Improvements In Older People's Well-Being Must Go Further, Says Help The Aged

Main Category: Seniors / Aging
Article Date: 30 Jan 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Reacting to the Department for Work and Pensions 'Opportunity Age Indicators' report, Kate Jopling, Head of Public Affairs for Help the Aged, says:

"While there have been some positive shifts in the overall well-being of older people in recent years, there is still a long way to go - only one in three report indicators shows improvement. It is true that older people are living longer and there have been some improvements in pensioner incomes, but as long as we still see still scandalous numbers of winter deaths every year, a fifth of our pensioners living below the poverty line and ageist attitudes at every turn, we cannot afford to rest on our laurels.

"The soon to be refreshed ageing strategy from Government must be bold and ambitious - a new approach is required to deal with the opportunities and challenges of our ageing population. There is no room for complacency, particularly at the current time when the new economic pressures risk combining dangerously with demographic trends to threaten the well-being of older people."

Notes

1. Help the Aged is the charity fighting to free disadvantaged older people in the UK and overseas from poverty, isolation, neglect and ageism. It campaigns to raise public awareness of the issues affecting older people and to bring about policy change. The Charity delivers a range of services: information and advice, home support and community living, including international development work. These are supported by its paid-for services and fundraising activities - which aim to increase funding in the future to respond to the growing unmet needs of disadvantaged older people. Help the Aged also funds vital research into the health issues and experiences of older people to improve the quality of later life.

2. Help the Aged urgently needs donations and support to help it in the increasingly challenging fight to free disadvantaged older people from poverty, isolation and neglect.

Help the Aged