People age well, with proactive interventions to stay healthy, independent and active as long as possible.
Around one in seven of the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes (BLMK) population is over 65. The number of people aged over 80 is projected to double by 2043, with the greatest estimated increase in Milton Keynes.
This priority aims to ensure that older people are supported to age well, live healthier and more independent lives, and are less socially isolated. Services across BLMK will work to reduce current gaps in life expectancy and offer people at the end of their life high quality, co-ordinated services, that are consistent with their wishes.
This priority focuses on people who are over 65, especially those who are frail or living with a long-term condition, such as cancer or diabetes. It also aims to support people with complex health and care needs, including dementia or a long-term mental health condition, that means they are in contact with a number of health and care services.
Our aims
The aim of this priority is to:
- Support and empower older people to manage their own health as well as tackling ill health and long-term conditions amongst older people.
- Identify those who need more support to maintain good health and wellbeing, and focus on personalised care planning based around what matters most to people.
- Identify and manage frailty and people who have several health conditions at once
- Deliver consistent and co-ordinated care to people in their own home where possible, and support those people who are no longer able to live in their own homes
- Ensure people at the end of their life have a health and care offer which supports the wishes of the individual and their family/carers.
Often older people in our communities are supported by a network of formal and informal carers. This might be their spouse, partner or older children who may also have health and care needs. We will also work to nurture these networks so our older population can be cared for in their communities, wherever possible, leading to reduced social isolation and pressure on health and care services.
Measuring success
Our focus is on supporting people to live healthier and more independent lives as they get older. We’ll be looking to increase life expectancy and reduce the gaps between life expectancy amongst different groups of people. We also want to track wellbeing measures and how confident people are in managing their own health and wellbeing. We’d like to see an increase in the proportion of our older population who are supported out of hospital and in their own homes/communities for longer.
Given that some of these outcomes will take time to show results, we are also developing indicators of success to ensure we are delivering for the population of BLMK, embedding accountability for improvements across the system.
These metrics will be co-designed with a range of population groups across BLMK to ensure they are meaningful, achievable and measurable.
