On 17 July 2008, the Audit Commission published a report (Don't stop me now: preparing for an ageing population) which looks at the challenges and opportunities facing England as its population gets older. The report emphasises that councils have a local area leadership role to ensure that older people can live independently and actively, with a good quality of life, for as long as possible. It suggests that most councils should do more to create an environment in which people thrive as they age. The report claims that only a third of councils are well prepared for an ageing population, though a further third are making progress. It stresses that they need to engage with older people in commissioning, designing and delivering mainstream and targeted services to tackle social isolation and support independent living.
On 17 July 2008, the Audit Commission published a report (Don't stop me now: preparing for an ageing population) which looks at the challenges and opportunities facing England as its population gets older. The report emphasises that councils have a local area leadership role to ensure that older people can live independently and actively, with a good quality of life, for as long as possible. It suggests that most councils should do more to create an environment in which people thrive as they age. The report claims that only a third of councils are well prepared for an ageing population, though a further third are making progress. It stresses that they need to engage with older people in commissioning, designing and delivering mainstream and targeted services to tackle social isolation and support independent living.
Subject terms:
independent living, older people, access to services, ageing, commissioning;
This paper looks in more depth at the role of assistive technology (AT) in supporting independence. It examines the place of AT in the current policy context and describes the current evidence to demonstrate how AT can support independence. It analyses the current obstacles to progress and explains how change can be introduced. New assistive technology can play a vital role in supporting the ways in which millions of older or disabled people can maintain or regain their independence. It also has the potential to modernise the way in which many aspects of health and social care are currently delivered to the benefit of users, carers, service providers and the taxpayer.
This paper looks in more depth at the role of assistive technology (AT) in supporting independence. It examines the place of AT in the current policy context and describes the current evidence to demonstrate how AT can support independence. It analyses the current obstacles to progress and explains how change can be introduced. New assistive technology can play a vital role in supporting the ways in which millions of older or disabled people can maintain or regain their independence. It also has the potential to modernise the way in which many aspects of health and social care are currently delivered to the benefit of users, carers, service providers and the taxpayer.
Subject terms:
independence, information technology, older people, physical disabilities, social care provision, user participation, access to services, assistive technology, health care;