CC BY
56
THE PROBLEMS OF AGEING IN GREAT BRITAIN
Jenifer Gordon
University of Technology, Faculty of Business Sydney, Australia
Abstract: The article summarizes the problems that the elderly face in Great Britain. The aspects of elderly care provided by local authorities, family and volunteers are analyzed.
Key words: ageing, elderly care, social services.
One of the most significant changes in the structure of Britain's population over the last 30 years has been the increasing proportion of people over retirement age. Most elderly people in Great Britain live healthy and independent lives. Nearly all want to be part of the community, living in their own homes. Many view their later years as an opportunity to do the things they never previously had the time for, or to take on new interests or challenges. For instance, adult educational and recreational courses run by local authorities throughout Britain are well attended by older people, and some sports, such as bowls, attract many elderly participants.
Yet a lot of older people - perhaps living alone, in poor health or disabled in some way -have important needs. Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English speaking world as aged care), is the fulfillment of the special needs and requirements that are unique to senior citizens. Elderly care emphasizes the social and personal requirements of senior citizens who need some assistance with daily activities and health care, but who desire to age with dignity.
Old age is unfortunately often a time of loss. The potential losses are varied, often interrelated, and include: health and eventually life, due to increasing pathology; wealth due to termination of employment; companionship following bereavement (spouse, siblings and friends); independence due to acquired disabilities; status following retirement and loss of independence. The above changes and losses may expose people to the following consequences: unhappiness, grief, depression, increased incidence of illness, poverty.
However, there is another matter concerning the elderly. Senior citizens have to face a variety of stereotypes. Not only are they seen as an economic burden on society, often they are regarded as being weak both physically and in mind. Once, the general attitude towards the elderly was more positive. In former centuries, the aging were respected because they helped transmit wisdom and tradition to the younger generations. But as the world developed and was industrialized, the skills and education of the aged were no longer required. Since younger, healthier workers were more desirable for factories, obligatory retirement laws were passed. These laws forced the aging to leave their jobs.
There are about ten million old-age people in Britain, of whom about 750,000 cannot live entirely independently. This has important implications for social services provision into the next century. In addition to the large amount of willing help from relatives, neighbours and friends, practical support for Britain's elderly people is provided by the social services authorities, voluntary organisations and, to a lesser extent, the private sector.
Traditionally, elderly care has been the responsibility of family members and was provided within the extended family. Increasingly in modern societies, elderly care is now being provided by state or charitable institutions. The reasons for this change include decreasing family size, the greater life expectancy of elderly people, the geographical dispersion of families, and the tendency for women to be educated and work outside the home. Although these changes have affected European and North American countries first, they are now increasingly affecting
Asian countries as well.
More than half of all old people are looked after at home. Old people who have no families live in Old People's Homes. Special housing needs for the elderly are met by local authorities, housing associations, voluntary bodies and the private sector. Sheltered housing schemes may consist of groups of flats or small houses where older people can live independently but still have the support of a resident warden. For those people who are too infirm to continue to live independently there are residential homes providing full board, or nursing homes offering 24-hour personal care.
Now, the question comes up: Who should take care of the elderly people? Is it better to leave them at an old people's home or is it the family members' duty to cater for them?
One of the stereotypes associated with the aging process, is the belief that the elderly are all in poor health. For people whom this applies for, living at a nursing home might be the best solution since the nurses there are professionally trained to handle illnesses due to old age. Probably it would be too difficult for their relatives to care for them. Sometimes, when love and devotion is simply not enough, the youngsters' commitment could lead to their own ruin by exhausting themselves not only physically but mentally too. Looking after ailing people, who suffer from Alzheimer's disease for instance, does cause in immense amount of stress on the people surrounding them. The worst part of it could be that in many cases patients do not recognize their young relatives, which perhaps hurts them even more.
Surely living at an old people's home, is not only an advantage for those seniors poor in health. Also those who are fit might enjoy living there because they can be among people of the same age and stay active together with them. A great number of old-age pensioners do not even consider staying with their family because they long for company of their own age. This desire of theirs is often intensified by the loss of their beloved spouse. Many retirees have been waiting for the old age to come, to enjoy the things they could not do previously for the lack of time and money. Then again, there are retired people whose only wish is to stay close to their grandchildren and watch after them. If they're denied this aspiration, they lose the wish to live, at all.
Nevertheless, services for elderly people are provided by statutory and voluntary bodies to help them live at home whenever possible. Only about 5 per cent of the elderly over 65 live in institutional accommodation. These services may include advice and help given by social workers, domestic help, the provision of meals in the home, sitters-in, night attendants and laundry services as well as day centers, luncheon clubs and recreational facilities. Appropriate adaptations to the home can overcome problems of restricted mobility, and a wide range of environmental aids is available for people with impaired hearing or vision. Dispersed alarm systems have been developed to help elderly housebound people obtain assistance in an emergency. In some areas "good neighbour" and friendly visiting services are arranged by the local authority or a voluntary organization. Many local authorities provide free or subsidized travel to elderly people within their areas. Social services authorities also provide residential home care for the elderly and infirm and register and inspect home run by voluntary organizations or privately.
It is difficult say which system is best on the whole as each way has its advantages and disadvantages. To decide which system is better, you need to take the certain situation into careful consideration with due respect to the needs and requirements of the elderly people.
Bibliography:
1. Age UK. Later Life in the United Kingdom: Factsheet.
URL: http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Documents/EN-GB/_Factsheets/
Later Life UK factsheet.pdf? dtrk=true (accessed 9.02.2016)
2. Bingham, J. Elderly Britons loneliest in Europe. URL: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/ (accessed 12.03.2016)
3. EHCR: Britain's Elderly In Social Care Suffering Neglect, Cruelty And Abuse Which Breaches Human Rights. URL: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2011/11/22/ehcr-britains-elderly-suffering-neglect_n_1109067.html (accessed 9.03.2016)
