Prevention key, as UK sees jump in over-85s
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Prevention and early intervention measures will become increasingly important in the coming years from a budgetary standpoint - in the UK as elsewhere. The growing needs of an ageing population are among the key challenges listed by the UK NHS in its "Winter report", released this week. The number of people in England (population 50.8 million) aged over 85 currently stands at 1.055 million (2006 figures); by 2036, that figure will have risen to 2.959 million. Meanwhile, the number of people with dementia is set to double in the same 30-year period, from 560,000 cases in 2007.