North Wales Assembly Member welcomes contribution to debate on ageing in Wales (Eleanor Burnham )

Cymraeg
English

Eleanor Burnham <info@eburnham.org.uk>

North Wales Assembly Member welcomes contribution to debate on ageing in Wales

June 15, 2010 4:23 PM

Eleanor with John Osmond (IWA) and Ruth Marks (Older People's Commissioner) Eleanor Burnham, North Wales Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales was delighted to attend the launch of a new International Welsh Affairs publication (IWA) "Adding Life to Years" in Cardiff Bay. Written by John Osmond, "Adding Life to Years" explores responses in Wales to ageing and what more can be done to ensure that society takes a more holisistic view of aging and regard life as a seamless process which should be understood as a whole rather than segmented into separate parts.

Eleanor Burnham who is also Chair of the Cross Party Group on Older People and Aging said

" I was pleased to meet with IWA Director, John Osmond and Ruth Marks, Older People's Commissioner for Wales as I believe ageing is one of the most important issues in public policy today. Wales, alongside other western nations, is experiencing a significant population shift towards greater numbers of older people, corresponding with fewer numbers of younger people as birth rates have fallen. This will have considerable effects at every level of society. As individuals we are likely to live longer and have longer periods of life spent in retirement, which will affect families and wider communities. Collectively, the provision and costs of public services, especially supporting people in their own homes and care home charges together with pension provision, present major challenges.

She continued:

"A major theme of Adding Life to Years is that society as a whole needs to re-think its attitude to ageing and see the process in more positive terms than is generally the case. Faced with contemporary culture's obsession with youth and celebrity this will be no easy task. However, everyone has an interest in participating in this debate. For whoever we are and whatever we do, we are all ageing. In the future older age will be a much bigger proportion of our lives and one in which we will look for the same quality of life as when we were younger. Moreover, we will need the particular contribution older people can make if we are to adjust successfully to the changing balance of society".

Ends

For more information IWA http://www.clickonwales.org/2010/06/when-i-get-old-and-losing-my-hair-%e2%80%a6/

Older People's Commissioner for Wales http://www.olderpeoplewales.com/index.php?id=1&L=0