Pandemic has increased older people’s need for social care

New analysis from Age UK has found that the coronavirus pandemic has significantly increased older people’s need for social care, with one in four older people’s ability to do everyday activities having worsened during the pandemic.

The latest figures show that 1.2million older people aged over 60 in the UK who had difficulty walking up and down the stairs before the first lockdown in March 2020 report this activity has become even more difficult for them since then, while 1.45 million of the same age group now have difficulty walking short distances outside when previously this did not pose problems for them at all.

Age UK says that 23 per cent older people’s ability to do everyday activities has worsened since the first lockdown. It is therefore calling on the government to commit to concrete action in the Queen's Speech (11 May) to strengthen and expand the provision of social care in England, in order to meet this growing need.

Before the pandemic struck Age UK estimated that 1.6 million people aged 65 and over did not receive the care and support they need in England, warning that this could grow to 2.1 million people by 2030. The charity says that unless government now directs significantly more investment into social care as part of a package of reforms these numbers are likely to be underestimates, because of the adverse impact of the pandemic on older people’s health and resilience.       

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, said: "It's really sad that the pandemic has taken such a toll on the mobility, confidence and capacity of millions of older people to live independently without extra support. Specialists in older people's health warned that this was likely to happen after months of enforced isolation, inactivity and lack of stimulation and, unfortunately, our new analysis shows they were absolutely right. The inevitable consequence of this pandemic related damage is that older people's demand for social care is set to go up quite markedly, beyond what would otherwise have been expected."

"What matters now is that the government recognises this is happening and makes the extra investments and reforms needed to beef up and expand our care services so they can meet this growing need. Before the pandemic we already knew that 1.6 million older people had some unmet need for care, but our new research means this awful statistic could rocket even higher this year unless the government acts fast. We must never forget too that behind the cold statistics are real older people who with the right care and support could be living much happier, safer and healthier lives. At Age UK we often hear how miserable and downright frightening it can be to struggle on your own with essential tasks like getting out of bed and washing that you used to take for granted but which now carry the risk of you falling, doing you serious harm. That's what's at stake here for older people who find themselves in this difficult position and surely its incumbent on us as a society to make sure they get the care and support they need.

 “The fact that the pandemic has intensified some older people’s need for care, while battering the workforce and undermining care services, means the gap between the care system we have and the one we need here in England is growing by the day. With the horrors visited on care homes by Covid-19 and the heroism of our underpaid care workers still fresh in all our minds, it is more important than ever that the Prime Minister ‘fixes social care’. A clear statement to this effect in the Queen’s Speech would give us hope that he and his government really do intend to follow through this year.”