Tag Archives: Care

Older women and care: are they invisible to the sisterhood?

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Michelle Mitchell | 4 Comments

This blog is an edited version of an article appearing in the International Longevity Centre’s Compendium on Older Women, published for International Women’s Day.

As women, we outlive men in nearly all parts of the world, outnumbering our male counterparts across the globe by 100 million. But though we live longer than men and are stronger in number, we are also likely to spend more years in poor health.

This is reflected in the gender profile of users of health and social care. Across OECD countries ¾ of long-term care users are women. Older women are therefore disproportionately affected by inadequacies of care and support.

Paradoxically, though, older women are also the main providers of care. Across OECD countries 2/3 of informal carers aged 50+ are female. In developing countries, in addition to informal care, a significant amount of the care older women provide is as a grandparent to children whose parents have migrated or have been killed by HIV/AIDS or conflict. Continue reading →

→ 4 Comments

Posted in General, Health, Home and Care, Social care

Tagged #carecantwait, #careincrisis, #IWD, @womensday, Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Care, Care in Crisis, carers, Communities & inclusion, feminism, Health, Health & wellbeing, Health and Social Care, intergenerational, international women's day, older people, pensions, poverty, social care, women

Guest blog: What burden of ageing?

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Age UK | 7 Comments

This guest blog was contributed by Rob Greig, Chief Executive at the National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi)

The area of government policy that has continually depressed me the most (and I’m talking successive governments here) is that around older people and ageing. What we at NDTi call the ‘demographic dialogue’ of public policy and the media creates a culture whereby older people are seen as a problem and a burden on society.

Read almost anything from government policy, think tanks or the national press and you will see older people being described negatively. They are ‘bed blockers’ in hospitals, creating a ‘financial precipice’ in public finances and the cause of a pension system crisis that means younger people will have to work longer. Older people are portrayed as being the cause of problems that government and society have to address.

I beg to differ. There are 3 fundamental flaws in this perception of older citizens:

It sees older people as primarily passive recipients of services provided by the state or wider society, denying or even discouraging their capacity to continue to give to the communities around them.
The service and cost modelling is substantially based on an assumption that we will do the same in the future as we have done in the past – rather than explore more innovative options that could change the financial parameters
It conveniently appears to forget the contributions that people have made to society, through their work, taxes, caring and creativity. Is it too old-fashioned to still think that society may have some obligation in the form of ‘pay-back’ time that should argue against using the language of burden?

I will put the third point to one side as it is primarily influenced by values and opinions and instead focus on the first two – and tell you about Ted.

Continue reading →

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Communities and inclusion, General, Health, Home and Care, Research, Social care

Tagged Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Ageism, Care, Communities & inclusion, Community Catalysts, Health, Health and Social Care, joseph rowntree foundation, Later life, media, National Development Team for Inclusion, older people, poverty, public policy, Rob Greig NDTi, social care

Government announces care costs cap

Posted on February 11, 2013 by ageukpublicaffairs | 7 Comments

This blog was contributed by Caroline Abrahams, Director of External Affairs, for Age UK.

Last year’s White Paper and draft Bill make these encouraging times for social care, for decades a Cinderella service. What has been so obviously lacking though is the funding for a better system, so today’s announcement about the implementation of ‘Dilnot’ is a welcome step forward.

Unfortunately, implementation has to wait until April 2017, so very few older people living in a care home now will benefit, but at least some of those who come after them will: the Government estimates that 1 in 6 older people who need care will gain, but by just how much and over what timescale is hard to tell without detailed modelling which the Government has not (yet) released.

Continue reading →

→ 7 Comments

Posted in Campaigning, care homes, Home and Care, Social care

Tagged #carecantwait, #careincrisis, #Dilnot, #socialcare, Age UK, Age UK blog, Ageing, ageing society, Care, care costs, care costs cap, care homes, Care in Crisis, Care in Crisis campaign, Caroline Abrahams, Caroline Abrahams Age UK, Dilnot Commission, Dilnot report, Home and Care, older people, social care, Social Care Bill, social care reform

UK life reimagined

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Michelle Mitchell | 1 Comment

A demographic revolution is under way, with more of us living longer than ever before. Fifty years ago there were nearly 20 million people in the world age 80 or over; now that figure stands at about 105 million, and it’s rising fast. Many – though not enough – of our older population are in good health and will retire with a decent income and a strong social network, and many have much to offer society.

The timing of the debate around the aging population in the UK is then perhaps unfortunate, held as it is against a backdrop of a beleaguered economy. Since the Coalition Government came to power we have seen cuts to government services and working-age benefits and a further £10 billion reduction in welfare to come. Against this context there is a perception that older people have fared better than most other groups but media commentary suggesting that today’s older people belong to “the lucky generation” obscure the enormous variations that exist. This is particularly stark in terms of poverty and wealth – fewer than half of all retirees have an income big enough to pay income tax. Older people’s median income levels remain lower than those of the population as a whole. Continue reading →