Older People's Strategy - Newcastle City Council

64Outcome 3bOlder people and carers access a range ofgood-quality health and social care servicesIssues and prioritiesHealth and social care services face a particular challengein meeting the expectations of a growing and changing olderpopulation. In Newcastle, this does present particular issuesbecause of the high level of people who live alone in their homes(40% of people aged 65+) (see Annex 7, Note 10), often onlow income and without resident family support, coupled withhigh levels of poor health.We can predict that, as the number of older people increases,there will be a corresponding increase in age-related healthproblems, most noticeably people with dementia.Recent research has been undertaken for the Alzheimer’sSociety by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU)(see Annex 7, Note 5) regarding the prevalence and cost ofdementia. Dementia prevalence rates range from 1.3% at age65, 12.2% at age 80 through to 32.5% at age 95+. The totalnumber of people in the UK with dementia is forecast toincrease to 940,000 by 2021.The report also quotes estimates from the 2003 World Healthreport Global Burden of Disease, in terms of people overthe age of 60 years who live with a disability: