On 30 November and 1 November Following on from the conclusions made in September at the Swedish Presidency Conference on Healthy and Dignified Ageing, the Council of Ministers took the decision to adopt them at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO).
The Council Conclusions on Healthy and Dignified ageing emphasised, inter-alia, that “Many diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, affect the individual as well as relatives and friends. In this respect, dignity in care and quality of life for those who are among the most vulnerable require special attention. Therefore, there is an increased need to develop support for informal or family carers.”
The Council invited the Member States to:
- Make, or continue to make the issue of healthy and dignified ageing one of their priorities for the coming years
- Adopt an approach that shifts the focus toward preventative measures as a strategy to improve quality of life and reduce the burden of chronic diseases, frailty and disability
- Address the potential workforce shortages in the health and social services sectors, and the ageing of this workforce, through lifelong learning, the development of professional skills and the implementation of policies and working methods, including human resource management and increased efforts concerning vocational training, that make work in the care sector more attractive. Such measures could also contribute to attracting more men to work in the care sector
In addition, they invited the Commission to:
- Review ongoing activities in the field of healthy and dignified ageing, including existing work on benchmarks and indicators, and if appropriate, come forward with an action plan for further activities in 2011, which will promote dignity, health and quality of life for older persons
- Support future actions to promote healthy and dignified ageing at Community, national and local levels, while respecting the competence of the Member States
- Develop awareness-raising activities to promote active ageing, including a possible European Year on Active Ageing and Inter-generational Solidarity in 2012.
The Conclusions can be downloaded below.