Dignity Action Day is an annual opportunity for our care workers to celebrate people’s rights to dignity and provide a memorable day for people who use our care services.
We have marked the day in various ways, every year since it began back in 2010 and this year our carers organised a variety of entertainment and craft sessions to raise awareness of the issue.
Both our nursing homes, St Catherine’s in Newcastle and Holy Cross in Sunderland, invited residents and their families to get together with staff for a Digni-Tea. There were singalongs, refreshments and raffles before everyone wrote messages about what dignity means to them on leaves which they attached to Dignity Trees.
At our Parkhead Resource Centre in Ashington for adults with learning disabilities, members created a mural, literally spelling out what dignity meant to them. Words such as empathy, individuality and self-worth all featured.
Our Alan Shearer Activity Centre held a “Catch up and Cuppa Day” where members could grab a muffin and a cuppa and join in a discussion with staff about the importance of dignity and ways it can be promoted.
One of the principal values underpinning the work of our charity is “Recognition of the inherent dignity of each person” – something that is paramount in the training of all our care staff.