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OLDER PEOPLE AND HEALTH
Professor IAN PHILP is the national director ('tsar') for older people in England, in the Department of Health. He is responsible for rooting out age discrimination in the NHS and for implementing the National Service Framework for Older People. He continues to see patients at the Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, one day per week
It is never too late to look after your health. Given the opportunity, older people are at least as likely as younger people to take advantage of health promotion services. This may be because as we get older we are more likely to experience the consequences of poor health. We want to retain our health and our independence, and are motivated to change life-long unhealthy habits and behaviours.
With the publication of the National Service Framework for Older People in March 2001, the government gave a major stimulus to disease prevention, the prevention of falls, strokes and mental health problems, and the promotion of health and active life for older people.
Major progress has been made in promoting health, with increased uptake of vaccination against flu, breast cancer screening and smoking cessation (see table).
Independence...