HEALTH BILL: IT DOESN’T ADD UP – SOCIAL CARE REFORM IS THE BOTTOM LINE.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

QUOTES

January 24, 2012.

HEALTH BILL: IT DOESN’T ADD UP –  SOCIAL CARE REFORM IS THE BOTTOM LINE.

Commenting on today’s growing disagreements about the Health Bill, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, said:

“The government seems to have developed a difficulty in understanding basic maths: it wants to make £20 billion in NHS savings by 2015. The answer is in driving reform of the social care system, and get it joined up with the healthcare system.

“It costs £2,000 a week to keep an elderly person in a hospital bed, but it costs around £550 a week to provide home care or residential care.

“By getting social care sorted the problem will be solved at both ends: the vast majority of hospital admissions among the elderly are down to falls which could have been prevented if a proper social care system was in place, but once an elderly person is in hospital they end up staying there for far too long because the system is far too inefficient to provide for them going home.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CROSS PARTY CARE TALKS: FORGET POLITICS, FIND SOLUTIONS, SAYS SAGA

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

QUOTES

January 16, 2012.

CROSS PARTY CARE TALKS: FORGET POLITICS, FIND SOLUTIONS, SAYS SAGA.

Over-50s organisation Saga says there is no room for political points-scoring in this week’s cross-party talks on care and support.

“The lives of millions of older people and the future of the NHS is at stake here. Politicians in all parties have an historic opportunity to change the way care is funded in future, to help people stay in their own homes if they can, which is what they overwhelmingly want, and to save money for the NHS by caring for them outside the most expensive hospital settings,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga.

“It is desperately important that MPs take the lead in telling Ministers - who have so far proved disappointingly reluctant to grasp the urgency of the issue - that proper care reform cannot wait. There will be a White Paper in the Spring, but this must deliver a clear framework for immediate reform, with a timeline and action, not more fudge.

“Frontline care professionals are already disappointed at the delays, and we would urge whoever is chairing the meeting to stand for no nonsense, no points-scoring and no further hold-ups.

“There are mortal deadlines here, and this must not be forgotten. We are dealing with our most vulnerable citizens. 2012 must not be their year of living anxiously.

“The government needs to recognise that while they may be agonising over the cost, the reality is that people and families who need care appreciate that there’s a cost involved: but the current system is not fit for purpose. Too much is spent via the NHS and too little is devoted to social care by increasingly cash-strapped councils. The Government must deliver on its promises of ensuring millions no longer face the risk of a postcode lottery of care and of losing all their life savings to pay for care costs which taxpayers cover for others. Money for care has not been ring-fenced for care and therefore not being spent on the care that is needed by an increasingly aging population.

“Saga, now the nation's largest provider of home care, has 18,000 carers providing two million hours of care a month, and we have regular contact with millions of over-50s, many of whom are touched by the care issue. And the overriding opinion of virtually every one of them is disbelief that such a vital issue – described by the government itself as ‘urgent’ – can be taking so long to sort out.

“We call on the government to introduce meaningful reforms, encourage people to save for their future care needs and take away the biggest risks of catastrophic care costs, so people have proper incentives to save. We also need to see the Government ensuring that all local authorities are forced to plan properly for the care needs of their constituents - a ten-year plan to cope with the rising costs of caring for older people is an essential reform to ensure councils have to factor the needs of more older people properly into account.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office

01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley

im@pressrelations.co.uk

07788 978800

MORE THAN HALF OF PEOPLE SAY ELDERLY RELATIVES NEED MORE HOME HELP

SAGA HOMECARE

PRESS RELEASE

January 11, 2012.

MORE THAN HALF OF PEOPLE SAY ELDERLY RELATIVES NEED MORE HOME HELP.

29% of people who saw elderly relatives 
over the Christmas period say they noticed a deterioration in their condition since last seeing them.

People who visited elderly relatives over Christmas and New Year say that they were faced with a double-whammy of worry.

Independent research carried out for Saga Homecare showed that 54% of families thought their elderly relatives needed more home help, and 29% said they’d noticed a deterioration in the physical or mental health of older family members since they last saw them before the Christmas break.

“Our research showed that 29%** of people visiting their elderly relatives over the Christmas period noticed a deterioration in their condition, and more than half (54%**) felt that their loved-ones could do with a little extra help around the home,” said John Ivers, Chief Executive, Saga Homecare.

“However, while 29% was the national average, the figure was significantly higher in Wales where 49% of families surveyed said they noticed a deterioration in their relative’s health, and 60% of families said they believed elderly relatives needed more home help.”

Families are far more likely to notice changes in the health of elderly relatives at Christmas. In a recent survey of more than 11,000 over-50s for Saga Homecare, families admitted that they spent more than twice as much time with elderly relatives over the Christmas period than usual*.  This increased contact leads many families to realise that their loved one may need more help in and around the home.

“Whether this is a decrease in their mobility or mental state, or in their ability to carry out general day to day tasks, it is certainly a wake up call for many families.  Whilst it may not be practical to spend more time with elderly relatives this year, getting them a little help around the home could be the answer to ensuring loved-ones can remain independent and in their own homes for as long as possible.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

Notes to editors

Saga Homecare is the UK’s largest provider of domiciliary care with 18,000 carers providing some 2million hours of care each month.

Information about Saga Homecare can be requested on 0800 046 8568

*Research carried out by Populus who interviewed 10,889 Saga customers, all aged 50+, online between 11th November and 17th November 2011. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information see www.populus.co.uk.

Regional split of the amount of time people normally spend with elderly relatives/ friends over a typical month

	London	South East	South West	West Midlands	East Midlands	North West	North East	Yorks& Humber	East Anglia	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
Mean number of days	2.58	2.76	2.79	3.18	2.90	3.30	3.28	3.10	2.78	3.14	3.10	2.84

**Research carried out amongst 1007 adults.  Fieldwork was undertaken between 4^th – 5^th January 2012.  The survey was carried out online.  The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

CARE CRISIS: GOVERNMENT REDEFINES “URGENT PRIORITY” SAYS OVER-50S GROUP SAGA.

SAGA

QUOTES

January 3, 2012.

CARE CRISIS: GOVERNMENT REDEFINES “URGENT PRIORITY” SAYS OVER-50S GROUP SAGA.

Commenting on the letter in the Daily Telegraph highlighting the impending care crisis, Saga's head of communications, Paul Green said:

“The delays in social care reform are provoking a critical condition affecting both the care system and the NHS.

“The government says it is an ‘urgent priority’, but it seems to have redefined both words. Coalition Ministers and Shadows alike have been saying it is an urgent priority since well before the 2010 General Election. The credibility of each and every politician hiding behind that faux furrowed-brow statement falls with each utterance.

“‘Urgent priority’ means immediate identification of a problem, immediate proposal of a solution, and immediate implementation of that solution. We’ve seen it with almost-instant changes in gun law and youth unemployment policy, and breast implants could well become the next health issue to be fast-tracked.

“Each of those affects far fewer people – so it remains an utter mystery why an issue affecting not just individuals but their families too, every single one of which is up against a mortal deadline, warrants a different and more sedate definition of ‘urgent priority’.

“Andrew Dilnot has provided some workable and realistic proposals for care funding and support, but that the government has barely uttered his name since July makes us fear for the mortality of those proposals.

“We fear further delay, we fear a damp squib. The tone of Mr Burstow in his statement that plans to change the system will be announced in the spring suggests the government may not consider the care issue to be either ‘urgent’ or ‘a priority’.

"2012 must be a year of action not of delay." Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CARERS RIGHTS DAY: WHEN WILL CARE REACH THE TOP OF THE GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA?

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

QUOTES

December 1, 2011.

CARERS RIGHTS DAY: WHEN WILL CARE REACH THE TOP OF THE GOVERNMENT’S AGENDA?

Commenting ahead of Carers Rights Day on December 2, Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s organisation Saga, said:

“Unless something passed me by, I don’t recall seeing or hearing anything in the Autumn Statement that would give clear and direct support for carers – and don’t forget carers are a group of people who provide a service and support that would otherwise cost the government, and the taxpayer, £80 billion a year.

“Some acknowledgment would be nice, some hope would have been inspirational, but some funding would have been better. The theme for Carers Rights Day 2011 is ‘Money Matters’ – and it does.

“The government appears to be working its way through the issues, youth unemployment, pensions and so on, so maybe carers are on the list for imminent attention – but one can’t help but think there’s a pervading degree of complacency amongst the directly-unaffected, because carers actually just get on with things with little or no fuss and few demands.

“In fact, so short have we been on action or news with regard to addressing the issue of care funding and support overall – with a yawning silence on matters relating to the recommendations of Andrew Dilnot for instance – that we have decided to shake things up ourselves by running a second thought leadership seminar before Christmas.

“There is a core group of us who are determined to make care a top-of-the-agenda item, and we will push and shove until it is.

“But in the current economic circumstances, a key and ironic point is that if the government did apply itself to a proper look at addressing the care crisis, then it would have a significant and positive impact on budget issues: sort out social care, give carers the support they need, free up NHS hospital beds, unburden healthcare professionals, create time – and save money.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

HOME CARE CRISIS “AS BIG AS A CITY” ”: MORE SHAMEFUL AND SHOCKING EVIDENCE

DR ROS ALTMANN

@SagaRosAltmann

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

November 23, 2011.

HOME CARE CRISIS “AS BIG AS A CITY” ”: MORE SHAMEFUL AND SHOCKING EVIDENCE SHOWS REAL IMPACT OF CARE CUTS.

RADICAL REFORM IS LONG OVERDUE

The government is failing to act to head off a home care crisis “as big as a city” despite constant and overwhelming evidence from an avalanche of reports.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission and Care Quality Commission have highlighted again the poor standards of social care suffered by many older people – primarily caused by huge, and growing, shortfalls in local authority care budgets.

“Of course, there is wonderful care out there, but as councils keep cutting care budgets, standards can only get worse: hardly a week goes by without another damning report into the treatment of the elderly and vulnerable in this country. But so far, nothing has actually been done to address the reality of the day-to-day indignities many older people endure,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s organisation Saga.

“Today's report, from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, says that 250,000 older people – the equivalent of the population of a city the size of Derby or Southampton - are receiving poor or very poor standards of home care including verbal and physical abuse, near-cursory 15-minute ‘task-ticking’ visits– there should be a statutory minimum way higher than that - and little or no help in eating and drinking.

“But as the EHRC points out, the figure may actually be higher because many more may well be too frightened to complain. What’s more, that’s just home care: one element of a social care system which is becoming deluged as we live longer lives.

“The government knows about these issues – how can they not, as they are continually presented with evidence of a care system in crisis? Predictable pre-packaged Ministerial responses expressing outrage and pledging action are not enough.

“Let me ask this: when was the last time we saw any decisive action – as opposed to talk?

“Of course, we welcome the CQC’s proposed home care inspection plans, as well as any move which will help improve the quality and consistency of care – and consequently the quality of life – for our older generations. But the CQC has stopped inspecting the local authority commissioners themselves. If we do not tackle the root cause of the problem - inadequate resources for care - how can we expect decent care?

“We need to properly fund our care system and revere it as much as we do the NHS. We need a consistent regulatory and monitoring system that promotes and encourages best practice, not inconsistent and unprepared knee-jerk responses.

“The question needs to be asked just who monitors the local authority commissioners? They are putting pressure on care providers to offer the lowest priced possible care - and it should be obvious that 15 minute visits make it impossible to deliver adequate care. How do we get health and homecare to work in tandem, and get people back in their own home where they want to be and where care is most cost effective?

“It is vital that we drive the retention of some excellent people who do a tremendous job - the vast silent majority who never get a mention in dispatches. We need to promote care as a career and a profession, and highlight the requirement for best practice, and applaud it where we see it.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

LEGAL TEAMS SCRAMBLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS HIGH COURT RULES COUNCIL CARE FEE FREEZES ARE UNLAWFUL.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

@SagaRosAltmann

QUOTES.

November 9, 2011.

LEGAL TEAMS SCRAMBLED ACROSS THE COUNTRY AS HIGH COURT RULES COUNCIL CARE FEE FREEZES ARE UNLAWFUL.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of over-50s group Saga, commenting on the ruling today, November 9, 2011, in the High Court that Sefton Council’s decision to freeze fees for people needing care in the borough is unlawful:

“I expect many local authorities have been taken aback by this ruling, and quite a few legal and financial teams scrambled to assess what could be a massive impact upon the way councils fund care for older people, and how this ruling could reach far and wide.

“Once again the old and vulnerable are in the news as being on the receiving end of care and support shortfalls - but on this occasion their representatives have bitten back and bitten hard.

“Rather than rising to the challenge of funding the extra care needs of our ageing population, local authorities are continually cutting the care needs they will cover, leaving frail older people to fend for themselves - even freezing funding in the face of significant cost rises. This is an outrage and has rightly been declared illegal.

“In its ruling today that it is unlawful for local authorities to freeze care funding in this way purely to cut its own costs and without regard to the actual cost of providing care, the High Court has certainly put the cat among the pigeons. The flawed funding system of social care in England is being brutally exposed and the impact of local authority cuts and lack of long term funding is leaving increasing numbers of vulnerable older people without adequate care.

“The problem is one that has been highlighted so many times recently and stems from the fundamental fact that social care is the poor relation in our health system - and is not integrated with the NHS. Social care is largely run and funded by local authorities, whose budgets are being squeezed as never before, even while demand for care is rising inexorably year on year.

“But that leaves us with the underlying problem that local authorities do not have enough money to pay for proper care and, while resources are all focussed on the NHS, care is being neglected - and thus those needing care are also neglected.

“When will we wake up to the challenges and threats of such severe care underfunding?

“We need a radical overhaul of the whole system and the Dilnot review sets out a credible framework for action. This must include ringfencing public funding, better integration between NHS and social care, investment in prevention and early intervention, as well as an end to across-the-board care cutbacks by local authorities.

“Inadequate social care can be just as life-threatening as withholding medical care, especially for our increasing numbers of older people, yet somehow public money places all the emphasis on just one part of the picture.”

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CARE BILL SHORTFALL COULD DOUBLE TO £2 BILLION AS JUDGE RULES COUNCIL FREEZE ON CARE PAYMENTS TO ELDERLY IS UNLAWFUL.

SEFTON CARE ASSOCIATION

PRESS RELEASE

November 9, 2011.

CARE BILL SHORTFALL COULD DOUBLE TO £2 BILLION AS JUDGE RULES COUNCIL FREEZE ON CARE PAYMENTS TO ELDERLY IS UNLAWFUL.

Copies of judgment and solicitor’s summary available on request.

The potential shortfall in the budget for care of the elderly in England and Wales could well have instantly doubled to £2 billion after a High Court judge ruled that Sefton Council broke the law when it froze payments covering the cost of care for elderly people in care homes.

The landmark decision could affect 140 local authorities which froze or reduced care payments to thousands of care home residents, but it could mean care support justice for older people who have been forced to raid their savings or assets to cover the cost of good quality and dignified care.

His Honour Judge Raynor QC ruled in the High Court in Manchester on November 9, 2011, that Sefton Council - a typical middle-sized authority - should not have frozen payment levels to 1,600 elderly people in care in the borough, and that it did not pay due regard to the actual cost of covering care in making its unilateral decision.

The claimants against Sefton Council’s decision to freeze payments were Sefton Care Association, Melton Health Care Limited, Westcliffe Manor Nursing Home, Benridge Care Homes Limited and Craignair Care Home. The financially-constrained action brought backing by both independent and charity-based providers in the local community.

Elderly residents, many with dementia, and their families, have been forced to top up the growing difference between Sefton Council’s frozen payment contribution level and the actual cost of care. The last time Sefton increased fees was April 2009. That means they have been frozen at the April 2009 rates ever since.

The judicial review and judgement relates specifically to the current year freeze, April 2011 to March 2012. Sefton Council claims to have saved £1.5m by not increasing fees by the proposed 2%. The claimants will now seek to reclaim the lost portion of fees to meet the actual cost of care which could be significantly higher, and at the very least in line with inflation of 4.5%. That alone will cost the Sefton around £3.4m, and, with the next year's budget now in sight, the cost may not stop there - inflation is now over 5% so next year this will climb to £3.75m, meaning a total of £7.15m additional cost to Sefton.

The King’s Fund recently suggested care funding would have a £1 billion shortfall by 2014. But if each of the 140 local authorities affected receives claims for similar shortfalls – Sefton appearing to have an average-sized population of elderly in care - then this could mean around an additional £1 billion would need to be found.

Judge Raynor said that care homes in the Sefton area should have been allowed to substantiate their concerns over the two-year payment freeze, and that the local authority in question was under a duty to consult with residential care providers locally. Failure to do so made the payment freeze decision unlawful.

Dan Lingard, Chairman of Sefton Care Association, and owner of Birch Abbey Care Home in Southport, said: “This win gives us no great pleasure – but it does provide a tremendous sense of justice for the most vulnerable of people. It is an action which should not have had to be taken out in the first place, but clearly has massive implications for care. It may well be the tipping point which re-prioritises the way care is funded and provided in this country.

“We may well be living and operating in a very tough economic environment, but the Judge has effectively ruled that the financial environment is not a good enough reason for a council to impose a freeze on payments to massively vulnerable people.

“The courts have ruled that the council’s decision to freeze payments is unlawful, and we await an urgent and positive response from Sefton Council confirming that they will now re-make this decision with an increase in funding.

“There are hundreds of vulnerable people affected and the council needs to act swiftly.

“A key issue, given the state of care funding in the UK, is that many people and their families may have had to sell assets to pay for the inflation-affected widening gap between what the local authority paid and what the cost of care actually is.

“We’re now looking for Sefton Council to respond with some sort of offer in terms of increased fees for 2011/12. We also expect Sefton Council to agree to implement the findings of an independent assessment of the actual cost of care in Sefton. The Sefton Care Association is prepared to raise funds to contribute towards this. But, crucially, we want to see a new and meaningful consultation process replacing the current now discredited approach.”

Dan Lingard is chairman of Sefton Care Association, Chief Executive of Melton Health Care Limited - which operates Birch Abbey Care Home in Southport - and a nationally-noted dementia care innovator. He founded the iPersonally approach to dementia care, and is a regular speaker on dementia care innovation and technology development.

Further quotes from Dan Lingard:

“Critical budget savings at the NHS are being put at risk by a rising tide of elderly needing admission to hospital due to a withdrawal of social care services.

“The elderly and their families are falling victim to a vicious circle of neglect as the NHS and local authorities struggle to provide anything but emergency care for the most vulnerable.

“Inflation is killing the elderly and the vulnerable as services are being cut to providing for only the most needy as Local Authorities up and own the country fight to resolve budget cuts made worse by high inflation.

“Many care home owners up and down the country are hanging on by a thread as the third year of freezes and cuts in fees start to take their toll. In financial terms, this ruling could dwarf the Southern Cross bankruptcy; there is real concern local authorities in their dominant, near-monopoly buying position may have pushed charity as well as commercial operators too far for too long.”

Ends

For further information:

Iain Macauley

07788 978800

im@pressrelations.co.uk

@Press_Relations

WHERE ARE GRANDPARENTS’ RIGHTS GOING? DR ROS ALTMANN, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF SAGA, COMMENTS ON NORGROVE FAMILY LAW REVIEW.

DR ROS ALTMANN

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, SAGA

@SagaRosAltmann

QUOTES

November 4, 2011.

WHERE ARE GRANDPARENTS’ RIGHTS GOING? DR ROS ALTMANN, DIRECTOR-GENERAL OF SAGA, COMMENTS ON NORGROVE FAMILY LAW REVIEW.

Dr Ros Altmann, Director General of over 50s group Saga, commenting on the Family Law Review, said:

“As the official Family Law Review is published, there is one element that is conspicuous by its absence: Grandparents' rights.

“David Norgrove’s comment that ‘not all grandparents are good grandparents’ may be true, but to leave it to the whim of a couple at the centre of an acrimonious divorce, to ensure grandparents' rights are properly represented in court will have far reaching effects and will deny many grandparents - and of course their grandchildren, the chance to experience that special love and bond that so many take for granted. Family life and family relationships can extend very importantly beyond just parents and their children. Older generations have so much to contribute to their families.

“In his report, David Norgrove stated that: ‘There is no evidence that courts unreasonably refuse the ability of a grandparent to bring an application for contact with their grandchildren’.

“However, the constant flow of letters into Saga Magazine implies that whilst this might be the case, the process is extremely difficult and many grandparents simply can't face a court fight that they feel may be unfairly stacked against them. They had hoped that the law would recognise the importance of their rights properly.

“Many of the comments we receive are from grandparents who have reached the end of their tether.

“The relationship between a grandchild and a grandparent can be an extremely special one, and can provide consistency for a child when the family unit breaks down.

“This Review rightly points out that decisions should be made in the best interests of the child, however to give one adult ‘rights’ to access that can be withdrawn by the courts, whilst all others have to fight for any right to maintain a relationship with their child or grandchild is surely wrong.

“Many grandparents tell us that they have supported their grandchildren throughout their lives, only to find themselves bereft of any contact once the relationship breaks down. To have this contact arbitrarily withdrawn can cause irreparable emotional damage for everybody concerned.

“Of course, coming to an amicable solution outside of the court process would be better for everybody concerned, and the measures put in place to help couples in these cases will be useful for some.

“However judging by the number of acrimonious divorce cases that involve access to children every year, this review has made little difference and has dashed the hopes of the grandparents who were waiting with baited breath for this report in the hope that theirs and their grandchildren’s rights would at last be reinstated.

“Saga is very disappointed at the conclusions of this Review and we do hope that politicians may reconsider the recommendations after further consultation.

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

CQC REPORT: SYSTEM OVERWHELMED - ELDERLY SHOULD BE AT HOME, NOT IN HOSPITAL.

SAGA

QUOTES 
 
October 13, 2011. 

CQC REPORT: SYSTEM OVERWHELMED - ELDERLY SHOULD BE AT HOME, NOT IN HOSPITAL.

 
Commenting on the CQC report into care of the elderly in hospital, Paul Green, head of communications for the over-50s group Saga, said:
 
“There are far too many older people in hospital because of lack of provision of suitable social and medical care in the community. What’s more, the proportion of patients in hospital who are frail and elderly is steadily rising - and they have much greater care needs which sometimes completely overwhelm the hospital staffing resource. 
 
“The key question could well be whether the conditions reported by the CQC are sparked by demoralised staff, poor management or financial pressures – each of which can be addressed – or whether a poor attitude towards the elderly and vulnerable is becoming endemic – which is not so easily addressed. 
 
“The vast majority of nursing staff are caring, conscientious and committed. The one question the report does not appear to answer is why this attitude has developed, and why in some hospitals and not others. 
 
“That it is not common across all hospitals means that there are clearly specific issues at specific hospitals, which provide a solid basis for investigation and redress. 
 
“Nevertheless, it is yet more evidence that the elderly and vulnerable continue to be dealt poor hands when it comes to care and support.” 

Ends

Further information:

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800

OLDER PEOPLE: WHERE IN THE UK ARE THE FITTEST, LEAST STRESSED … AND MOST SEXY …?

SAGA

PRESS RELEASE

September 30, 2011.

OLDER PEOPLE: WHERE IN THE UK ARE THE FITTEST, LEAST STRESSED … AND MOST SEXY …?

Londoners aged over 50 are most likely to do little or no exercise, five times as many older people in Yorkshire and Humberside use exercise to improve their later-years sex life compared to neighbouring North East of England, and people from Scotland are amongst the most likely to follow the ideal exercise regime.

Those are just some of the findings of an independently-conducted study of 10,500 older people commissioned by over-50s group Saga in the run up to Older People’s Day, October 1, 2011, which has the theme of getting active and staying active.

The survey also found that older people from Northern Ireland were least likely to turn to exercise for stress relief (16%), while people from the North West of England were most likely (24%) to feel the need to wind down by getting the pulse racing.

Around 38% of Londoners say they do no exercise, or less than an hour a week, with a figure of 37% in the North East of England and a low 31% in Scotland.

44% of older people in Scotland and Yorkshire and Humberside do what is considered by experts to be the best balance of between two and five hours exercise a week, while in Northern Ireland 22% work up a sweat for between six and ten hours a week. But the Welsh are three times as enthusiastic as older people from London, East Anglia and Northern Ireland about putting in more than 16 hours a week.

Nearly half (49%) or older people in the West Midlands and North East say they do too little exercise.

Regional league table – over-50s doing none, or less than an hour of exercise per week:

London                             38%

North East                        37%

East Midlands           36%

West Midlands                    35%

Northern Ireland                34%

South East                        33%

South West                       33%

North West                       33%

East Anglia                        33%

Wales                               32%

Yorkshire and Humberside    31%

Scotland                           31%

Regional league table – over-50s doing two to five hours of exercise per week:

Yorkshire and Humberside    44%

Scotland                           44%

Wales                              43%

South East                        43%

North West                       42%

East Anglia                        42%

Northern Ireland                41%

South West                       41%

London                             41%

East Midlands           41%

North East                        36%

The national picture overall:

The research showed over-50s are chasing improved fitness levels in later life with the vast majority of older people citing health improvement or active-life extension as the main reason for pavement pounding and WiiFit workouts – and WiiFit has overtaken bowls as a way of staying in shape.

Across the UK, around 38% of 50-somethings flex their muscles for between two and five hours a week – a level fitness experts say is likely to be life-enhancing – but more people put in the hours the older they get: 44% of 65 to 69-year-olds exercise for up to five hours, with 62% doing between two and 10 hours exercise per week.

“That’s great news for the older people who do try to maintain or improve fitness: there’s a lot of newly converted ‘exercise enthusiasts’ coming through who are realising they’ve a great deal more to give and get once they hit their 60s – the bonus years -and are putting in the effort to exploit it,” said Dr Ros Altmann, Director-General of Saga.

But fitness for older people is not all about tea dances and bowls: one in 25 over-50s and one in 50 aged 75 and over use Wii Fit as a way of keeping fit. More admit to using Wii Fit as a means of exercise than bowls, and is equivalent to those who jog.

Just a third of Saga panellists believe that they do the right level of exercise, with 45% admitting to doing too little. Just over 40% of 50 to 54-year-olds did no exercise or “less than an hour” a week compared to 30% of 60 to 69-year-olds.

80% of Saga panellists say they are more conscious of the need to exercise and live a healthy lifestyle now than they were in their 30s. A quarter of women say they exercise more now than in their 30s.

Meanwhile, nationally, five times as many over-50s men compared to women say they’ve embarked on their exercise regime to improve their sex life.

Over-50s  believe maintaining their mental fitness is important - 99% agree that it is ‘very important’ or ‘important’ - and crossword puzzles, Sudoku, and TV quiz games were the most popular forms of mental exercises (60%, 40% and 36% respectively doing each). One-in-ten use electronic brain-training games.

Populus interviewed 10,483 Saga customers, all aged 50+, online between 12 September and 15 September 2011. Populus is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules; for more information see www.populus.co.uk.

Full survey stats available on request.

Ends

For further information:

Saga Press Office
01303 771529.

www.saga.co.uk

Iain Macauley
im@pressrelations.co.uk
07788 978800