Key messages
- By 2040, we will have over 20 million people over the age of 65.1
- The UK faces an unprecedented challenge to their economic stability and social structures through drastic increases in older citizens as a percentage of the population
- The prevalence of elderly people in Britain is the new norm and requires corresponding policies that no longer rely on the standard contributions to the economy and society of the 30-55 age groups.
- Investments in health innovations for this population are an economic necessity for Britain to adapt to the new demographic challenges.
- Investing in technologies that can keep seniors out of hospital and having an active engagement in society will help to solve this issue
References
- Office for National Statistics (2016), www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationprojections/datasets/ tablea11principalprojectionuksummary [retrieved on: 25/July/2018]
- J. d’Arcy et al. (2016) Large-scale community echocardiographic screening reveals a major burden of undiagnosed valvular heart disease in older people: the OxVALVE Population Cohort Study www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27354049 [retrieved on: 25/July/2018]
- R. Harker (2018), Briefing Paper : NHS Funding and Expenditure, researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN00724/SN00724.pdf [retrieved on: 25/July/2018]