AN assessment of the health needs of Radcliffe's elderly population will be undertaken in the coming months.

The study is being carried out by local health authority's public health department and the department of primary health care at St Martin's College Lancaster.

The focus of the study will be people aged 65 and over living in Radcliffe. The health needs assessment will comprise of three parts which involve the profile of older people in Radcliffe; mapping existing services and listening to older people.

Key members of the community, older people's groups and individuals will be involved in the study.

Through interviews and focus groups, information will be gathered on a variety of issues including health, housing, day- to-day living, social contacts, views on services and potential improvements to services.

The findings of the assessment will be published in a report which will include data gathered by the project on the views of older people living in Radcliffe, current service provision and recommendations for change.

The project is directly linked to a Radcliffe health group, which is a sub-group of the town's area board. The group is a multi-agency group, which will consider action to take to address the issues raised in the study.