Action on health and care
Record NHS waiting lists, older patients unable to return home from hospital because of the crisis in care, councils lacking the funds to maintain vital services, care homes facing closure through spiralling costs… the cash-strapped health and care sector is struggling to meet the needs of many of those who use it most at a time of rising demand.
As the biggest users of health and care services, older people find themselves in the front line of the battle for the wellbeing of the nation.
So how can the Age Action Alliance make a positive contribution?
By bringing together providers, charities and experts with the very people who rely most on these services, we hope to arrive at workable solutions as well as flag up and make our voices heard on the issues. Topics will include:
- Independent living
- Care options and funding
- Home adaptations
- Maintaining health and wellbeing
- Support and benefits
- Telecare
- Living with dementia
- Health insurance
Get involved
We believe constructive dialogue and informed decision making is always the way forward and so we hope to use this section to provide a forum for debate and a home for helpful information and advice.
If you would like to contribute in any way, do please get in touch by emailing info@theageactionalliance.org.
The Age Action Alliance is supported by
Latest News
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Age UK: “Millions in midlife put off exercise for life by school PE lessons”
A new campaign from Age UK is calling on the nation to “Act Now, Age Better”
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A decade of life and two of healthy life expectancy: how much living in the right areas of the UK now means
New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released 15 April reveals stark gaps in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest in England and Wales.
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Online-only bookings are putting “Care on HOLD”
Loneliness prevention charity Re-engage launches report revealing impact of the rise of online-only GP booking systems on lonely and isolated older people.
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40% of older people putting hygiene and health at risk by cutting back on water use
Around a third of people in England and Wales who are cutting back on their water usage because of cost say it is negatively affecting their health (33%) and personal hygiene (31%).
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The nation’s healthy life expectancy continues to decline
The stark figures show new record lows for healthy life expectancy and a widening gap between rich and poor places.
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Mr Motivator urges fitness operators to rethink services for older adults
Derrick Evans MBE, better known as Mr Motivator, has warned that the fitness industry is overlooking older adults, one of the UK’s fastest-growing populations.
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Five million over 50s “think their sexual health needs are overlooked by doctors”
Age UK has launched a new initiative called “Still Got It” to promote the release of its first ever guide focused on sex, relationships and intimacy.
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“Exponential increase” in people aged 65+ experiencing up to three days of “corridor care”
Shocking new analysis by Age UK for the period 2024/25 shows there were more than 100,000 instances of over-65s waiting between one and three days in A&E after a decision to admit them had been made.
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All strength to your legs…
BBC features simple exercise device from AAA members Trainor Jim that “could save NHS billions”
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Experiences of racism “continue to scar and disadvantage England’s Black Caribbean people in older age”
A new report from Age UK ‘Ageing while Black: the experiences of older Black Caribbean people in England’. draws on in depth interviews with older Black Caribbean people to understand more about what it’s like to age in our country while Black.
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Understanding dementia: a novel approach to cut across the generational divide
How do you help children understand about someone in their family who has dementia? A leading figure in later life housing and care has found a novel way to bridge the divide… with a detective story. Review by Tony Watts OBE
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Launch of simple device to build leg strength in the elderly – reducing frailty and preventing falls
Falls are estimated to cost the NHS more than £2.3 billion per year. Now, a simple and inexpensive exercise device is being launched which the inventors say could radically reduce those statistics.
Latest blogs & comments
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London needs a new policy narrative for older people
As the capital’s average age increases, there is a lack of focus in London government on how to address and benefit from it, writes Tim Whitaker of Wise Age and the London Age Friendly Forum.
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Six ways to look after your brain after 50
Is there anything you can do to stop getting dementia? It’s a fair question, writes Professor June Andrews.
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NCF responds to the government’s NHS 10 Year Plan
July 2025 saw the launch of the NHS 10-year plan. Vic Rayner, CEO of The National Care Forum (NCF) – the leading association for not-for-profit social care – argues that, while welcoming the plan, “adult social care needs to be at the heart of this new world”.
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Meet Peggy: the AI concierge working for staff and residents in a later-living community
Vicky Carne, Founder of 3A-AI Ltd, on how a new voice-enabled AI chatbot can keep residents safe and independent.
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TV’s Rose Ayling-Ellis discusses teaching ExtraCare residents BSL
The BBC’s Rose Ayling-Ellis: Old Hands, New Tricks, which recently aired was filmed at ExtraCare Trust’s Hughenden Gardens Retirement Village in High Wycombe. Making the programme not only made a big impact with the residents and the viewing public… but with Rose too.
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How a BBC Documentary sparked a Sign Language Movement in a retirement village
What started as a six-week experiment has become a heart-warming legacy of transformation at ExtraCare Trust’s Hughenden Gardens Retirement Village in High Wycombe. By Charlotte Millions.
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Why are we waiting?
Procrastination isn’t just the thief of time. It can also be a thief of lives… as well as public money, writes Tony Watts OBE
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Unpaid care is a feminist issue. Am I being unreasonable?
Yes, lots of men are carers,” writes June Andrews OBE. “But what I am saying is still true. The burden of unpaid care of older relatives is not carried equally.”
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I’m over 50. So, when it comes to health, when is it worth going private?
What are the benefits of taking out Private Medical Insurance – especially as you get into your 50s and beyond? The Age Action Alliance has got together with leading health insurance comparison website Usay Compare to provide you with the facts you need to know… and offer two months’ free insurance*.
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Making older people’s voices heard… where it matters
Tony Watts OBE is a partner of the NHS Older People’s Sounding Board, which AAA founding members NDTi facilitate on behalf of NHS England. Here he writes about how the Sounding Board is helping to ensure that users themselves can shape the design and delivery of services that affect their lives.
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How transformative tech in social care can speed hospital discharges
With the constant pressure to unblock beds to reduce waiting lists, how can technology play ITS part in speeding discharge? Gerry Toner at Curam sets out how their business is playing its part.
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Assisted dying legislation: who gets to decide who lives and dies?
“The risk of older people being nudged to die by health and social care,” writes leading dementia expert Professor June Andrews, “or even by a family with ‘inheritance impatience’ is more than I can bear without a broken heart.”