The advantages of integrated working lie not only in bringing together different WRVS services, but also working with others in the region.

Two years ago in Gwynedd, North Wales WRVS set up an information desk based at the main hospital for the area, Ysbyty Gwynedd. WRVS and the NHS Trust wanted to provide information to older people visiting the hospital on services they could access to help them stay independent and maintain their well-being.

From the beginning our project manager, Catherine Jones, started building up a range of partnerships to provide information that older people using the hospital were otherwise not getting access to.

For example, she developed links with the local pensions service, encouraging them to hold regular sessions from the WRVS information desk to provide advice on pensions and other benefits older people can claim. These have been very successful and when the pensions advisors are not on hand at the desk, WRVS volunteers can arrange for one of them to make a home visit to anyone looking for more information. WRVS volunteers are able to build on the trust and rapport they have with older people visiting the hospital. They help bridge the gap between older people, who are often resistant to claiming means tested benefits and the pensions service, which wants to encourage everyone to claim the pension credit and other benefits they are entitled to.

Catherine can see the results of her and her team's efforts in the many stories that they hear back from people who have benefited from this advice: for example, an older man who cares for his infirm wife at home now receives some extra financial support from attendance allowance for carers, thanks to advice that originated at the WRVS information desk at Ysbyty Gwynedd.

And Catherine's partnership work didn't stop there. She has built links with the local authority who now offer older people home visit to check if they are getting the benefits and allowances they are due. WRVS volunteers can arrange for the Fire Service to do a home safety check, to ensure that older people are not putting themselves at unnecessary risk. We link into a carers outreach programme which supports carers to get access to extra help and support. We signpost people to the community transport and wheelchair hire services the Red Cross provide in the area to the support services that Macmillan provides for cancer patients and their families, and of course to the Good Neighbours service we provide in the Bangor area of Gwynedd.

The next stage of Catherine's development plans for the project are to set up a range of additional information points so more older people have access to this joined-up support, including ones in a smaller hospital on the island of Anglesey and a community centre run by another organisation, and information points at two WRVS social centres.

Catherine Jones sums it up pretty well herself: "WRVS is definitely closing the gap between isolation, poverty and the need for information to enable people to make decisions that can change their lives for the better. At Gwynedd Hospital Desk we come across very sad stories but what makes it all worth while is when we can make a difference to that person's life, financially, to their safety, or by providing information that helps them improve their health or well-being.

This is just one example of how WRVS can use its unique position of having support for older people in hospitals, at home and in the community to provide easy access for older people to a whole range of services from WRVS and other organisations. There are others all around the country, but we want to put the framework and resources in place to make this kind of partnership working the norm.