“Building a society for all ages”

The deadline has now passed, at least for the moment, to make your voice heard to the government over their proposals outlined in “Building a society for all ages” a document which focuses predominantly on the issues surrounding our ageing population. The issues are very wide-ranging and extremely important.

We here, at in my prime, made our own representations in the fields in which we operate and if you are interested in seeing what we had to say please click here 

To read the original government document click here

What’s so special about 50+?

Oscar, the concessions site for the over 50s has launched a new award to coincide with UK Older Person’s Day and Grandparents’ Day which both take place this month. They’ve called them the Golden Owls and their purpose is to “find the cream of the over-50s”.  All well and good -  we strongly support the idea of promoting the position of older people and would always encourage the recognition of much needed role models for what being “over 50” is like these days.

But sadly, a closer look at the categories reveals that this is hardly likely to be the outcome. If you want to vote you can choose from:
•  THE EUREKA – most inspirational person of our time
•  THE ENDURANCE – longest-lasting celebrity
•  THE GIVER – Most worthy charity
•  THE INNOVATOR – Most recognised achievement in industry
•  THE OLYMPIAN – Outstanding contribution to sport
•  THE OWL – Lifetime Achievement Award

All of these are likely to produce the same old names representing the same old activities. What’s happened to the really meaningful stuff like:

The Feminist – the woman who has overcome ageist stereotypes

The Supporter – the individual from whatever sphere who has most helped the cause of older people

The Communicator – the writer, artist or commentator who has most clearly contributed to greater understanding about ageing in the twenty-first century

The Worker – the employee who sets the best example of what later life working can be

We’re sure there are plenty more categories that would be really worthwhile including those in areas such as caring, wisdom, and original thought. Why not let us know what you’d like to see?

In the meantime, as nominations close on October 15^th, you ‘ll have to be quick with the Golden Owls if you want to cast your vote.

Click here  to see more

A ton of things to sort out.

Research published in The Lancet and reported widely in the press this week (for more see www.inmyprime.info) predicts that about half of the children now being born in wealthier countries can expect to live to be 100 or more. Furthermore, with better and earlier medical intervention many of these later years can be free of serious disability. This Danish/German research adds more weight to the ever-growing need to address the issues surrounding population ageing and to acknowledge that the concept and definition of old age needs to be re-examined, mindsets changed and prejudices challenged.

The researchers have even suggested that the lifespans of people should now be considered in four stages: child, adult, young old age and old old age. This is something which those of us who specialise in the field have been banging on about for some time – it is just not possible to lump people who have reached a certain age all together and assume that they are elderly and that their active and useful lives have come to an end, along with their judgement, taste, ability to think for themselves and so on. We are talking about a 50-year time interval here – potentially half of one’s life. And if in “old old age” we can be independent and moderately healthy then what does it say for “young old age” or in my prime as we might describe it?

But living this long is not a “given”. It is dependent on many things – financial security, physical and mental well-being, a good reason to want to live that long, and adequate safety nets for when we might become old or infirm.

The serious debate is only just beginning.

 

 

Mass media communication

The more we deal with issues relating to the in my prime market, the more it becomes apparent that a great deal more education and information is required to help people plan and prepare for the latter decades of their lives. Traditionally this has been viewed as “pre-retirement planning” or has come from government or charitable organisations striving to “help” the elderly to manage better. Whilst these initiatives are all well and good, there is still a gaping hole in respect of what the “young old” need to know about the preparations we should all be making for the future.

A recent report from retirement housing developers Dunwood Court revealed that older people worry about their futures, but most do not actively plan for the time when they will become less able. In fact more than half of us are likely to die without even writing a Will. Whilst some might put this down to active complacency, we believe that it results from a lack of awareness of some of the issues and the possible actions that could be taken in order to ensure a smoother and more comfortable transition into true old age. Okay we might not know exactly what is going to happen to us, but there is a reasonable degree of certainty in respect of certain aspects of ageing.

Happily we are frequently asked to contribute to radio programmes concerning aspects of ageing (recent events include slots on Radio City 96.7 and Talk Radio Europe) but these tend to relate to discussions about a particular topic which is currently the focus of media attention. What we would like to see (and be involved in) are programmes which more seriously question and debate issues around what it means to grow older in today’s society and what innovative approaches might be taken to helping people take greater responsibility for their own futures. Any takers anyone?

Memories Matter

Sir Michael Parkinson, Tony Robinson and Sir Terry Pratchett are among the celebrities joining party leaders Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg in launching the Alzheimer’s Research Trust campaign, Memories Matter.

Members of the public are invited to share their unforgettable moments – good, bad or otherwise – at the Alzheimer’s Research Trust website www.memories-matter.org or on Twitter using the #memoriesmatter tag. Memories from the public will be placed on the Alzheimer’s Research Trust’s Memory Wall, which will tour the country from September.

The Alzheimer’s Research Trust’s major new campaign draws attention to the memory loss experienced by the 700,000 people in the UK who live with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, and how we could halt this: through research into new treatments, preventions and cures.

Here at in my prime we are constantly drawing attention to the many issues which are facing us all as we grow older and how they are intricately woven together but not yet fully understood. Life expectancy is increasing dramatically but that does not mean that the quality of our lives in later years will be all that we would wish. We need help in finding ways to overcome such debilitating conditions as Alzheimer’s and dementia whether it is through medical intervention or the continued mental stimulation that work, hobbies or our social interactions provide.

Check onto the websites included here and see if you can do your bit.

www.memories-matter.org

www.alzheimers-research.org.uk

Important opportunity to contribute to government thinking on age

 In July, in the midst of summer (?) the Government launched its strategy “Building A Society For All Ages” which is intended to help Britain prepare for our ageing society. The strategy builds on work already being done and sets out a number of new proposals which include:

• The launch of an interactive one stop shop for helping people plan ahead from 2010.  This will help people in mid-life to make decisions on financial, health, careers and other issues;
• A new Active at 60 package which will provide people with information about their entitlements and opportunities – helping them to stay active and involved in their later life;
• Working with local areas to develop a Good Place to Grow Old Programme with a National Agreement to promote the importance of ageing issues at a local level, and an innovative service delivery fund to test new approaches to delivering services for older people;
• A new UK Advisory Forum on Ageing will be responsible at a national level for providing advice to ministers across Government on additional steps that Government and partners need to take to improve well-being and independence in later life. 

These proposals form part of a full, formal public consultation in which views are welcomed from all on how government can implement these proposals and what more can be done to reach a vision of a society for all ages. They are keen to receive written responses and to hear views at a number of consultation events taking place across the country in September and October from local government, stakeholders, the voluntary and private sectors and the general public. 

This seems a real opportunity to make the views of older people heard. For further information and to contribute go to http://www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingasocietyforallages/consultation.aspx

The doers and the done tos.

Last Thursday I attended the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Help the Aged/Age Concern’s JustAgeing? seminar. It was held  to launch their new research report “Socio-economic inequalities in older people’s access to and use of public services”. The seminar itself was interesting, not least for its emphasis on the need for innovation, creativity and co-creation in devising services for the aged (and indeed for any other group who might be on the receiving end of things being done to them/for them). 

Predictably, one supposes, during the Q & A session the argument emerged about the extent to which those outside a target group i.e. the young in this instance, have the insight, knowledge or right to design programmes, policies or whatever for those whose characteristics and needs they do not themselves share. It’s an old chestnut and applies equally to race, gender, faith, unmarried mothers or whatever other group you choose to focus on.

For me it once again accentuated an acute disparity. Senior politicians, bureaucrats, decision makers etc. tend in the main to be over 50. They are powerful people who make, or approve policies whose beneficiaries are the “over 50s”. Yet these over 50s – the “done tos” – are never linked to the former. Instead they are treated as if they are voiceless, powerless, and lacking in representation. How come?

What it seems to underline is that ultimately it’s not about age. It is, as ever, about social and economic status. And what it seems to imply in this particular context is that the first group of over 50s i.e. the wealthy and powerful are not the slightest bit interested in aligning themselves with the “done tos” and are unlikely themselves ever to want access to older people’s public services.  Once again the message cannot be reinforced strongly enough – all over 50s do not have standard needs.

It’s not going away!

This week I attended the first in a series of seminars under the title “Just Ageing” (http://justageing.equalityhumanrights.com/) which is being organised by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the new charity formed from the merger of Age Concern and Help the Aged. The first seminar looked at our assumptions about the process of ageing itself during which Professor Tom Kirkwood, Director of The Institute for Ageing and Health at Newcastle University, gave a fascinating talk on the physiological and social experience of ageing.

I can’t really do justice here to his exposition which in itself was a huge summarisation of the work being undertaken. However, the message coming through loud and clear is that human beings are not per se programmed to die at any particular time – indeed the survival instinct in us is strong right to the end. So, under the right circumstances, increasing life expectancy can be expected to continue and we should celebrate old age, not see it as form of disability or inconvenience. What does happen is that imperfections in us and breakdowns in our ability to function bring on the end of our lives and if these can be eliminated or minimised then our life spans can be increased. Furthermore, many of the causes of this are “malleable” – things such as diet, housing, education, exercise, negative stress – as evidenced by differing life expectancies in different environments even within the same country.

This was the third seminar, organised by varying bodies, that I had attended in the space of a week each focusing on a differing aspect of ageing. There is much excellent work taking place and it is clear that the momentum is increasing. However, to date, government seems to concentrate only on the short term without a real “statesmanlike” approach to the longer term questions, employers (with a few exceptions) seem concerned only with damage limitation and containment of costs, and amongst the population at large there is a massive lack of awareness of the issues involved.

When will all this be pulled together?