A GROUP representing older people in the Tavistock area is seeking the views of those in receipt of NHS and Social Care services and their experiences of the system in West Devon.

The Senior Council for Devon, which has nearly 2,000 volunteers in 19 areas of the county, acts as a watchdog on the quality of public services to ensure that the concerns of people aged 50+ are heard and acted upon by policy makers.

Now the Tavistock branch of the Senior Council is keen to hear of the experiences of local people in the fields of health and social care.

Tavistock committee member Michael Dennis said: 'There are many excellent services provided across the county, particularly within West Devon, but along with other groups, we are particularly interested in where individuals' experiences may be at variance with the standards that they were expecting.

'There are a large number of areas that we are looking at, such as people's experiences on discharge from hospital and any incidents of early readmission to hospital because of inadequate follow-up after early discharge.

'We also want to hear of any shortage of facilities, problems with physiotherapy response times and limited opportunities for exercise facilities for older people.'

Other areas that the Tavistock group is surveying include: problems in acquiring a second opinion, access to health in rural areas, ease of access to out-of-hours' health or social care services, domiciliary care and additional support for carers.

Mr Dennis added: 'Though there are many examples of good practice locally, the Senior Council, in representing the views of the over-50s, wishes to be pro-active in seeking improvements wherever possible.

'However, it is the experience of, and the concern for, the individual that lies at the heart of health and social care provision and, of course, the maintenance of appropriate confidentiality is a prime concern.'

Anyone wishing to take part in the survey of health and social care services in the Tavistock district should contact Mr Dennis at [email protected]">[email protected] or write c/o The Anchorage Centre, Chapel Street, Tavistock PL19 8AG.