Press Releases and Articles

Ladies and gentlemen!

Thank you for inviting me to this conference. It gives me an important opportunity to present to you some of the views of CPME, representing the medical profession in Europe, on how to meet the health challenges of an ageing population in Europe.

It is a well known fact that people in Europe today live longer and that the length of life expectancy probably will increase further, in both old and new member countries of EU. The proportion of both old and very old in the population will increase and the absolute number of EU citizens will later decrease.

Since we all are aware of that most of health care costs are generated during the last two years of life we will also see an increasing cost for health care as a result.

We all share the goals and ambitions that a longer life must be a longer active and healthy life with independency, free from physical or mental disability. Elderly citizens must be given such conditions that they can have a flexible age of retirement, work longer and continue to contribute and participate in working and social life.

We are at the same time well aware of all conditions and diseases that can jeopardise or hinder an active and independent life for our elderly.

Many chronic illnesses become successively more of handicaps in older people such as arthritis or osteoarthritis; obstructive lung disease, heart diseases or diabetes. Many times multiple diseases give rise to further handicap and result in problems generated by necessary poly-pharmacy.

Mental illnesses in elderly such as depression often give rise to isolation and severed functional capacity but perhaps the most common and handicapping condition is dementia that gradually becomes more common the older we get.

With age comes also gradual impairment of vision and hearing, and both can be important limitations for a full and active independent life.

We gradually become more aware of and well informed on all aspects of the longer life expectancy that we can foresee in the future.  Important work has been done in the field through a growing research and several reports from WHO and EU have been published, especially from the European Commission and DG SANCO.

The demographic changes and the challenges on how to meet the needs of an ageing European population are successively being discussed more actively, both on domestic and the EU level. The two questions to confront are of course; what can we do about it and what are the concrete solutions to safeguard, as much as possible, independent and active lives, also for our elderly citizens.    

Before the solutions are being discussed we first have to recognise that they have to be based on and directed by evident rights of the elderly, if our goals and ambitions are to be reached.

All health or social care must be given without any discrimination on grounds of age and always be entirely based on individual needs.

No rationing of care for the elderly can be accepted and all health and social care must be equal to all when it comes to access, contents, quality and safety.

There must be clear rights on active consent and participation for all elderly in the planning and carrying out of their care.

There must always be full respect of the independence and dignity of all patients and elderly in all kinds of situations in care, whether it is health care, social care or long term care.

The right to family attachment and closeness must always be respected, as well as the right to care at home.

The necessity of basic minimal social and economical conditions for the individual elderly must be underlined as prerequisites for the success of any care given.

What can then be done to give necessary conditions for long, active and independent lives for our elderly citizens?

The needs of the elderly have to be prioritised in care and health care and prevention of disease and disability with an elderly focus has to be promoted.

Planning of preventive measures as well as care and health care has to be adjusted to the needs of the elderly, including a relevant financing.

Education of health care professionals in the needs and problems that specifically concern the elderly have to be defined as an evidence based geriatric curriculum. It must be taught not only to undergraduates and physicians in specialist training but also to all specialist and general practitioners as part of their CPD.

Equally important is to teach this curriculum to other professions in care and health care, especially nurses and social workers, since multidisciplinary team work is central to all successful care-taking of the many varied needs of the elderly.

This has also to be taken into consideration when today´s care and health care organisations and systems have to be reviewed in order to serve our elderly citizens, and always on an individual basis.

Information on the needs and concerns of our elderly, always evidence based, has to be given broadly and not only to the concerned elderly population but also to the general public and all professionals in the social and health sectors. The EU Health Portal to be launched this year will come in timely as a strong tool for this.

Research in the field has to be promoted and strengthened, both of clinical and organisational nature.

On the EU level, with the help of the open method of cooperation or coordination, it is important for Member States to share research, knowledge, experience and solutions on demography, preventive methods and all aspects of planning and organising care for the elderly. The High Level Group on Health Services and Medical Care, or a similar set up; can here play an active role.

Further important tasks are monitoring and identification of differences and inequalities on access to care, its contents, safety or quality in the EU.

Joint analysis also has to be done on future demands of structural alterations and financing due to the care of our elderly.

Hopefully the EU institutions, especially DG SANCO, can continue to play an important role, in line with all work done so far on focusing on the issue and providing comprehensive background material.

The Health Policy Forum and Open Forum can also be important meeting places between EU institutions and civil society and a valuable means for continuing necessary discussions on how to meet and solve the challenges with our ageing population in the EU.

The challenge of today and tomorrow to meet and live up to the rights of our elderly EU citizens to live their lives actively, independent and free from disability is of such dimension that each individual Member State cannot solve it on its own. It has to be done in cooperation between Member States and the EU is the right supportive forum for that.

Thank you for your attention!