How Are We Going To Cope With The Ageing Population?

[ToraToraTora]

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-27136608

[sp1814]

emmie

I think you have hit on a point that has thus far not been considered...old people are less 'elderly' than elderly people in the past...through better nutrition, less people smoking, healthier lifesytles.

When I was young 60 was 'very old'. Now, it's almost considered middle aged.

[emmie]

you said,

" Fact is, it's the taxes that the current immigrants are paying which fund the NHS and care for the elderly. "

please note that most workers one hopes, pay taxes and NI contributions not just immigrants.

[jno]

quaint that ABers seem to think "ageing" is something other people do...

[joggerjayne]

Make them all move to Spain.

[joggerjayne]

Or Switzerland :0)

[anotheoldgit]

scooping

/// Thought mass immigration was the fault of being in the EU, not of the last Labour government...Labour couldn't change the rules any more than the coalition can. ///

I agree the EU have increased the problem, but Labour were the prime instigators back in 1948 and during its time in power between 1997 and 2010, even Jack Straw admitted it was a mistake.

Immigration from the West Indies and the Indian sub-continent was encouraged by the British Nationality Act of 1948, (introduced by Labour) which gave all Commonwealth citizens free entry into Britain,

[sandyRoe]

Switzerland. And in Geneva there's a clinic that supplies the end to all problems.

[tamborine]

Taxes are collected via all shopping, service bills contribute VAT tax. All the gizmos & cell phones are tax earners.

The aged spend less & would be less costly if cared for at home.

[emmie]

the point of living longer has been around for a considerable time,
so that;s the problem, aged people will likely get sick more, some don't i grant you, but many will need care, hospital, doctor, care homes.

[joggerjayne]

Dignitas

[jno]

Labour were the prime instigators back in 1948

The first minister to seek immigrants from the Caribbean was

ta-daaa

Enoch Powell.

[emmie]

the aged have already contributed through their whole lives via the tax system in operation.

you ever tried caring for an elderly, infirm very sick relative, i have, it's impossible. if you have a full time job, a family, and all the gubbins, please explain how you can cope with a mother, father who is incontinent, insensible, suffers delusions, goes wandering off whenever, doesn't know the time of day or knows who you are.

[emmie]

millions do care for elderly, or children who are severely disabled, sick, but they have to have a lot of support doing so - that isn't always available

[jno]

the aged have already contributed through their whole lives via the tax system in operation.

If there's a problem, then they obviously haven't contributed enough.

[anotheoldgit]

sp1814

/// But then again, this would include immigrants with key skills (IT, finance, doctors and nurses) which are generally overlooked when some think of 'immigrants'. ///

How can it be 'overlooked' when it is so often used in some form of defence for the immigration problems that we now see taking place in this country?

[emmie]

we are taxed to the hilt, perhaps its having too many people here that's the problem

[sp1814]

AOG

You'd be surprised how many people overlook specifically skilled immigrants...especially when they are being cared for by a health system which is 50% immigrant...

[emmie]

you don't get a choice, if you are a worker, your tax is taken at source, Pay as you earn, so if a worker was on a low wage, he won't be paying much tax, so how do you think they could have paid more, the only way is to earn more,

[tamborine]

Ive cared with help via hiring care at home privately. In all 3 cases when they collapsed at their home & admitted to hospital they died within the week.

[emmie]

can you please some data that suggests that 50 percent are immigrants who work in the NHS, i know that in the capital there are likely to be lots of nationalities working in the NHS, same as the capital itself,