Organisations across Cornwall came together at an event last week aimed at making Cornwall a better place to live and age well.
Cornwall Council’s public health team held the event, which brought together representatives from the health sector, voluntary organisations and charities, alongside other council staff, to hear keynote speaker, Professor Chris Whitty, talk about his recent report.
Health in an ageing society report
The focus was on how to encourage age-friendly communities, an approach supported by the Centre for Ageing Better, a UK based organisation working to make societies more age inclusive.
Charlotte Lewis, Senior Programme Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better talked through the benefits of becoming an age-friendly community, with Carly Walker from North Yorkshire Council talking through their journey to achieve age-friendly status.
Cornwall Council’s Director of Public Health Rachel Wigglesworth said:
“It’s been great to see lots of people coming together to talk about how people can be supported to age well in Cornwall. It’s clear that we are united in an aim to understand if what we have in place is fit for a growing older population and if it isn’t, what we can do about it.
“While living longer can only be a positive thing, quality of life is a hugely important factor. This is about improving quality of life rather than longevity. Ill health and disability in older age is not inevitable and I think more can be done to address this.”
Cornwall Council cabinet lead for adult social care and health, Andy Virr said:
“It is vital that we all work together now to see what we can do to improve the lives of Cornwall’s ageing population. As you know, our mission as a council is to make Cornwall a place where everyone can start well, live well and age well.
“The data tells us that in 2021 47% of Cornwall's population was aged over 50 compared to the national average of 38% so it’s clear we have some challenges compared to the rest of the country. This is why it is so important to get the right people and organisations together to tackle how we make Cornwall an age-friendly community. There have been some great discussions and it’s clear that all attendees were committed to making this happen.”
Throughout the event people heard from Cornwall residents about what it’s like to age in Cornwall, what works well and how it could be better. Lizzie Sullivan from Penzance said:
“The most important thing for me is to live my best life every day. And that means being able to socialise, being able to get involved in activities that are meaningful to me.
“I think it would be great if there was more emphasis on how older people are going to live the rest of their life, I think it will encourage older people to feel more vibrant and just appreciate being alive every day.”
You can hear more from Cornwall’s residents here:
Following a number of workshops held on the day, all of the viewpoints of people in attendance will be used to identify the next steps. A report will also be sent to the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Becoming ‘age-friendly’ supports communities to understand the unique challenges and opportunities that demographic change poses to their place. They can then make strategic decisions about where to use limited resources to make the biggest difference.
More information about age-friendly communities can be found on the Centre for Ageing Better website.
Centre for Ageing Better website