Dr Annet Gamell is the Chief Clinical Officer for the Chiltern Clinical Commissioning Group, made up of 34 GP practices in Amersham, Wycombe, and across South Bucks.

She writes: October the first is international annual Older People’s Day which aims to celebrate older age and the contribution to society of older people. Many cultures celebrate the ageing process and revere older people.

However, the west has a tendency to look negatively upon ageing and older people themselves can feel their value is reduced.

September is international Alzheimer’s month, which aims to increase awareness and decrease stigma of dementia. Alzheimer’s is not a consequence of older age but predominantly affects older people.

More people are reaching older age - a positive success of modern society and public health developments - while 23 per cent of the UK population will be aged 65 and over by 2035.

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of adopting healthy behaviours in mid-life to prepare for a healthy later life. It is estimated that two in three Britons will not reach 68 without disability unless action is taken.

Of course, instilling health behaviour from early years is the ideal and should be the responsibility of society as a whole –individuals, families, communities and sectors such as education, health, social care and local government.

We must tackle the growing epidemic of long term conditions such as obesity, musculoskeletal diseases, type 2 diabetes and the associations of these that often lead to general frailty. There must be more focus on keeping people active and preparing for an active old age.

For instance, walking 30 minutes a day, five times a week can have more effect on reducing the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, depression and dementia than any tablet I can prescribe.

When the NHS was founded in 1948 life expectancy was 66 for men and 71 for women. Today over two-thirds of people attending A&E are 65+, a quarter of patients occupying hospital beds have dementia and the average age of patients in hospital is over 80.

Hospitals are seen as the place of safety but even a few days there can cause muscle wasting, increased frailty, risk of falls and infections and likelihood of re-admission after discharge.

A BFP reader recently commented on long waits in A&E and staff shortages and asked if I get to A&E to assess the situation.

The problem in A&E is one of flow through the hospital system. If beds are occupied through the inability to get people out as soon as they are medically well, it means people wait to get in, wait for tests, wait to see medical staff etc. Not good for patients, and the volume of work and pressure can be demoralising for NHS staff.

I, and my team, constantly monitor the quality of care given by the providers we pay to deliver services in the NHS. As a Clinical Commissioning Group we are always keen to hear of patient experiences, good and bad so that we can improve services. (www.letstalkhealthbucks.nhs.uk , or contact In the early years of the NHS people were admitted to hospital to be cured of diseases, often infectious. Illness and health care are now far more complex. Old age does not need to be ‘cured’. Care must be adapted to meet changing illness patterns and frailty.

We need the public, policy makers and politicians to accept that radical change is needed to our predominantly expensive hospital based NHS system. This is not always understood or popular. Funding and expertise needs to shift to ‘joined up’ out-of-hospital health and social care needed in the 21st century.

This is being worked on but needs to accelerate.The majority of care should be in the community so older people can remain supported in their own homes or care homes and hospital care - when needed – can be shorter and more planned.

We need to change attitudes to ageing. The celebrations and activities on older people’s day promote healthy lifestyles and give opportunities to combat loneliness, encourage volunteering, and share skills with different generations.

Every day is older people’s day for many in our community. http://olderpeoplesday.co.uk/