Surge in demand for Wetherby older persons charity, consultation reveals

A Wetherby older persons charity has reported a big jump in the number of people accessing its services, as demand in the district grows.

The number of survey respondents who said they access services provided by Wetherby in Support of the Elderly (WiSE) at least once a week leapt from 30 to 54 per cent year-on-year.

Calls for extra dementia support have fallen meanwhile, after WiSE upped its memory café provision.

The findings form part of the results of a major annual consultation delivered by Wetherby in Support of the Elderly (WiSE) to find out more about what people of all ages think about services in their community.

WiSE has thanked dozens of people from across Wetherby and its surrounding villages for having their say via a survey and events, with the results helping the charity to decide how to develop its work and partnerships in the future.

Mark Dobson, Chief Operations Officer at WiSE, said: “We learn more and more about our communities each year we run this consultation. It’s important that we continue to listen to their needs and their expectations on us as a charity.

“We’re very proud of the part we play in supporting older people in Wetherby and its surrounding villages. But we always want to design our services around the area and its needs, so feedback from the public like this is invaluable.

“We believe the surge in people reporting weekly contact with WiSE is largely down to the steady expansion of our services, enabling us to reach more people than ever before. Whilst there will probably always be a need for greater dementia support, the fact fewer people have cited this need in this year’s survey does suggest that our increased memory café provision is making some impact.”

Huge numbers of respondents reported a positive experience when attending WiSE activities, with several commenting positively on the social interaction and the opportunity to meet friends.

Others would like to see even more events and activities added to the charity’s already busy programme.

“It’s clear that the work of our volunteers and tiny team of paid staff does not go unnoticed by those who access our services regularly. It’s also obvious that demand for social events, activities and services remains very strong. We’ll certainly be considering the suggestions of everyone who responded as we make our plans for the future,” said Mark.

To find out more about the charity and its work, visit www.w-ise.org.uk