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Older people
The Department’s policy for older people and their carers seeks to promote social inclusion and control over their lives, ensuring respect and choice. This enables older people to live independently for as long as possible, benefit from tailored care and support, and experience an enhanced quality of life.
Our health, our care, our say
The White Paper, Our health, our care, our say, set out a vision for the future of health and social care and is driving improvements in services for older people.
NSF for Older People and system reform
The National Service Framework for Older People was published in 2001 and set new national standards and service models of care across older people's health and social care services.
Mental health services
A mental health programme for older people is in place to combine forces across mental health and older people’s services to ensure that older people can access services on the same basis as younger adults.
Telecare services
Telecare enables people to stay at home with increased safety, confidence and independence. It provides support for carers alongside healthcare, social care and housing initiatives.
Housing, health and social care
Funding has been made available to local authorities to develop new extra care housing. This is aimed at enabling more older people to live at home or in supported housing as opposed to long-term residential care.
Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPPs)
POPPs provide evidence of preventative interventions that work to maximise older people’s quality of life and to support them to be healthy, active and independent for longer.
National Dementia Strategy
It is estimated that there are currently some 700,000 people with dementia in the UK.
On 6 August 2007, Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis announced the launch of a one year project to develop a national dementia strategy and implementation plan in response to one of the biggest challenges now facing society.
Age discrimination research
Published: 26 June 2008
Reports of two literature reviews and two research studies, commissioned by the Department, on the costs and benefits of eliminating age discrimination in the provision of health and social care. This was to inform decisions on whether to pursue legislation to outlaw discrimination in the provision of health and social services.
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Improving preventative care
The Health Secretary announces his intention to develop a prevention package for older people, which will set out older people's current entitlements to prevention services and explore potential new entitlements.
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