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Life getting tougher for elderly people

June 2007: Life getting tougher for elderly people, report warns

More than a quarter of elderly people say their quality of life worsened in the past year and one in five is living in poverty, according to a charity report released today.

Help the Aged's annual report found elderly people are struggling with neglect, ageism, financial hardship and isolation. Nine out of 10 surveyed said their situation had not improved over the past 12 months, and 28% felt it had worsened.

The report, Spotlight on older people in the UK, also revealed that more than a fifth of older people were living in poverty, with 11% in severe poverty. Worries about money led 20% of older people to avoid heating their bedroom, living room or bathroom, the survey found.

Paul Cann, the charity's director of policy, called the findings outrageous.

"Far from being people's twilight years, this report shows the reality of growing older in the UK is much darker. It is absolutely outrageous that people's lives are getting worse or not improving as they get older," he said.

"The number of people aged 65 years and over is expected to rise by nearly 60% in the next 25 years. There is no excuse for anyone, least of all the government, to be oblivious to the issues facing older people.

"If steps are not taken to enable people to carry on working and saving, to improve public health, and to ensure that adequate social care is available for those who need it, growing numbers of people will be blighted by disadvantage in older age. With so many older people already leading unfulfilled lives, there is no time to lose."

The report comes as elderly ensemble The Zimmers are rising in the music charts with their version of My Generation, released to help highlight the problems that older people face.

Of the 1,095 adults aged 65 and over surveyed, nearly three-quarters (73%) said discrimination exists in their everyday lives.

While excess winter deaths have fallen by almost a fifth, the study warned that 1.25 million pensioner households across the UK are suffering from fuel poverty. Nearly half (47%) who are entitled fail to claim council tax benefit and one in three pensioners on the lowest incomes spends more than 10% of their income on council tax.

The report also found that more than one in ten older people (13%) are often or always lonely, up from 8% last year. An estimated 739,000 people - or 7% of the elderly - do not get out of the house more than once a week.

Elderly people also are struggling to get healthcare services, with as many as one in 10 finding it difficult to get to their GP or hospital.

Source: The Guardian

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