Local residents are warmly invited to join Nia Griffith MP to discuss meeting the challenges of an ageing population at 11 am Sat 21st January in the Lliedi Suite of the Selwyn Samuel Centre, a discussion on how we rise to the challenge of providing a high-quality, affordable care and support system for a rapidly ageing population.
“We all recognise that medical advances mean that more people are living longer, and that this in turn puts pressure on services. We can all have fine aspirations and we appreciate that many dedicated staff are working hard to deliver services. However, family members, particularly but by no means exclusively women, often find themselves both looking after an elderly parent, and helping out with the grandchildren. We know that women have been particularly badly hit both by the Chancellor’s budget and public sector job losses, but many may soon find themselves picking up the pieces as the Tory-led UK government cuts the block grant to Wales and leaves councils struggling to maintain services.
If we are going to improve services, we need feedback about how current support systems are working out in practice. We need to hear about people’s real-life experiences of what works well and where there is room for improvement. This is not about being negative; it’s about being constructive about how we could do things better. What is actually happening on the ground? Are needs being met? How easy are services to access? Are the right sort of services being provided? What could be improved? How should we be planning for the future?
I know many of you are already involved in discussing these matters, so let’s channel that thinking and feed back our ideas to the policy -makers.”