Organisations from across Cornwall came together at the Health in an Ageing Society conference. It was aimed at making Cornwall a better place to live and age well.
Our public health team hosted the event, which brought together representatives from:
- the health sector
- voluntary organisations
- charities
- other council staff
Rachel Wigglesworth, Director of Public Health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, introduced the themes for the day. This was followed by Sir Chris Whitty delivering an engaging keynote presentation about his recent report, which explored national and regional trends, as well as the challenges and opportunities associated with ageing.Health in an ageing society reportDr Eunan O’Neill also shared some insightful Cornwall-specific data.
The focus was on how to encourage age-friendly communities, an approach supported by the Centre for Ageing Better. The Centre for Ageing Better is 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. Carly Walker from North Yorkshire Council spoke through their journey to achieve age-friendly status.
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.
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
Take a look at these videos from the Health in an Ageing Society conference held on the 10 January 2025:
Rachel Wigglesworth - Director of Public Health for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Professor Sir Chris Whitty - Chief Medical Officer's report
Dr Eunan O'Neill - Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Overview
Charlotte Lewis - Age-friendly Communities overview
Healthy Ageing Q&A panel