Peace of mind offered to Sidley's elderly

A joint promotion by Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust and Rother Homes at Sidley Baptist Church Hall ranged from safety testing for electric blankets to help and advice for those at risk from falls.

Trust public health development worker Margaret Delahoy was delighted by the public response to the morning's activities.

Within the first 45 minutes, 10 electric blankets had been tested. Among them were several which were quickly found to be potentially dangerous.

Margaret was also delighted to have been able to welcome the national pensions service. Advice to the elderly on matters such as Attendance Allowance was particularly important, she said.

For Help The Aged, Diane Aslett said the national organisation was able to work in partnership with other organisations to provide a range of advice and support for older people.

Further information may be obtained from Diane on 0208 8510401 or at [email protected]

Hastings and Rother Primary Care Trust was publicising its new Falls Prevention Service.

Vivian Morgan explained that the service exists to assist anyone who is experiencing falls or fears that that are about to suffer from falls.

People can be referred to the service via their GP,, hospital or community health professionals, ambulance service and voluntary agencies or can go through a simple self-referral process.

The service can assess home hazards and assist with the provision of safety aids such as stair-guards and handrails.

Rother Homes has a number of projects on the go including its successful community gardening scheme.

Over the past two years, Rother Senior Forum has attracted more than 300 members.

The Forum is made up of people aged over 50. It holds six gatherings a year, meeting at a variety of venues across Rother, including St Peter's Community Centre in Bexhill.

Rother Senior Forum chairman Ron Sunderland is also vice-chairman of the East Sussex Seniors Association.

He explained: "There are now seven forums in East Sussex and others are forming."

The forums work to raise awareness of the needs of older people, campaigns to remove social barriers and tackles ageism.

In Rother out of a population of 85,000 on 2001 Census figure, 39,000 were over 50, some 30,000 of these being over 60.

Locally, the movement has its own newsletter - Rother Seniors.

Issues tackled include bereavement. Mr Sunderland explained that a recent Battle meeting had received a one-woman play Who's Helen? by the Pyramid Theatre Company, thanks to the PCT.

By remaining "in character," the sole actress was able tackle a question-and-answer session on bereavement in a highly effective way.

Mr Sunderland said: "We are open for membership. Membership is totally free to anyone who lives in East Sussex and is over 50.

"We will represent them and their needs through other organisations and interest groups."