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Age and Alcohol in the South West
A Double Whammy
Faith Davey
South West Regional Manager
Age Concern and Help the Aged
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
The South West has….
 Nearly 40% of its population aged over 50
 The highest proportion of people aged 65 and
over in England (21% - 950,000)
 The highest proportion of people aged 85 and over in England
 304,000 people over 80
 Longest life expectancy in England (M 77.4yrs, F 81.8yrs)
 The highest proportion of pensioner-only households (27%)
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
The South West has….
 More people in SW claiming retirement
pension only - 739,000 households
 High proportion of older adults living in rural and coastal areas
 Empty second homes mean many live in isolation for much of
the year
 Difficulties in accessing services, transport and other facilities
 3,600 excess winter deaths for over 65s in 08/09 (54.8%
increase)
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Add to that…
 SW councils least well prepared for an ageing population
(Don’t Stop Me Now, 2008, Audit Commission)
 The lowest Local Authority Standard Spending Assessment of
all English regions
 The lowest rate of people receiving community care services
 The lowest number of Supporting People funded places for
older people per 100,000 over 65
 A higher proportion of older people hospital in-patient episodes
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Social Isolation and Quality of Life
People in the SW 65+ say:
 their lives are not as full and active as they would like - 45%
 they leave the house on average twice a week or less – 10%
 they worry about the future all the time – 7%
 they are worried about the future and this is affecting their
physical health - 51%
 they are always or often lonely – 14%
 those who plan services (eg care, transport) do not pay enough
attention to the views and needs of older people – 47%
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Same but different
 Not a homogenous group
 Often assumptions made do not reflect reality
 Age-based assumptions and categorisation by age can
inadvertently influence service planning and delivery
 People do things in different ways for different reasons
 Affected by personal, social and economic circumstances
 It may not be useful to define older people’s over use of
alcohol as primarily a health problem
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
‘D
Changes in later life often seen as opportunities
Children leaving home
Grandchildren
More leisure
Voluntary work
Renewed interests
Leaving paid employment
Moving to smaller house
Changes that can lead to dependency
Falling income
Living alone Lack of car ownership
Mental health needs
Chronic heath conditions
Bereavement
Social care needs
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Age Concerns in the South West
There are 43 Age Concerns across the
South West who offer a wide range of
services to:
 combat poverty
 reduce isolation and social exclusions
 improve health and well-being
 deliver care services
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Hospital
Aftercare
Lunch Clubs
Befriending
Outings
Yoga
Holidays
Men in
Sheds
Shopping
schemes
Information &
Advice
Clean
Sweep
Housing
support
Swimming
Home
Care
Tai Chi
Footcare
Day
Care
Choirs
Walking
groups
Craft
sessions
Computer
classes
Tea dances
Handyperson
schemes
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Volunteering
Age Concern Brighton, Hove
and Portslade: research
 Social relationships
 Loss
 Relationship between current and previous lifestyle
 Financial impacts
 Health, well-being and growing older
 Responsibility, and maintaining control and
independence
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Age Concern Bristol :
Housing Support Service
 Floating support funded by Supporting People
 Contract renegotiated to include 20% clients
who misuse alcohol
 Two camps – habitual drinkers and those who drink because of
changes to life circumstances
 Reluctance to engage with ‘treatment’ services
 Project engages with health, housing, drug and alcohol and
community care services
 Advocates, mediates and ‘battles’ on client’s behalf
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
Face up to difficult issues
or look the other way?
 A concern not to be seen as judging people’s
behaviour
 Discomfort with making judgements on individuals’ drinking
patterns and levels
 “We have to let them [older people] make up their own minds”.
 Not intervening may be seen as an example of respecting
people’s autonomy
 But also showing proper concern for health and general
welfare,
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
A question of balance
Older people’s rights to make their
own decisions about how they live their lives needs to
be balanced by an ethic of care that recognises
vulnerable people may need help to determine how
their needs might best be met.
Dialogue with the older person concerned has the
potential to enable exploration of a difficult issue and a
shared decision-making approach to seeking solutions
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people
www.ageconcern.org.uk
www.helptheaged.org.uk
[email protected]
Age Concern England and Help the Aged have joined together to form
Age UK, a single charity dedicated to improving the lives of older people