A new initiative to help older people lead happier and healthier lives will be launched in Felixstowe today.

Experts from the Integrated Caring for Older People (ICOPE) project will be at the town hall this afternoon from 3.30pm to 4.45pm, as Felixstowe becomes the first town in the UK to trial the new initiative.

Older people from the town and their carers are invited to attend, which aims to engage with older people to establish what they need to live healthier lives and connect them to local sources of support.

ICOPE focuses on six associated health problems - vision, hearing, mobility, cognition, depression and nutrition.

It also addresses where support could help in six areas of social need - daily living, social participation, loneliness, violence against older people, living accommodation and finances.

ICOPE is based on 30 years of research and development carried out across 50 countries into the issues that matter to older people by Professor Ian Philp.

His findings revealed that two thirds of the things they said were important to them were not being addressed.

Subsequently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) launched a global programme aimed at engaging with older people.

Mark Shenton, Professor of Integrated Care at the University of Suffolk Integrated Care Academy (UoS ICA), who is chairing the ICOPE Project Board, said: "I'm really excited that Felixstowe has been chosen as the first place in the country to pilot the ICOPE project.

"This is all about engaging with older people to find out what their issues and needs are, rather than assuming what they are, in order that we can address them properly."

Mr Shenton, who is also chairman of the NHS Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group, said the WHO research showed that older people usually need help with just one or two things to make a big difference to their quality of life.

"A unique feature of this project is that as well as assessing the needs of older people we will also be identifying their family carers to offer them an assessment of their own needs through our partnersip with Suffolk Family Carers," he added.

ICOPE, which will eventually be rolled out across the rest of Suffolk and north east Essex, will be evaluated by the UoS ICA.