Our Story Continues
In a retirement village it’s a balancing act. Making sure people get maximum opportunities to live independently, while attempting to reduce for residents, nuisance factors life can bring. One of these is reducing for residents the opportunity for them to be pressured by unsolicited doorto-door salespeople. Achieving this has been assisted by the recent change to the Fair-Trading Act which helps protect consumers against pushy, uninvited door-to-door sales people. From 16 August, any salesperson or door knocker who ignores a ‘Do not Knock’ sticker displayed at the gate or at the front door, which asks salespeople not to call, can face hefty fines of up to $30,000 and have any sales agreement signed, nullified by the courts.
To support this, Consumer NZ have designed and printed, ‘Do not Knock’ stickers, available through Resene stores. Thanks to the efforts of Adam and Karen at the Kapiti Road Resene store, they have provided such a sticker for each of the properties in our Sevenoaks-Midlands Gardens village. These have been circulated via our village emergency management co-ordinators with village residents then deciding if they want to display this.
A different situation arises when it comes to the election of our politicians. With local body elections currently upon us and then national elections next year, it’s important that all village residents, while they may be living in a retirement village, have full and free access to candidates and know the views of those standing for these important positions.
As such, our stance is that even though the village is on private property, candidates standing for either local body elections or national elections, are welcome to go through our village; drop brochures and speak with residents. All can do this, but we ask they let us know in advance when they intend to visit the village. This way, residents can be assured that those coming through the village have a legitimate reason for doing so and are not there to harass or put unwanted pressure on them. While it’s not the role of management to do so, our resident-led social committees and residents’ association organise meet the candidate meetings if they wish to include these into their programmes of activities.
The death of Queen Elizabeth II has had an impact on all. Her extraordinary commitment to service is unparalleled and for many older people her life has paralleled theirs, thus making her passing even more poignant. Following so soon after her golden jubilee, which was such a highlight, the impact of technology at such a time reinforces just how the world has changed over her reign. That we can, in the comfort of our homes, watch actual footage of both the last king’s funeral and Elizabeth II coronation, along with daily updates leading up to her funeral is a reminder of just how interconnected life internationally now is.
We are also seeing this as the country is rapidly reconnecting with the rest of the world and learning to live with COVID-19. However, it is still very much a feature of life in aged care. The latest data out from Capital & Coast Health shows that the vast majority of hospitalisations due to COVID 19 are for those aged 70+. We are however taking gradual steps to make life more normal for residents in our care. This once again includes them having a full range of activities, including concerts with entertainers and being able to go on regular van outings. Our day respite unit the Nikau Club is running normal hours Monday-Friday and we are again taking admissions into the Lodge, our care hospital.
While masks and RAT testing is likely to be part of our daily life for some time yet, the days definitely feels more positive. Long may this continue.