We need our politicians to plan our country’s future. We know that society is aging and that this will create huge problems for our health and social services. Surely the least we could ask of our politicians is to have a plan to deal with this challenge?
Two reports published recently (see Health and Population Articles page) underline the extent of the task ahead.
They show:
- The number of people over 85 that require 24-hour care will double in the next 2 decades.
- British women are amongst the least healthy in Europe; they are more likely to suffer diabetes, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s at an early age.
- Whilst life expectancy is increasing for women, healthy life expectancy remains constant. Women are spending longer living with chronic health conditions
These are just a few of the issues. The NHS and Social Services stumble from crisis to crisis. There is no plan. Our politicians have no clue what to do and there is no initiative to tackle the problem. We are all going to suffer in the years to come from our leaders’ lack of political foresight.
