The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Age may not wither us – but it could wither our health services
LONG-LIVING: NHS needs to think about how it looks after future elderly
A Bridge of Earn couple have celebrated a remarkable 76 years of marriage, reflecting a growing trend for longevity.
Jean and Donald Scott, both 96, marked the day with family and friends, who toasted the milestone.
There may be something in the local air as Perthshire is also home to Scotland’s oldest man, 109-year-old Alf Smith of St Madoes and 107-year-old Jessie Sinclair of Dunkeld.
That centenarians are certainly more common than they used to be is a cause for celebration.
However, it is also an issue that raises a serious point of debate — an increasingly aged population is a sobering thought for those who provide care for the elderly, who fear the large numbers of older people who need to call on their services may stretch the health service to breaking point.
The need for innovation in providing health services was one of the main themes to emerge from a well-attended meeting in Perth last week, which focussed on how NHS Tayside is redesigning its provision to meet the challenges of a rapidly ageing population.
The meeting heard that by 2039, if current age trends continued (including inward migration), a further 500 hospital beds would be required in Tayside — something that simply isn’t going to happen, for financial reasons.
Already a staggering 15% of school leavers will have to opt to pursue a career in health or social services to meet the coming needs of under pressure health services.
Add to that the pressures the longliving place on hard-pressed pension funds and it paints a picture of major hurdles to be negotiated by society in general.
The hard fact is population change is going to impact on us all.
Hopefully, the negative aspects of the issue will not prove insurmountable and with some ingenuity the prospect of a lengthy, healthy and reasonably financially secure old age can be enjoyed by the many.