The UK’s Ageing Population: Issues Beyond This Election (BBC News)

Summary

Topics relating to an ageing population, which have been barely touched upon by the main 2017 Election Party Manifestos, are said to include:

1. Future projections for the mounting scale of the ageing population.
2. An estimated £3 to 3.5 billion worth of benefits unclaimed by older persons eligible to receive them.
3. The continuing divide and disparities between social care versus health care provision and funding.
4. The likelihood that none of the parties are prepared to spend enough on the NHS to keep pace with rising costs and demand (according to a recent Nuffield Trust analysis).
5. An alleged plague of loneliness and social isolation, affecting the elderly disproportionately.
6. The societal costs of rising life expectancy.
7. Delays in tackling pension fraud / “pension cold calling” scams in the financial services sector.
8. Persistent aspects of pensioner poverty.
9. Lower levels of computer literacy and access to the benefits offered by the internet

“ …one in six of the population is over the age of 65. Within three decades that will rise to one in four”.

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Reference

Peachey, K. [and] Triggle, N. (2017). Election 2017: Older age – the white-hot issues not even being discussed. London: BBC Election 2017 News / BBC Health News, June 1^st 2017.

Challenging times ahead?

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Reference

Pym, H. (2017). Is NHS rationing a possibility? London: BBC Health News, June 7^th 2017.

Surgery Weight Restrictions / Rationing?

More on the rationing of non-urgent operations (elective surgery):

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Reference

Triggle, N. (2017). NHS ‘rationing leaves patients in pain’. London: BBC Health News, July 5^th 2017.

Further investigation into said rationing:

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Reference

Reality Check: Are surgery weight restrictions on the rise? London: BBC Reality Check Team / BBC Health News, December 26^th 2017.