When Help is Needed

Is looking after vulnerable older people or people with disabilities a political priority, at least in the U.K.? It would seem not. Perhaps Spain is better at caring for people who may be losing their ability to manage their lives without the help of others. The director general of Age Concern has recently said that chronic under-funding of home care services means people are being deprived of help until they reach crisis point. He says, ‘central government funding has not kept pace with the demands of an ageing population. Confirming this, David Rogers, the chairman of Age Concern’s community well- being, challenges the government to treat with urgency the long-term overhaul of future funding of adult care services.

The Commission for Social Care has found that 73% of local authorities are planning to refuse care to everyone who whose needs are not considered to be ‘substantial’. Apparently ‘substantial’ is defined as covering people who may not be able to carry out the majority of their personal care and domestic routines, and have no one to provide voluntary help. It excludes people who are not able to carry out several normal activities such as getting up in the morning and bathing. The C.S.C.I. have found out that four authorities in the U. K. intend to ration services even more tightly, so that only people whose life is in danger or may suffer from abuse will be eligible. A London Borough is going the same way and one wonders how many other Councils will follow.

The charity Mencap, with its brief to speak for and support people with learning difficulties, has the same concern. Their chief executive, Jo Williams, has said ‘ it is unacceptable in the U.K. in the 21st century that local authorities are refusing support to very vulnerable people…last month the government gave an increase of less that 1% for social services. Given rises in demand, we will just see more and more cash-strapped councils cutting back.’ The tightening up of council funding has meant that this year the number of householders across England receiving care fell from 528,500 to 345,000, despite the growing number of older people.

I see from their website that the Department of Health says that it's purpose is ‘to define policy and guidance for delivering a social care system that provides care equally for all, whilst enabling people to retain their independence, control and dignity’. With a mission statement like that, the Department is clearly without either the will or resources to fulfil it. It confirms my belief that the ‘grey’ vote needs to raise its profile and if no one else will lobby for basic needs that at some time will affect everyone, we have to speak for ourselves.

B.R.

Cells with Longer Lives

Truth about ouselves can be a nuisance for older people and it can be easier to fantasise that we are younger than we are. Getting a balance between mental attitude and physical reality is of course important, as we’ve said before. There is a sense in which we need to defy the ageing process, and shake our fist at it. But scientists say that every time a cell multiplies to make two new cells, special zones at the ends of its chromosomes, called telomeres, become shorter. Once the telomeres reach a certain length, the cell stops dividing and eventually dies. The only cells to escape this fate are those that divide to make eggs and sperm. In these cells, a substance called telomerase builds the telomeres up again, so they remain the same length.

Scientists are looking for ways to avoid, or even repair, the damage that causes ageing. As we all know, a healthy lifestyle can help you feel younger and fitter for longer. Apparently even people in their 90s can improve their muscle strength through regular exercise. Most research on ageing – of which there is a great deal-aims to improve our health and quality of life as we grow old, not make us live forever.

Now there is a new element in the pursuit of a good style of life for older people. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published a study which claims that for the first time it has been possible to demonstrate that people with higher levels of vitamin D age more slowly than those with lower levels. Moreover they are likely to be more protected against age-related illnesses such as heart disease and cancer. Scientists at King’s College London have similarly found that amongst the 2,160 women who were part of a research project, those with higher vitamin D levels had significantly longer telemores, equivalent to five years of normal ageing.

Sunshine increases our Vitamin D levels. But, as the American study points out, the same sunshine ages our skin and increases the risk of skin cancer. Nothing is simple!! Apparently health guidelines recommend a daily intake of between 200 and 600 international units of vitamin D, the higher level for the over-70’s. (Another caution – too much vitamin D is bad for you! It can cause nausea, weakness and kidney damage)

B.R.

That Elusive Word

Forgetfulness is everyone’s problem, but as we have said it can be acutely so for people as they get older. For some time I have had difficulties with names, able sometimes to remember a first but not the second one, and vice versa. There are various stratagems for dealing with this, sometimes with and often without success! At home we try and use each other’s memory store and together can often get to the year something happened, or who was with whom at such a such event, and the name of a book and its author, and who starred in a film, and so on. It can be a laborious but often amusing process. Apparently memory is always there, it’s getting to it that’s the challenge. If that’s true it only makes the remembering game that much more frustrating.

So – a long term problem that gets worse as you age. For me the latest manifestation of it is now trying to remember words. I know what I want to say, begin to say it, but then can’t call to mind the next and perhaps most important word that makes sense of everything else. There is then a race between me trying to get to the word and kind people wondering how long they should wait before they suggest what the word might be.

Linked with this is the ‘ghost’ that beckons ageing people: the fear of senility. Are these the first signs? I have seen enough of dementia in the people I have known when I was working, to dread it. And yet, seeing a revealing and quite embarrassing TV programme the other night of the decline and eventual death of the outrageous jazz musician and author, George Melly, even that ghost is not so fearful. There he was, affected by appalling ill health including senile dementia, but performing to the last, able to communicate with old friends who one after the other came effectively to say ‘goodbye’, and surrounded by the love of his friends, fans and his stoical wife.

And despite trying to find the elusive word- this new sign of advancing age- the comforting thing is to look around and find that your contemporaries are having exactly the same problem!

B.R.