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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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.
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Extreme summer heat “could lead to more than 5,000 UK deaths this year”
Statistical analysis by The Centre for Ageing Better shows this summer has had more extreme temperatures and more heat health alerts than at the same time in 2022 – a year in which a high number of excess deaths from heat were recorded.
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Dementia, loneliness and overnight security concerns prompting homeshares
The Homeshare Association has published its latest Homeshare Report 2025 which reveals an invaluable insight into the key factors that are steering a growing interest in homeshare arrangements.
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1.6 million older carers worry whether they’ll be able to keep providing support
In Carers Week 2025, Age UK is calling on Government to provide more support for unpaid carers and is highlighting the concerning position of our 2.1 million unpaid older carers (65+) who shoulder an enormous amount of responsibility, often without the support they need.
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10 million midlifers worry about staying healthy as they age
New research by Age UK reveals that three quarters (74%) of adults aged between 50–65 (equivalent to 10 million), worry about staying healthy as they age, and two thirds (65%) or 9.2 million worry about losing their independence as they age.
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Trust’s “community of innovators” plans to improve lives of older people
The St Monica Trust in Bristol has held the South West’s first-ever Healthy Ageing and Care Innovation Forum – with older residents playing a key role to make “co-design” a reality and not just an ambition.
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Urgent need to “ramp up dementia diagnosis and support”
A new report from ILC UK says that more than half of people with dementia are either undiagnosed or have no care plan. Improving dementia care and support, they say, could dramatically boost health, wellbeing – and even the economy. The new publication by the International Longevity Centre UK (ILC), supported by the Alzheimer’s Society…
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The “Move it or Lose it” Annual Healthy Ageing Conference
If healthy ageing is what ticks your boxes why not join Move it or Lose it’s annual healthy ageing conference Please join us on Friday 19th September at The Studio in Birmingham with guest speakers including Tony Watts OBE.
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Stroke-affected people to benefit from “life changing” funding boost
Bristol After Stroke has received a major funding boost to provide life-changing counselling and emotional support for local people.
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Report reveals health and finance struggles of older private renters in energy-inefficient homes
A new report from the charity Independent Age has revealed the difficult experience of older private renters in cold, energy in-efficient homes and the barriers in making the necessary property improvements.
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Living in the poorest parts of England can cost you almost five years of your life
Centre for Ageing Better’s State of Ageing 2025 report highlights the substantial variations in the experiences of growing older across England with the difference in life expectancy in the richest and poorest areas.
Latest blogs & comments
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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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Extra care housing: can design help improve the health and wellbeing of older people?
Josie Dorling, an architect with Poynton Bradbury Architects, looks at how accommodation that is thoughtfully designed to promote social interaction among residents can help to combat loneliness and isolation.
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5 easy habits for a longer, healthier, happier life
The Open University (OU) is launching a UK-wide month-long national challenge, similar to Dry January but for ageing well: Take Five to Age Well.
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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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Fitness doesn’t have an age limit
AAA member Jennifer Grumbley applies her years of knowledge as a pilates and fitness instructor to look at how we can best keep exercising throughout our life and into later years.