PENSIONERS in Cumnock and Doon Valley could see major changes to housing and care services.

Bield has now revealed it remains focused on bring these innovative changes to underline its commitment to improve the lives of East Ayrshire’s older people.

Speaking at its 48th AGM, Chair of Bield Susan Napier said it was right that Bield continued to be an organisation that was not afraid of change.

She said: “Bield constantly demonstrated this throughout 2018-19 and these attributes will characterise the coming years as we seek to go on improving the lives of East Ayrshire’s older people”.

Susan said the transformational changes made by the Edinburgh-based charity continue to benefit many older people in the local area.

She added: “Since last year’s AGM we have undertook a magnitude of work which has resulted in many positive changes.

“There is no doubt that the external environment in which we operate has a significant impact on how we deliver services both now and in the future.

“Despite this, we will continue to seek out new partnerships and ways of working, which I am confident will help us grow and develop.

“This year saw the change of our Housing with Care model to the Retirement Plus model which is now operating in Glasgow, Dundee and Edinburgh. The change meant we are now able to offer a much wider range of services to our customers allowing them to live fulfilling and independent lives for as long as possible.

“Additionally, we have saw the change from our very sheltered housing services to our new retirement housing with meals has been implemented. This service has proved to be a more financially viable and sustainable model, which does not rely on local authority income.