Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

54to older people’s health and well-being. It gives older peopleopportunities to use their time productively and enjoy socialcontact. It enables them to acquire new knowledge in the faceof a rapidly changing society and to gain the education andskills to adjust their lifestyles to make the most of opportunitiesto ensure a healthy and comfortable older age. Ultimately,learning helps people to stay active and reduces dependencyon health and social care.It is particularly important to recognise that all older people,not just the most active, need to be able to access theseopportunities, in particular people who through health issues,cultural differences or lifestyle are less able or confident to getout and about or take part in activities.When people do need health and social care services, theyare seeking more choice, more control over and better accessto person-centred community-based health services.In particular, older people need access to appropriatetreatment and support in managing long-term conditionsindependently. These aspirations are reflected in the Healthand Social Care White Paper Our health, our care, our say.Research into ageing is key to enabling us to understand theprocess of ageing and the causes of some of the commondiseases of older age and how they might be prevented.Further research is needed to demonstrate more clearly thebenefits of learning and being socially active on the healthand well-being of older people.