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No Time to Waste in Planning
for Our Future Needs
Scotsman News, Scotland
August 5, 2004
MORE of us are living longer - it's official. The latest government statistics show that, by 2040, one in six Scots will be over the age of 75 - that's double the number there are now.
The latest figures have rekindled debate about the rising cost of the Scottish Executive's policy on free personal care - not surprisingly, given that the Executive's own recent figures show the cost of older people's care could rise to £2.5 billion - around a tenth of the entire Scottish budget.
But the reality is that population change will have - and is already having - implications across a much wider range of areas. There is a danger that in focusing on this one policy we take our eye off the bigger picture.
Clearly, a growing number of elderly people will mean more personal care, more care homes too. But many other services will need to expand and change also.
Take the health service, for example. Already NHS figures show a steady increase in demand for treatments for older people . . . some to save or extend life, such as heart bypass operations and cancer care. But there is also increased demand for procedures that increase quality of life - hip and knee replacements being a case in point.
Housing needs are also changing. Caught up within the global shortage of affordable housing are many elderly people who are more than able to live in their own home but who desperately need a move to ground-floor or sheltered accommodation. Only this week, a junior health minister in the UK Government has argued that housing developments need to be "age-proofed", through the provision of more sheltered housing but also footpaths and crossings which meet the needs of elderly people.
These are just a few examples. Add to that the impact on community facilities, the transport system and the workforce - not to mention pensions and taxation - and you start to see the scale of the task.
Scotland is not alone in having a growing number of older people. Every developed nation is experiencing similar trends and challenges. However, the additional element for us here in Scotland is a falling birth rate. This has implications for our tax base and the labour pool. Many employers in Edinburgh and the Lothians are already facing skills shortages in a number of key areas.
The Scottish Government's Fresh Talent initiative is an important step forward to bring in and keep more young people in Scotland. But thought must also be given to what else might be done, quite literally, to grow the next generation. We need to get behind some of the reasons why our birth rate is falling.
Clearly, every individual case will be different. Decisions about whether, when and how many children to have are very personal ones. But it's not rocket science to suggest that we should think about how to make Scotland more "family-friendly". For example, the debate about work-life balance needs to move centre stage. And employers need to step up their efforts to provide flexible working options.
As the population changes, so too will attitudes to ageing need to adapt. Not least because of improvements in living conditions and healthcare - people are adding life to years, not just years to life. There is much which can be done to harness the energy, knowledge and experience of older people more effectively.
A recent report from the Royal Society of Edinburgh set out a host of ways in which older people can contribute to the workplace and in the community.
The demographic shift is one of the biggest issues our nation faces. Politicians - of all hues - need to engage in a grown-up debate about what this means for Scotland and must factor these considerations into policy-making across the board. Employers, individuals and communities need also to think ahead.
It is right and proper that the needs of the current generation of pensioners are actively addressed. But we need also to plan and provide for the future. After all, by the time baby boomers like me go for our bus passes - there will be an awful lot more people in the queue than at present.
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