Ageing is a strange and foreign country described mostly in negative terms in guide books for those whom, much to their surprise, find themselves lost in its hinterland, often unsuitably dressed and without a compass. A youth-obsessed society that makes a mint from mining the alleged horrors of growing older – all sag and no sagacity – has locked us into a set of taboos that means millions of us are moving from middle age into possibly decades of allegedly unproductive, dependent, parked-up old age without sufficient armament or attitude of mind to challenge prevailing prejudices. Except that today we may literally have been thrown the semblance of a lifeline.
Tag Archives: Older care
A chance to make a real difference for patients and carers!
Putting patients first
A major change to the way GPs in England commission local health services will take place in April – and it offers board members of clinical groups the chance to make a real difference for their communities
Dr Charles Alessi believes board members of clinical commissioning groups face difficult but exciting challenges. Photograph: Frantzesco Kangaris
While debate was raging at Westminster about the government’s NHS reforms, groups of GPs across England were quietly going about the job of setting up the boards tasked with steering through major changes to the service. Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs), which take over from primary care trusts in April, are designed to put GPs in the driving seat when it comes to commissioning services in their area.
The new boards have a big job ahead. Not only are there significant pressures on budgets, but the fallout from the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust inquiry means, more than ever, the spotlight is on standards of care.
Dr Charles Alessi, chair of NHS Clinical Commissioners, the body set up to represent the new boards, says there are real opportunities for board members to make a difference. “It is a very difficult time for the NHS and perhaps the balance between a robust management style and the clinical dimension needs to be rebalanced,” he says, “with the duty of care to the population taking on a far more important role than it seemed to in the past. For all of us, it’s a new world – it’s very difficult, but very exciting.”
Old age should not be approached with horror
Old age should not be approached with horror
A new report provides a passport for older life that does not treat over-60s as liabilities
Ageing is no longer an orderly chronological process; anarchy rules. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian
