Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, Eleanor Burnham, has called for better collaborative working within and between organisations involved in delivering services for older people in Wales.
Ms Burnham, Chair of the Cross-Party Group on Older People and Ageing and Welsh Liberal Democrat Spokesperson in the Assembly for Older People said:
“At this week’s meeting of the cross-party group it became clear that we all have a desire to make a difference to older people’s lives. We heard from the Older People’s Commissioner, Ruth Marks, from planning experts, councillors and representatives of Age Cymru and the WRVS.
“We are all agreed that a holistic, personalised approach to wellbeing is the key.
“Wales has more older people in poverty than the rest of the UK and more older people in Wales have ill health than in the rest of the UK. The results of Age Cymru’s Community Calculator showed us that there is a great deal of work to be done to make our communities more age-friendly.
“Older people’s experiences and needs cut across all aspects of organisation in our society and very often they are no different from those of younger people: transport, planning, health, education, crime and policing, sport and tourism, for example. It’s about quality of life.
“The members of the Cross-Party Group are committed to pressing for the sort of collaborative action that will put older people’s wellbeing into the vanguard of decision-making across all policy areas. ”
