Seven years ago, the House of Lords concluded that the UK was “woefully underprepared for ageing”
In 2013, a House of Lords select committee chaired by Lord Filkin considered a wide range of evidence to explore the societal implications of population ageing in Britain. The conclusions and recommendations were published in a report, Ready for Ageing.
The report is 106 pages long so it is difficult to summarise in a few snappy statements, an instagram picture or 280 characters on twitter. Fortunately, you don’t have to read too far into the Filkin report to establish the answer to the question about readiness.
The first paragraph lies at the heart of the foundations for The Carents Room. It states:
“The UK population is ageing rapidly, but we have concluded that the Government and our society are woefully underprepared. Longer lives can be a great benefit, but there has been a collective failure to address the implications and without urgent action this great boon could turn into a series of miserable crises.”
Para 1
This statement provides helpful context for any carents struggling to support their ageing parents.
Other statements in the report provide valuable benchmarks for those concerned with monitoring progress towards tackling the challenges of ageing.
Population ageing and the NHS
“The National Health Service will have to transform to deal with very large increases in demand for, and costs of, health and social care. Overall, the quality of healthcare for older people is not good enough now, and older people should be concerned about the quality of care that they may receive in the near future”
Para 5
Population ageing and social care
“Social care and its funding are already in crisis, and this will become worse as demand markedly increases. The split between healthcare and social care is unsustainable and will remain so unless the two are integrated.”
Para 6
Population ageing and families (and carents)
“Publicly funded care alone has never met all the needs of older people who are frail, vulnerable, ill or isolated. As our society ages, more informal care from family and friends will be required.”
Para 35
Population ageing and older generations
“Our older population should be concerned about the quality of care that they may receive in the near future, because the current system is in trouble now. It will require substantial changes to address both present needs and future demand, and this challenge is combined with an impending funding crisis. Nothing like enough is being done to face up to these challenges”
Para 32
Population ageing and younger generations
“The welfare state has largely meant people paying in when they are young and drawing out when they are older; this should continue. But we have to be wary of shunting too many costs onto younger and future generations”
Para 40
Seven years since the Filkin report
Seven years on, many of the Filkin concerns are still relevant.
In 2016, a coalition of 3rd sector organisations which had formed in response to the Ready for Ageing report, evaluated the Government response. The coalition recognised that there had been some vital and helpful progress on pensions but the main thrust of their conclusions is reflected in the title of the report “Still not Ready for Ageing”
Subsequent reports consistently highlight problems relating to the quality of health care for older people. In 2018, AGE UK reported that “Hospitals are not sufficiently well designed and organised to deliver optimal care for older people living with frailty.” In 2019, the Care Quality Commission survey of adult hospital inpatients found that patients with dementia consistently reported poorer experiences of their time in hospital. During the same period, Healthwatch found that those with communication needs, disabilities or memory issues found it harder to get a GP appointment, specialist hospital referral or appropriate support for their disabilities during outpatient appointments
More recently, in 2019, AGE UK research provided further affirmation of the Filkin concerns around social care provision. Their report found significant shortages of social care services in areas of the UK resulting in care deserts affecting 1.4 million older people. These care deserts are areas where older people can’t access residential or home care, regardless of whether they can pay for it or not.
In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, many families across the UK are already finding themselves providing more informal care to their older relatives and friends. And, with the economic implications of the pandemic yet to be fully realised, Filkin’s concerns about funding and intergenerational fairness seem even more pertinent.
So what next for population ageing?
Seven years on from Filkin, society is still ageing, services for older people are still poorly equipped and funding seems even more challenging. As the Filkin report emphasised, whether young or old, ageing matters.
“An ageing society affects everyone”
Para 7
When do you think we will be ready for ageing ? And what do you think it will take to make that possible?
