A TOWN where old people are too scared to go out at night, feel isolated by poor public transport and abandoned by society.

These were just some of the grim findings in a survey of Radcliffe's elderly population carried out by Bury and Rochdale Health Authority.

Billie Moores of the Authority's public health department said: "Older people were focused on after a multi-agency workshop involving health professionals and others felt that the elderly people were neglected."

There are 3,052 women and 2,009 men aged 65 and over living in Radcliffe.

Although there were few complaints about health services by the 42 individual pensioners and four groups interviewed, lengthy waits for contact and appointments was a concern. Those questioned also revealed they had low expectations of the service.

"There were more adverse comments about getting hold of health professionals and especially about trying to contact departments in hospitals, to either make appointments, or find information on friends and family," said Ms Moores. Few of the old people questioned were currently receiving social services but they did raise issues about the complexity and the time taken for assessment and services not meeting needs.

The most critical comments were about the process of trying to get help or enquiring about entitlements to help.

There was a lack of awareness as to what is available in terms of services and benefits and there was confusion and annoyance about difficulties making contact, visits and assessments.

Being unsuccessful on their first attempt put off some people from trying to get services again.

Nearly all those interviewed commented on the decline of Radcliffe. The lack of decent shops, and the need to go to other places such as Bury and Bolton were highlighted. There was a feeling of being neglected or forgotten in Radcliffe, and some felt the town was a dumping ground for people nobody else wanted.

Inadequate bus services, a lack of things to do and nowhere to go locally were pointed out as further negatives. And many of the elderly felt insecure. Most did not go out at night because they feared becoming victims of crime, but there were also fears about leaving homes unattended because of burglaries.

Many people felt helpless to confront youths who were causing a nuisance and there was a general call for more police on the beat.

The findings of the survey will now form the basis for future discussions aimed at redressing the needs of Radcliffe's elderly.

A project manager has already been appointed by Primary Care Group South and a number of recommendations for action have been drawn up.

These include bringing such hospital services as physiotherapy out to the locality to avoid lengthy trips, increasing health service staff awareness about older peoples' anxieties, reviewing social services procedures to eliminate complexity, consulting older people about developments in the town, establishing a club for the elderly where they can talk, meet and socialise, re-siting bus stops and altering bus routes.