Longevity
Addressing the needs of an ageing population
If we are to support an increasing number of older people, we also need to look beyond our shores and examine care practices and evidence gained from the implementation of innovative approaches throughout the world, says Andrew Larpent, chair, CommonAge
Increasing longevity is recognised as one of the major achievements of modern healthcare systems. In Britain 100 years ago, men lived on average for 52.5 years and women for 56.1 years. In 2015, average life expectancy was 79.6 years for men and 83.1 years for women.1 However, this increased longevity also brings challenges to health and social care systems worldwide. While many people are living longer, they also need support to enable them to enjoy life and continue to be valued members of communities. As people age, so their needs for support change and grow, and in the last years of life many will experience substantial care needs. The number of people living over the age of 65 is growing fast and the UK population is projected to continue growing, reaching over 74 million by 2039. According to the Office for National Statistics, by then 18 per cent of the population will be aged 65 and over
and 2.4 per cent will be aged 85 and over.2 Research by Newcastle University predicts there will be an additional 353,000 older people in the UK with complex needs by 2025.3
This means
Britain will need a predicted additional 71,000 care home spaces in the next eight years. This challenge can be addressed in two ways: by creating additional capacity and by working to reduce the number of older people needing social care support by adopting a radical approach to transforming care environments into centres of health and activity for older people. If we are to ‘add life to years’ as well as ‘years to life’, the UK care sector needs to look at what is happening in other countries in order to learn and share experiences and approaches that will transform outcomes for older people.
The challenges
The UK is not alone in needing to address the challenges presented by an ageing
population. The Commonwealth is facing a huge demographic age imbalance. Of the world’s population of 7.5 billion, 2.4 billion live people in the 52 countries of the Commonwealth. Of that number, largely owing to population growth in Asia and Sub Saharan Africa, more than 60 per cent are aged 29 or under.4
Yet in
Francis Njuakom, director of the board of the International Federation on Ageing (IFA)
14
Jo Boylan, operations director, Southern Cross Care
most developed countries it is older age groups that are growing faster than younger groups, leading to challenges more familiar to countries like the UK of an increasing number of older people in need of care and support. In Malaysia, senior citizens will account for about 15 per cent of the total population by 2030, compared to 9.3 per cent or three million people in 2016 and 6.17 per cent in 2000. India’s older population will also increase dramatically over the next four decades. The proportion of people aged 60 and over is projected to increase from eight per cent in 2010 to 19 per cent in 2050, according to the United Nations Population Division.5 In Australia, there were 3.7 million (15 per cent) people aged 65 and over in 2016, but by 2056, it is projected there will be 8.7 million older Australians (22 per cent of the population).6 To accommodate the needs of these older people, KPMG predicts Australia will need about 76,000 new aged care places over the next decade.7 Meanwhile, Canada’s population is also on the rise, and a recently released Conference Board of Canada report predicted Canada could need 43,000 new long term care beds over the next five years. It states: “By 2035, we could need an additional 199,000 beds, nearly double the current level of 255,000 beds.”8 In many developing countries, the challenges facing the older generation are masked by an increase in the number of young people. There is evidence of ageism and the marginalisation of older people in
www.thecarehomeenvironment.com • January 2018
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