One hundred older residents from around the borough come face-to-face with council staff on Monday (4th June) to tell them what they think about the services they receive.
Wigan Council is hosting a special ‘Older People's Event’ at the Wigan Investment Centre to canvass opinion on how its Department of Adult Services is performing now and what it needs to do in the future.
The department is responsible for a delivering and co-ordinating a wide range of social care services for older people. A new document, ‘Ageing Well', sets out the council’s vision for services for older people and will be shared with people attending the event.
Councillor Kevin Anderson, Cabinet Member for Older People says:
“Older people are interested in thriving, not just surviving – that message has come through loud and clear as we’ve been listening to what older people have to say over the past few years.
“Together we’ll be looking at how older people can gain real choice and control over their lives, learning from past experience to shape new priorities.
“We want to promote older people beyond the usual organisational boundaries of social and health care, and have their contribution to society properly recognised and valued.”
The event also provides an opportunity to look at recent developments in services for older people, such as Starting Point, community matrons, direct payments and the Partnership for Older people Project (POPP) Project.
Cllr Anderson continues:
"Starting Point is a great scheme, run by Age Concern, providing advice and information about local services to help people to live as independently as possible.
“We also have high hopes for the new NHS Community Matrons scheme, which will help support people with chronic diseases.
“The POPP project is now well established and we have the opportunity to see what difference this and the other schemes are really making.”
The event will feature a variety of speakers and workshops, with light relief in the shape of Tyldesley Little Theatre’s production of ‘Two of a Kind’, a play about life in a residential home for older people.
