Ageing or Aging?
[It’s not just the way we spell the word that’s different when it comes to looking after old people. In almost every country of the world, the proportion of people aged over 60 years is growing faster than any other age group, as a result of both longer life expectancy and declining fertility rates. But across the Atlantic they handle matters very differently from the UK when it comes to dealing with issues faced by the elderly. Here in the UK, we have private organisations like the Centre for Policy on Ageing http://www.cpa.org.uk/ and charities like Age Concern http://www.ageconcern.org.uk/ and Help the Aged http://www.helptheaged.org.uk/ which have recently decided to work together. There is no Government ministerial involvement, although a year ago the broadcaster and writer Dame Joan Bakewell was appointed an unpaid champion of the elderly by the government. And in July this year Health Secretary Andy Burnham unveiled proposals to set up a new National Care Service to help cope ...