Lancashire People living longer but in poorer health

Latest figures show the county’s over-65s are also more likely to have a fall and to suffer loneliness than in many other parts of the country.

The report, Ageing Well - Maintaining Independence, which goes before LCC’s health scrutiny committee tomorrow, paints a grim picture of life for many elderly folk.

It says that while Lancashire’s population is getting older, the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is getting wider in some parts of the county.

“For some sections of our population people are living longer, but in poorer health,” says the report. In Lancashire older people make up a larger portion of the population than the average nationally. In 2010 those aged 65 and over made up 18 per cent of the population, compared to 16.5 per cent nationally. These numbers are increasing, with already some districts of where a quarter of the population is aged over 65.”

Compared to the white ethnic population, the report also says a higher percentage of Asian/Asian British people describe their health as “bad or very bad,” or have a long-term condition which limits day-to-day activities.

On dementia there were estimated to be more than 18,000 people with the condition in Lancashire in 2013, but only 9,655 on dementia registers. Estimates show one in three people over 65 will have at least one fall in a year a figure likely to increase by 40 per cent by 2030. Those living alone make up 13 per cent of the county’s population compared to 12 per cent nationally.