Mental Health Services for the Elderly Living in the Community: A United Kingdom Perspective

The English health and welfare services find themselves in a predicament similar to that which faces most economically advanced countries. In Great Britain the absolute number of those aged 65 or over has increased fourfold, and of those 85 or over, sevenfold, since the beginning of the century. As in other countries, the change in age structure of the population has stemmed to a considerable extent from a decline in birthrates at the beginning of this century that has continued until the present day, interrupted only by a temporary upsurge after the Second World War. Improvements in life expectation after the age of 65 years have made only a modest contribution. The aging of the population has been due largely to the greater life expectancy at earlier ages brought about by improved social conditions and by advances in medical science. Whereas in 1911 the life expectancy of men at birth was 49 years, in 1979 it is 70 years; the corresponding figures for women are 52 and 76 years. In the decade between 1966 and 1976 the 7.1 million people in England and Wales aged 65 years or over (14% of the total population) increased by 20%. By 1986 the proportion of those aged 75 or over will have grown to approximately 24% above present-day figures.