The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Retirement expert lands in the north-east
Caregivers should look to cruise ships to satisfy new generation
The UK’s elderly care industryshouldfollow the example of cruise ship operators by targeting a dynamic and growing market, an internationally renowned expert on housing for the over 50s said during a visit to the northeast yesterday.
Esmonde Crawley flew into Aberdeen from Australia to speak at an event celebrating the 30th anniversary of Inchmarlo Retirement Village near Banc ho r y . An ageing population is often seen a ticking time-bomb for the UK economy butMr Crawley, who has been researching, writing and lecturing on over-50s housing for 26 years, said it was a major opportunity for businesses of all kinds.
People are living longer and a changing pensions landscape means more of them are likely to keep working well into their old age. Mr Crawley said care providers needed to wake up to the fact their customer base was changing, as were the expectations of newer generations of elderly people.
Retirement homes across the UK have for too long been “seen as a formof ageapartheidandincarceration”, he said, adding it was no longer satisfactory for operators to think residents were happy just sitting in lounge chairs.
Too many people in the industry and wider economy were facing demographic change like “rear gunners” on a Lancaster bomber, not knowing where the plane was going to land, he warned.
Not so at Inchmarlo, he said, adding it was “ahead of its time” for rising to the challenge of changing demands among the elderly population.
He said the next generation coming through were more selfish, self-absorbed and demanding.
And he also warned there was no sustainable model of public sector provision, meaning it was largely up to the private sector to grasp the new opportunities.
He added: “A change of mindset iswhat is required. You really need to give people a reason to get out of bed every day.”
Highlighting a thriving cruise ship industry, which “delivers an ambience which doesn’t remind them of their age”, he said businesses around the world were waking up to the changing times.
Countries including Malaysia and Indonesia were proactively encouraging elderly people from around the world to settle, because of their economic contribution, he said.
Charles Skene, whose family own and run business centres, serviced flats and Inchmarlo Retirement Village, said the future of care for the elderly was “exciting and challenging”.
But he added: “It is anticipated that living beyond 100 yearsmay bemore routine in future and, if these forecasts are correct, there will be huge challenges in manpower and finance to cope with the expansion of our ageing population.”
“A ship delivers an ambience which doesn’t remind them of their age”