The crisis in the NHS is “largely a crisis in older people’s preventative care”, according to a report from the charity Age UK.
‘Fixing the Foundations’ says that an “underfunded and overstretched” NHS and social care system is struggling and sometimes failing to cope with the needs of older people.
Longstanding problems – predating the pandemic but exacerbated by it – are piling pressure on families and carers and leaving the NHS in constant crisis mode, contributing to ambulances stacked up outside hospital emergency departments and long waits for people of all ages to access urgent care.
The report found that half of all people arriving in A&E by ambulance are aged over 65 and a third are over 75.
Meanwhile, the proportion of older people feeling supported to manage their health condition has fallen by a fifth in relative terms since 2016/17, and one-in-five over-80s have some unmet need for social care
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Preventative care and support is an absolutely crucial part of our social care system. Delivering the right care at home doesn’t just reduce the need for hospitalisation, it also allows people to live an equal life with the dignity they deserve.
“Too often there is too much focus on the back door of hospitals, when we need just as much focus on preventing people entering through the front door in the first place.”