What Older People Are Telling Us
Since Ruth Marks took up post as the first Older People’s Commissioner for Wales in April 2008, she has been contacted by older people from all over Wales on a wide range of issues. The following sections reflect the main issues they have raised and give some examples of how these concerns and queries have informed the Commissioner’s work.
Listening...
Since taking up post, the Commissioner has held several consultation events across Wales. These events have acted as a very effective method of meeting older people in their local areas and listening to their thoughts and concerns. Questionnaires have been designed and distributed to all those who attended, giving older people the chance to tell the Commission about the issues affecting their lives.
Many of the concerns raised draw attention to the very important underlying issue of dignity and respect for older people. Dignity and respect must be central to policies that are supposed to serve people in their latter years. The Commissioner’s aim is to see that older people are treated fairly, to challenge age discrimination and promote awareness of the interests of older people in Wales.
Combining these responses with the correspondence we have received over the past year, two key themes have emerged:
Each of these areas covers a much larger list of more specific issues, some of which will be explained in more detail on individual pages. The quotations come from people that are active in their communities along with other individual older people who have contacted us with a specific concern, and have given their consent for their words to be used. The boxes highlight information from other organisations that you may find useful.
To read what older people have been telling the Commission during the last 12 months and how it has been progressing these issues, please click on the links above.