GPDQ Supports ‘Age Friendly Barnet’

With an ageing UK population, the need to remove the barriers that older people face to participate in their communities is in sharp focus.

In London, Barnet Council has teamed up with Age UK to create ‘Age-Friendly Barnet’. And GPDQ is supporting the programme too.

Age should just be a number

As we grow older, we often spend more time in our homes and communities, so our immediate environment has a significant impact on our health, wellbeing and the quality of our lives.

The problem is that many UK communities are significantly underprepared to manage the challenges and unlock the potential of our ageing population.

Which is why Age UK has been the driving force behind ‘Age Friendly Communities’ – an initiative that creates vibrant and resilient communities where older people can develop their interests and aspirations.

Creating opportunities not barriers

Age friendly communities are places where older people (typically adults over 50) have opportunities to enjoy life.

That means, providing the services and activities for them to participate in society, to feel well with access to quality health and care, and to feel safe and secure at home. They have a key role to play in society and they should be valued for their contribution.

Taking it to the community
‘Age Friendly Barnet’ kicked off on 1 October 2023 with ‘Silver Sunday’, which is followed by a week-long series of activities for older people to participate in.

As part of our partnership with Barnet Council to deliver community health screening to individuals in Barnet aged between 40-74, GPDQ provided clinicians at the event.

We carried out 25 Health Checks on the day. GPDQ will continue to support Age UK at their future events as part of our ongoing relationship.

Speaking about the partnership, Charles Adebayo – Head of NHS and Public Health Partnerships at GPDQ, said: “GPDQ was proud to support Age UK Barnet’s Silver Sunday Event by providing health checks to attendees.

“It was a great opportunity to offer preventative healthcare to people who may find it difficult to visit their GP or not have information about their health to take positive steps to maintain or improve good health.”

“It was great to see such a high turnout. We couldn’t provide a health check to everyone on the day, but we’re committed to putting on convenient events in the community for those who didn’t see us and more older people in the community.”

Cllr Gill Sargeant, Age Friendly Barnet Champion, said: “We are delighted to work in partnership with Age UK Barnet on this initiative. It was a great launch event on Silver Sunday attended by a wide range of organisations.

“It was a lovely way to kick-off Silver Week, and we look forward to hearing the views of how people want to age well in Barnet, building on all the work done so far.”