Improvements need to be made to public services to meet the needs of older people, according to the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira.
Ms Rochira made the call for better services after a Wales-wide tour meeting older people.
She said: “Whilst we have many outstanding public service staff within Wales, too many older people are being failed by the services and systems that should and must be there to support them, particularly at times of vulnerability and greatest need.
“All too often a crisis has to occur before support and care is provided. Waiting times for essential assistance that helps people to stay independent and safe are unacceptably long in parts of Wales. There are growing variations in the levels of services and support provided, and for too many older people access to the support they need is a postcode lottery. As a result, too many older people are vulnerable, lose their independence and are becoming isolated and lonely.
“On my first day in post I was rightly challenged about what I was going to do as Commissioner to make a difference to the lives of older people in Wales. I promised them that I would be a strong, independent champion and a loud voice for them. Today I lay out very clearly how I am going to do that and how I will hold to account those in public service whose purpose it is to improve the lives of older people. I am standing up and speaking out.
“Today I publish, for the first time, the Commission’s work programme in which I lay out 50 specific pieces of work that I am going to be taking forward, many of which will have direct impact on public service providers in Wales.
“I will be working with our public services to make sure that the way services and support are developed draws directly on the needs and voices of older people. I will also be laying down guidance and, where necessary, will use the legal powers at my disposal to ensure that this guidance is complied with.
“I will be requiring those who are accountable for our public services to prove to me, and older people, that they are making a real difference. I will do this for the first time in October when I will be making a public statement on the progress made by the NHS in Wales towards the implementation of our Dignified Care review recommendations. I will also be scrutinising a range of published strategies, policies and plans to make sure that they will deliver the changes and improvements older people need to see.
“I know there is much work already underway to improve support and services for older people. As Commissioner I will require evidence that this work is delivering for older people across Wales and making a real difference to their lives.
“There are over 710,000 older people in Wales; parts of Wales have the highest levels of older people proportionately within the UK. We have an ageing population and the changes we make now will not only have an impact on the current generation of older people, but also on generations to come. Those that lead our public services must ensure that the changes they implement make a tangible difference to the lives of all older people, regardless of where they live.”
If, as the new (ish) commissioner states, Welsh aged people have been let down by the fact that – `improvements need to be made to public services to meet the needs of older people, according to the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Sarah Rochira`. Then she should look toward her office and the role her predecessor played in the scheme of things for older people in Wales over the last four of five years.
What the commissioner is saying is that those charged with the responsibility to improve the lot of the Welsh Aged Population have failed them, this has to include, the first commissioner, who had been doing the job for some years prior to Sarah Rochira`s appointment.
It is however refreshing to note what the commissioner now states, perhaps it should be called ` Rochira`s law,` and one which all local authorities will have to take due recognisance of in the future in providing for the needs of an ever increasing aged population.
But there again, and no disrespect to the Commissioner, she has no teeth to enforce local Council to do anything.