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The baby boom generation is starting to retire. Baby Boomers are the wealthiest people ever to have lived on this planet. If you were born around 1948 you are likely to have had your job for life, contributed to a final salary pension, paid off your mortgage over 20 years ago and be fit, intelligent and highly sociable. This is going to present the care industry with a unique set of problems. On the one hand retirees are fitter, healthier, living a lot longer and have a mind of their own. Gone are the days when the doctor’s word was gospel and you lived at the whim of your local authority, taking whatever assistance you were offered without question. On the other hand, with improvements to healthcare in the UK we are able to live far longer by managing the illnesses and diseases we do have. Many boomers have private healthcare, others have a louder voice and aren’t afraid to use it when it comes to getting that hip replacement. So the level of care and respect they demand from carers is set to rise. The current growth in care homes and home care agency services will have to continue to keep pace and the funding of the industry will have to be a major healthcare priority. So what does that future look like? Retirement and old age will be split into two phases. The first will be a time of fitness, good health, enjoying the freedom of not working and hopefully fulfilling long held dreams while having regular check-ups and keeping in tip top condition. The second phase is where it gets complicated. In the past it was normal for the aged to suffer a short period of illness before passing away. Advances in medical treatments, including stem cell technology – making our own ‘spare parts’ – super nutrition, hormone therapy, and gene therapy, mean that while we will still contract the conditions we are more likely to be able to continue to live for several years with chronic disease. So the demands on the care and home care industries will have to adapt and evolve to cope with the increased survival rate of sufferers. The finite resources of government funding and care home places will result in more of the burden being placed on home care agencies as being cared for in your own home will become more normal. Carers will be have to better qualified, and able to carry out regular medical procedures in the home that used to be available only in hospitals – such as dialysis and chemotherapy. ‘Distance’ health care in the home will grow as internet technology improves, allowing patients to stay in their homes without having to make expensive and painful trips to hospital, which will be especially useful for people in rural areas. The patient and carer will be able to consult with doctors from the sofa after test results have been emailed to them from a hospital. Health care in the home is also set to undergo a revolution. Politically, socially and economically its going to be much cheaper to keep you at home and comfortable for as long as possible, rather than offering long term accommodation in a care home. So as we live longer, it is much more likely we will do so at home, however our health may be. Jerry is a writer and blogger for Care and Choice, a Sussex based Home Care Agency serving the Brighton and Worthing districts of the UK.
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