Growing older in the UK - report by the British Medical Association - Philippa Lynch

The UK’s ageing population and its families are being failed by a flawed and fragmented health and social support regime, a wide-ranging report by the BMA warns. The report, Growing Older in the UK, pinpoints how the health and life chances of older people of this and future generations are harmed by holes in the safety net of health, social and other welfare services. Across six chapters authored by experts, it identifies how older people’s health and that of their carers is affected from experiences throughout their lives as far back as childhood.

The report urges several measures to improve people’s health and well-being as they grow older, including:

• Action to tackle the social isolation of older people using ‘social prescribing’, a means of doctors referring patients to non-medical and community services, such as councils’ housing departments
• An effort to improve the diagnosis and under-treatment of older people with mental health problems
• Better identification and support of informal carers, the family and friends whose needs are often neglected.
• An emphasis on valuing the ways older people can continue to contribute positively to society.