Andrew Gwynne MP Visits Age UK Tameside

On Friday 24^th November 2023 we were delighted to welcome local Labour MP Andrew Gwynne, the Shadow Minister for State for Social Care, to our Centre for a Q&A session with our 131 Club members.

Our clients had pre-decided a list of questions to ask Andrew, about issues such as the high cost of social care, the lack of respite support for family carers, the need for more specialist care for minority groups and why hospital patients often don’t receive an immediate care package when they are discharged. As the MP for Denton and Reddish, Andrew also answered questions about the local community, such as why much needed pharmacies are closing.

Andrew spent time answering the questions in detail, showing he understood the frustration surrounding these issues and explaining his vision to make things better. Our clients felt heard and valued, and very much enjoyed his company, as did Age UK Tameside CEO Marcia Thorpe and Chair of the Board Robert Needham who also attended.

Marcia said, “We appreciate Andrew taking time to visit and answer the questions which concern our 131 Club Members. We endeavour to provide sessions like this to give our clients a voice and the opportunity to be heard on the matters that are important to them. Many thanks to Andrew and his fantastic team for taking time out to spend time with the older people of Tameside”.

Andrew really enjoyed his visit and was also pleased to receive a gift of our ‘Staff Pets 2024’ calendar. We have produced this calendar as part of our fundraising campaign and they can be purchased for £8 from our Centre at 131 Katherine Street, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 7AW.