Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-03-11-Speech-4-039"
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"en.20040311.3.4-039"2
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"Mr President, I wish to thank the rapporteur. This report on health care and care for the elderly is timely. According to the 2001 census, 18.61% of the population in Scotland are over pension age and, even more interesting, 19.54% – almost 20% – of carers are over pension age. The ageing population presents us with huge challenges, not just in Scotland but across the whole EU. That is why sharing best practice between countries throughout the EU is so vital.
We need to look at simple solutions focused on individual persons. Older adults can often have multiple medical problems. That is why a holistic approach, involving a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, dieticians and social workers, along with the person's family, is so important. Although more doctors are being trained in geriatric care, which is a growing area of interest, there still needs to be more investment in this expanding specialism.
For the older person, there are other issues to consider. It is a popular misbelief that a large percentage of older adults live in some form of care home. In fact, a large proportion of older adults live independently, with family or social support. My great aunt Agnes, at 91 years of age, is one of them. Sometimes when an older patient is ill and recovering in hospital what is important to them is to be able to return home and cope at home. For some older patients this can be more important than the treatment of their medical condition itself.
With people living longer, and an increasing proportion of the population over 65, it is also interesting that a lot of medical trials do not include elderly patients, although this matter is beginning to be addressed. We have a responsibility to the older population within the EU. After all, one day we too will be part of the older population, since none of us is getting any younger."@en1
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