Elder Care

Its an RSA focus this Friday, in his comment this morning Paul Allen addresses how the time bomb of an ageing population and a diminishing workforce coupled with the economic climate provides the new government with a difficult challenge.
Time is ticking on this potentially explosive situation. Paul Allen argues that swift, decisive and well thought out action is required to ensure the needs of our elderly population are met.

In 2009, the UK population numbered 62 million: 38 million of working age, 9.2 million between 50 and 65 years, and 11.3 million over current state pension age. The forecast for 2031 is a 58 per cent increase in the number of people aged over 65, but just a 16 per cent increase in those at working age. This creates a huge imbalance between those who are earning and those likely to need care. However, the funding available for elderly care has been shrinking for some time and many local authorities have slashed budgets up to 400 per cent, with some regions reducing sheltered housing provision from £40 to just £11.75 per week. link to continue reading

Source: RSA

According to geriatrician and internist David Chess M.D., a new study from the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests an unsettling prognosis for the future medical care of aging American baby boomers.The generation born after World War II will face potential jeopardy if healthcare changes are not made swiftly enough. The problem: an aging population faced with an imperfect healthcare system that does not place enough emphasis on geriatric care. Medicare is already in serious financial trouble, and new rules to financially shore up the program are likely to drive more and more doctors from participation, especially those in primary care. According to Dr. Chess, that will only exacerbate problems identified in the study, which include too few specialists in geriatric medicine, insufficient training, underpaid primary care and geriatric physicians, and a failure of Medicare to support new strategies. [continue reading…]