It’s time to Reimagine Old Age
It is projected that by 2030, 33% of the Welsh population will be over the age of 60 (The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, 2019). We also know that only 2.4% of people over the age of 65 live in a care home in Wales (The Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, 2019). That means, 97.6% of older people aren’t in residential care services, which could mean living alone or with family — so how do we support these people through old age, to keep their independence, feel connected to others, feel valued and happy in life?
Older people’s needs are changing, there is ever increasing pressure on public services, and the last 18 months has meant we’ve had to adapt quickly. We’re seeing people with much greater needs entering care services at crisis point, at a much older age. And within the care sector, home care staff are having to deal with much more complex needs too, as people opt to stay at home for longer. How much do we actually understand about the longer-term impacts of living independently as you get older? The impacts on wellbeing as a result of loneliness, the loss of mobility due to being ‘stuck’ home and a feeling of being lost with no purpose can all impact quality of life?.
The pandemic has affected older people’s physical and mental health. Age UK (2021) reported that 1 in 3 feel more anxious, 2 in 5 feel less confident in going to the shops since covid hit and 2 in 5 feel very unsafe outside of their homes. Staying at home more means older people have lost some of their independence, have less access to their usual social circles and have even reported worse mobility as a result. We haven’t even begun to see some of the longer term impacts of COVID19 and it’s effect on older people, public services and general wellbeing of the population.
Growing older and receiving help is seen as a negative experience, but it’s something we will all most likely go through. We want to understand how the next generation of older people, whether that’s children or adults, view ageing, so we can design better services that meet our future needs. We know that expectations are also changing, advancements in technology along with a younger generation that’s expected to live longer, puts pressure on public services to ‘keep up’. Services like Netflix, Deliveroo and Uber have revolutionised the way we live and those expectations are starting to creep in to the way public services are run.
Through the Reimagining Old Age project, we want to find ways we can improve quality of life for everyone as they get older and understand how we develop services that are fit for the future of ageing. We’ll be exploring all aspects of growing older, like living environments, improving perception of ageing and care and ways of ensuring older people are valued and utilized within our communities. We want to live in a world where old age is something to look forward to, a positive experience of life that we can all aspire to reach. The journey to reimagining old age transcends generations and sectors (whether that’s housing, care or health) alike, it’s about people working together to find a better future for us all.
References
https://www.olderpeoplewales.com/Libraries/Uploads/State_of_the_Nation_e_-_online.sflb.ashx
