed open till the last guest went to bed. Many stayed up till 3am and still wanted pushing down the prom at 6am in their wheelchairs.’
For Sally Dervan, caring for older and frailer folk is no less uplifting and lifeenhancing as when, at age 16, she was spellbound by their life stories. If younger people are inspired to work with their elders, our society will be enriched. Sally Dervan knows and leads from the front.
AGe uk MAnCheSter www.ageuk.org.uk/manchester Canada House, 3 Chepstow Street, Manchester, M1 5FW. 0161 833 3944
1964 Born West Didsbury. 1980-95 Withington Hospital: volunteer, auxiliary, student and qualified SeN nurse. 1995 Age Concern, now Age UK Manchester. 1996 Diploma Applied Social Sciences. 1997 Ongoing: student placements’ teacher. 2004 Registered Managers Award. 2008 Annual guest lecturer Manchester & Salford Universities Social Work Degree. 2014 Assistant CeO AGe UK Manchester at Wythenshawe, Gorton and Openshaw centres. By Fay Wertheimer