Old People In Britain An General Outlook of An Aging Society

Older People 336,000 are aged 90 or older Census 2001 helps us understand the trends and implications of the ageing society in England and Wales, and throws up a number of insights into this. There are about 336,000 people aged 90 and over, and of these nearly 4,000 are providing 50 or more hours of unpaid care per week to another family member or friend. Although only 26.2 per cent of people aged 90 and over living in households are men, they make up just over half of the carers in this age bracket. While the proportion of people who say they are in 'not good health' generally increases with age, there is a slight decrease for men aged 65 to 69 and no increase for women aged 60 to 64. Over the age of 85, 26.5 per cent of men and 21.9 per cent of women say they are in 'good health'. Older People 336,000 are aged 90 or older Census 2001 helps us understand the trends and implications of the ageing society in England and Wales, and throws up a number of insights into this. There are about 336,000 people aged 90 and over, and of these nearly 4,000 are providing 50 or more hours of unpaid care per week to another family member or friend. Although only 26.2 per cent of people aged 90 and over living in households are men, they make up just over half of the carers in this age bracket. While the proportion of people who say they are in 'not good health' generally increases with age, there is a slight decrease for men aged 65 to 69 and no increase for women aged 60 to 64. Over the age of 85, 26.5 per cent of men and 21.9 per cent of women say they are in 'good health'.

Tackling Pensioners’ Poverty  There are nearly 11 million pensioners living in the UK today. Barely 45%of pensioners have enough income to be taxed, whilst some 2.5 million pensioners are entitled to income support through the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG).  The Government’s latest figures show that in 2000/2001, 27% of pensioners live on incomes below the poverty line (below 50% of average/mean earnings). For people of working age the figure is much lower at 20%.

Medical care in care homes  The right to life of older people in residential care currently appears not to be adequately protected due to lack of access to medical care and suitably qualified staff in residential and nursing homes. Both over treatment by inappropriate drugs and under treatment of medical conditions are a cause for concern. Moreover, deaths in care homes are rarely investigated. In some circumstances, poor medical care and the failure to investigate such deaths adequately would breach the requirements of Article 2 of the Act (the right to life).

Family separation  It is not uncommon for older couples to be separated against their will when the local authority says it cannot provide sufficient care to one of them to enable them to continue living at home. In one notorious case, an older couple were placed in two different care homes. This flagrant disregard for Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life) underlines the need for a change in the culture of care planning to include human rights.

Age Discrimination  Ageism – prejudging or making assumptions about people simply because of their age - is a major barrier to the wellbeing, participation and citizenship of older people. It is just as wrong and unacceptable as any other form of prejudice such as racism, sexism or prejudice against disabled people.  Age discrimination occurs when that prejudice is institutionalised, either explicitly, through rules and regulations, or implicitly, by custom and practice.

Visions Of a Human Rights Commission Visions Of a Human Rights Commission Older people must be: valued for their experience and skills and the contribution they can make to our society; involved in shaping their local environments, planning the services they need and participating in their communities; and fulfilled in their needs, hopes and aspirations.

Thanks for your attention to the older people! Reference: Help the Aged National Statistics