The increasing healthcare needs of elderly populations concentrated in coastal and rural areas has been highlighted in a new report by chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty.

Professor Whitty said efforts to achieve shorter periods in ill-health and an easier environment for those with disabilities, should concentrate on areas of the country where the need is going to be greatest.

“Maximising the quality of health in older adults should be seen as a major national priority – we can make very significant progress with relatively straightforward interventions. Older people can and should be better served,” the senior health advisor said.

“We need to recognise and reflect in policy and medical practice where older people are concentrated geographically, increase clinicians’ generalist skills, improve mental health provisions and make it unacceptable to exclude older adults from research because of older age or common comorbidities.”

The CMO said the rise of multiple conditions in the same older person (multimorbidity) required changes in medical training, NHS services and research.

The report, Professor Whitty’s fourth as CMO, describes how we can maintain older people’s independence via two broad complementary approaches: reduce disease, to prevent, delay or minimise disability and frailty; and change the environment so that people can maintain their independence longer.

It makes the case that older people are currently underserved in healthcare, with less accessible transport links and insufficient infrastructure designed for older adults, including housing.

The research says providing services and environments suitable for older adults in these areas should be an absolute priority if we wish to maximise the period all older citizens have in independence.

It also calls for research into multimorbidity, frailty and social care to be accelerated, and states that the medical profession needs to focus on maintaining generalist skills as doctors specialise.

Fiona Carragher, Alzheimer’s Society’s director of research and influencing, said: “Our ageing population means the scale of the challenge is undeniable – dementia is the biggest health and social care issue of our time. 900,000 people in the UK are living with this devastating, terminal condition and too many are facing it alone without the vital support they need. 

“As the report acknowledges, older people are currently underserved in healthcare. One in three people born in the UK today will develop dementia in their lifetime. That is why Alzheimer’s Society is urging the government to make dementia a priority. We urgently need to increase diagnosis rates and transform social care by investing in the workforce and a sustainable funding model.”