It is not all rosy getting old

Age Concern (the UK charity for older people) has published yet another report telling us what we already know and will continue to ignore. I quote:

Over a million older people – including one in five people over 80 – are shut out from society and ignored by government policy, according to a new report by Age Concern. The charity is warning that severe exclusion among older people is a significant and pressing problem that will not disappear without urgent government action.

It might have been a good idea if Age Concern had updated its Web site with access to the report (but that is another subject) -it seems that the report contains loads of facts and figures confirming the serious plight of a large trance of the older society. Diagnosing the problem is really easy – the solutions are not. Age Concern comes up with a set of 'process solutions'.

Joined up high profile leadership: there must be a cross-departmental government commitment to help the most disadvantaged older people.

'Age-proof’ inclusion and renewal programmes: central and local government strategies for tackling social exclusion and neighbourhood renewal must include older people.

Re-model local services around the needs of the most excluded: local authorities should ensure their services are joined-up, user-friendly, rooted in the community and flexible enough to reach out to vulnerable older people.

I feel sorry for organisations like Age Concern. They know, or at least the people working there that I know, realise that these sorts of suggestions are about as useful as a chocolate teacup. Well, at least you can eat a chocolate teacup.

Without a real commitment, and I mean a real commitment by government, nothing will happen. OK, a couple of token schemes a bit of spin, a few speeches, photos taken outside old people's homes, but nothing that will have any real impact. Sad. Dick Stroud