Her Majesty’s Pallbearer Speaks with

Tony 23 returned to his hometown following a recent tour of Iraq and was welcomed to the 96-bed care home originally built in 1914 as a home for wounded soldiers having recently served as a pallbearer during the state funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II Watched by billions across the globe Tony was credited for his ‘impeccable role alongside seven members of his regiment who carried the coffin of Her Majesty before laying to rest the longest-serving monarch in British history on Monday 19th September Commenting on the experience Tony said: “It’s been an unforgettable few weeks to say the least Serving as one of Her Majesty’s pallbearers was the greatest honour of my life and was made even more special by the fact that it was an experience shared by only seven other people across the globe To be honest it still hasn’t sunk in and I don’t think it ever will Rewatching the day unfold at Westminster Abbey and listening to everything that was happening outside the room was probably the first moment where I truly understood the magnitude of the day ”

A former pupil at Holmesdale School Snodland Kent Tony joined the infantry regiment more than three years ago and recently married his long-term partner, Hayley, Resident Liaison at Nellsar, who accompanied him during the service

Speaking of his day Tony said: It was so nice to return to my hometown for a day that centred around appreciating everything that’s been made possible due to the sacrifices of those before us It was a very informative and humbling experience to spend the day with Princess Christian s residents and families I really enjoyed exchanging life stories with some remarkable individuals as I don’t often get the chance to hear stories from the past To accompany the local veterans for a day of remembrance and hear first-hand about their wartime experiences serving our country, was something I’ll never forget ”

– even our resident cat made herself comfortable on his lap!

“It was something that our staff and residents have long been looking forward to and were well prepared to make wartime displays and wreaths using poppies while sharing and celebrating the medals of residents who were active in the war An afternoon of poignant reflection was followed by tea and cakes before we enjoyed our resident singer Vick performing some great songs including a moving performance of ‘The Last Post’ on the trumpet All in all, the day was an overwhelming success I’d like to thank Tony Saj and Jonathan for playing such an influential role in bringing a smile to our residents faces

“My favourite aspect of our creation is Rudolph sat proudly on top of hid abode!” said David resident at Upton Bay

The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the NHS Confederation and the Local Government Association (LGA) have come together to create a report titled ‘Joint vision for a high quality and sustainable health and care system on the long-term solutions required to make our health and care system resilient preventative and promoting independence

The report states that high quality responsive preventative and personalised health and care services contribute so much to our lives and society by: enabling people to live their best lives and be active in their local communities supporting unpaid carers to continue caring whilst working and living their own lives offering rewarding skilled employment and long-term careers to over three million people bringing together the best of the NHS local authorities adult social care providers, public health and the community and voluntary sector to support people to live good lives meet growing needs and expectations of those who draw on care and health services boosting local regional and national economies by contributing to economic outputs (Gross Domestic Product) as major employers and contracting with local businesses Recent analysis shows that every pound invested in the NHS results in around £4 back to the economy through increased gross valued added (GVA), including through gains in productivity and workforce participation; and that the estimated adult social care sector GVA was £23 6 billion in 2016

However the report warns all of the evidence points to a stark truth: our health and social care services are struggling to meet their statuto- ry requirements to provide people with timely safe high quality and effective care and support And despite the heroic efforts of all those working in social care and health without immediate and long-term action from national Government, they will fail to improve, leading to worse health wellbeing and economic outcomes for all of us

The report also acknowledges the “heroic efforts” of the NHS and social care staff propping up the system but says that health and social care will fail to improve without proper funding from the UK Government

It continues: We are pleased that the government has gone some way to addressing the financial challenges on social care and health in the Autumn Statement by providing more resources over the medium-term to meet inflationary pressures

But this funding will not address the underlying gaps market fragility and workforce pressures across health and social care Neither does it provide sufficient long-term certainly for social care and health organisations to invest in different models of care which prevent ill health and promote wellbeing resilience and independence ”

The three national organisations contributing to the report all agree that a vision for all partners in the health and care system must focus first and foremost on promoting the health wellbeing and prosperity of our citizens This vision they say is relevant to all of us, whether we need care, support or treatment now or in the future provide unpaid care for family members, work in social care or health, or run businesses that contribute to health and wellbeing outcomes

It focuses on:

• maximising health and wellbeing and preventing or delaying people from developing health and social care needs redirecting resources so that when people need treatment, and short term support they are assisted to make as full a recovery as possible, restoring their health, wellbeing and independence maximising independence and wellbeing for people with ongoing heath and/or social care needs by working with them to put in place the care and support that works for them

The report calls on the Government to work with us and to put in place concrete measures to ensure that local leaders can achieve this culture shift now and in the future in prevention and early intervention the ability to plan for the long term a long-term, fully funded workforce plan that covers health and social care – including the public health workforce