Embargo: for publication after 12 noon
Monday 11th October 2004
‘Listen to older people, not the
stereotypes’ JRF report urges policy makers
Stereotypes of older people as problematically sick and vulnerable, heroically young and active or just comically grumpy like TV’s Victor Meldrew are major barriers preventing their real needs from being heard or acted upon. Professional attitudes that treat old age as if it were ‘an illness for which there is no cure’ are no less damaging, according to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that challenges service planners and providers to do better in future.
Based on a four-year research programme overseen by a steering group of older people, it carries a central message that older people must be involved in planning the policies and services that affect them in order to make an enduring contribution to improving the quality of life in old age.
The report, which draws on the findings from 18 different research projects, is being launched today at a conference at the Royal Society in London addressed by Malcolm Wicks MP, the Pensions Minister. Also being launched are the recommendations from a JRF Task Group on Housing, Money, and Care for Older People that call for new measures to strengthen older people’s rights and tackle age discrimination (see below).
Older people shaping policy and practice
This report warns that many policy and practice assumptions are still based on seeing older people as a burden, a problem to be solved or as ‘patients’ whose rights are restricted by their need to accept health or social care services. An equally inappropriate response is to portray ‘successful ageing’ as a continued ability to compete with younger people in physically demanding activities.
“For the older people in our research projects, neither of these versions of old age really works,” said Alex O’Neil, who managed the JRF Older People’s Programme. “They cast older people either in passive, submissive roles or they present aspirational messages, a bit like those in teen or beauty magazines, which just don’t correspond with ordinary people’s lives.
“Older people are fully aware of the limitations of growing older, but they also acknowledge gains. They have a lifetime of experience to draw upon and they often have internal resources that need to be recognised, rather than ignored. The reality of old age is a constant negotiation between losses and gains which few service providers seem to have taken fully on board.”
Stan Davison from Barnet Older People’s Forum, who chaired the JRF Older People’s Steering Group, said: “In age, being healthy is about being able to enjoy yourself, keep mentally active, do things which interest you and meet friends. The real supports and services that are valued are those that help negotiate ordinary things in life: relationships, learning, transport, housing, contact and feeling comfortable and secure.”
The research programme suggests that older people themselves can often make the biggest difference to each other’s quality of life, provided they receive better support than currently available. Even if NHS and social care services were better resourced and totally approachable, professionals could only deliver a small part of what it takes for most people to live well in later life. The report calls on policy makers to re-think service planning and provision by recognising that:
- Communities, community organisations, family and friends are the major players in supporting older people.
- Older people should have the strongest voice in deciding what makes a good quality service – and whether it is being delivered.
- Services need to be more holistic, rather than trying to deal with individual symptoms or problems. They should also be more responsive and adaptable to older people’s changing needs.
The report commends social services departments that have moved towards involving older people in service planning and welcomes national initiatives like the Better Government for Older People programme. Even so, the research suggests that involvement projects often have a precarious existence and that a ‘glass ceiling’ over consultation procedures prevents older people being represented or their voices heard when crucial decisions are being taken.
Alex O’Neil said: “Despite current talk about ‘holistic’ and ‘rights-based’ approaches, many planners and providers still see older people as the passive recipients of their services or of ‘ageing strategies’. Despite some imaginative steps in recent years, it is dispiriting that there are still so few good examples of meaningful involvement of older people either nationally or locally.”
The JRF Task Group on Housing, Money, and Care for Older People
The report from a Joseph Rowntree Foundation task group argues that neither policy makers nor the wider public have yet got to grips with the implications of living in an ‘ageing’ society where – for the first time –people over retirement age will outnumber the replacement population of younger people below school leaving age.
The task group, chaired by Sir William Utting, a former Chief Inspector of Social Services and Deputy Chair of the JRF’s trustees, brought together policy makers, practitioners, academics and representatives from older people’s organisations. It published a discussion paper and received responses from a wide range of relevant interests. It also ran two policy discussions organised jointly with the Association of Directors of Social Services.
The task group calls for an end to age discrimination as part of a fundamental shift in the way that government and society responds to an ageing population. It points out that, with the exception of the devolved assembly in Wales, there is no overall government vision or strategy to plan for the important demographic changes of the next 50 years. Among its main recommendations, it proposes:
- A new vision and culture at national, regional and local government level that celebrates older age and recognises the value of older people in society, individually and as a whole.
- A stronger legal framework based on age equality and rights to tackle age discrimination.
- A comprehensive review and reform of arrangements for ensuring an adequate retirement income, including a basic state pension that would prevent older people from falling into poverty and enable them to purchase services they need.
- Better information, advice and advocacy to help older people achieve greater choice and control over their lives.
- Encouragement for the financial services industry and other parts of the private sector to deliver more of the types of product and service that older people want. These range from simpler ways for home owners to ‘release’ some of the equity invested in their properties to the high cost of single hotel room accommodation for older people living alone who want to go on holiday.
- ‘Quality of life’ strategies and partnerships with older people at local authority level to re-think the way services are planned and delivered.
- A wider range of housing and care options for older people, including action to break down the polarisation between social rented provision for older people on low incomes and private sector schemes offering ‘extra care’ for the better off.
Peter Fletcher, an independent consultant at Peter Fletcher Associates and secretary of the task group, said: “In other countries in Europe, older people are valued and celebrated as an asset to society. In England, age discrimination is still built into the fabric of our society. Our task group report identifies the building blocks that can be used to construct a new approach that underpins the rights of older people as citizens, values the contributions they can make and gives them greater choice and control over their lives and decision making.”
Note to Editors
Older people shaping policy and practice by the Older People’s Steering Group is published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and available from YPS, 64 Hallfield Road, Layerthorpe, York YO31 7ZQ (01904 430033), price £14.95 plus £2.00 p&p.
The report and Foundations are available here.
From welfare to well-being – planning for an ageing society, the summary report of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Task Group on Housing, Money and Care for Older People is available, free of charge, from JRF, The Homestead, 40 Water End, York YO30 6WP.
This summary is available here.
For further information, contact:
Alex O’Neil (JRF Older People’s Steering Group) 01904 615903
David Utting, JRF Associate Director (Public Affairs) 020-7278 9665 / david.utting@jrf.org.uk
