Our increasingly ageing population is one of the great triumphs of society. Better living conditions and significant improvements in medical care mean that more people are living longer lives than at any point in history – surely something to be celebrated. But it brings with it some substantial challenges. The number of older people leaving the workforce and needing care is rising, and the capacity and resource to provide that care is increasingly stretched. When we hear headlines about the NHS being in crisis, this is one of the underlying challenges. It also underpins a narrative about there being a “pensions time bomb”, with a rising bill for pensions coupled with a reducing tax take from the younger population leading eventually to a position where our social security system becomes unaffordable. These challenges are very real.
But that does not mean an inexorable slide into social decline. We need a radical rethink on our approach to age and ageing. For too long, older people have tended to be seen in policy terms as a problem, or a burden on society. But the same things that have led to longer lives have helped extend healthy life, meaning that people can continue to be part of the solution for longer. Older people bring a wealth of skills, knowledge and experience that can add real value to the economy and to efforts to improve society. We need to shape a society that values older people, and helps them to remain nett contributors to society for as long as they can, before gratefully supporting them to live their final years with as much comfort and dignity as possible.
This report therefore concentrates on how we can promote healthier ageing in Cumberland. It starts by describing the current picture of our demography and the health challenges associated with ageing, before going on to describe our approach to helping Cumberland to become an age-friendly society. It then considers a number of crucial components of that society – social inclusion, housing, digital inclusion, and health and care support – in more detail. Finally, it considers the subject of Dying Well, something I first discussed in the Cumbria Public Health Annual Report in 2017. Since then, the movement supporting a more nuanced approach to death and dying has grown, but the statistics on the proportion of people dying in hospital have barely shifted, and hospices are finding themselves in increasingly challenging financial situations. I remain concerned that this universal human experience does not receive the attention that it deserves.
Society faces considerable challenges associated with an ageing population. However, if we can rethink our approach, become a truly age friendly society and focus services on preventing or significantly delaying some of the effects of ageing, we can create a society that can become “stronger with age”.
Colin Cox
Director of Public Health and Communities