The Ageing Well strategy sets out how the Wirral Partnership will work to empower and enable residents so that they can live healthy, independent lives in strong and vibrant communities.
It is underpinned by consultation work with residents and collaboration between public, private, voluntary and community sector organisations.
Cllr Chris Jones, Cabinet Member for Adult Care and Public Health said: ‘This strategy has been developed to celebrate older people and encourage more opportunities for them to share their knowledge and experience. Ensuring that older people live well and are valued and respected is part of our vision for 2020.
‘I encourage everyone to read this strategy and to get involved in helping us to create a Wirral that celebrates older people and continues to be a great place to grow older.’
The development of the strategy has been led by Annette Roberts, Chief Executive of Community Action Wirral, on behalf of the Wirral Partnership.
Annette says: ‘As a member of Wirral’s Partnership Board, I was really pleased to be asked to lead the development of a strategy which will enable people to live well as they grow older in Wirral. This is one of the twenty pledges set out in the five year Wirral Plan, and as the Chief Executive of Community Action Wirral, I fully endorse a strategy that focuses on the positive impact that older people in Wirral have in local communities and neighbourhoods.’
1 in 5 Wirral residents are aged 65 and over. It is estimated that, by 2030, this will have increased to 1 in 4. The new strategy aims to ensure that these people are supported to start to plan for older age and for its emotional, physical and financial implications.
While the average life expectancy of Wirral residents is 82 for women and 78 for men, the healthy life expectancy (how long people can expect to live without suffering from a serious health condition) is some 20 years younger.
The strategy also takes account of the emotional implications of growing old, including loneliness and isolation, and includes case studies based on the real experiences of residents.
