Age UK demands rise by a quarter in county (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Age UK demands rise by a quarter in county

5:00pm Tuesday 28th August 2012 in News

Age UK Wiltshire has seen requests for help rise by a quarter over the past year.

End-of-year reports being prepared for the charity show a 26 per cent increase in the number of people calling for information, advice and other services.

Chief executive Brian Deeley said: “We are not surprised at this increase as the number of older people in Wiltshire rises each year. There will always be a proportion of people who need a little bit of help to manage some of the financial and other difficulties resulting from declining health and mobility.”

The charity is looking for more volunteers to help them meet this demand, with opportunities to respond to requests for help, make calls to isolated people and raise awareness through giving talks to groups.

Age UK Wiltshire is committed to preventing financial disadvantage in later life and are concerned that people may not be aware of an important deadline which is approaching if they feel that they, or a relative, should have been entitled to free NHS care in the past.

There are many people with severe medical needs who met their own care costs because they were not assessed properly. The end of September is the deadline for registering a complaint with NHS Wiltshire and help and advice is Age UK Wiltshire on 01380 7355000 to find out what you can do.