The mental health of older people is too often ignored due to systemic ageism, according to a report.
Ignoring the needs of older people is discriminatory and impacts the older person, families, communities and public services, the Center for Mental Health said.
The report, commissioned by Age UK, concluded that there is a ‘pervasive sense of pessimism and inevitability among older people that is normalizing poor mental health’.
The charity also argued that there was an ‘urgent need to tackle age-related assumptions and expectations about mental health in later life’.
The report, published on Tuesday, comes after a Resolution Foundation study last week found that young people with mental health problems can worsen their chances of getting a good education and ultimately find themselves out of work or in low-paid jobs.
The authors of this latest report said there should be a similar focus on the mental health of older people.
A report commissioned by Age UK concluded that there is a ‘pervasive sense of pessimism and inevitability among older people that is normalizing poor mental health’
Andy Bell, CEO of the Center for Mental Health, said: ‘Recent reports have highlighted a deeply worrying increase in poor mental health among young people.
‘We want to see similar care for older generations, so that their experiences of poor mental health are no longer dismissed as an inevitable part of growing older.’
The authors said they based their research on existing evidence, but the findings are “limited by the paucity of research and policy development specific to our mental health in later life.”
They said there is no national strategy or blueprint to help public services prevent mental health problems later in life, to intervene quickly to prevent problems from escalating, or to meet needs “effectively and holistically” of people with mental health problems later in life.
As the population ages, the mental health of this population “will therefore become increasingly important to effectively address health and care services,” she added.
The report states: ‘The invisibility of older people within mental health care and policy making is a major problem.
‘Older people are too easily overlooked, from designing prevalence studies to providing mental health support.’
Mr Bell said ageism is ‘deep-rooted and systemic, and is causing people to miss out on a mentally healthier later life’.
He added: ‘The absence of later life in successive national mental health plans means that little investment has been made in supporting the mental health of older people. This is a form of discrimination that leaves the elderly without effective help.
‘Our briefing paper sets out some immediate changes that could make a difference. Future mental health strategies must treat older adults equitably.”
The charity’s report, commissioned by Age UK, concluded that there is a ‘pervasive sense of pessimism and inevitability among older people that is normalizing poor mental health’.
Paul Farmer, CEO of Age UK, said: ‘There is a paradox at the heart of older people’s mental health care: on the one hand there is insufficient recognition and on the other hand, low mood and depression are treated as ‘one of a kind’ age’.
“In either case, the outcome is the same: Too many of us lack the care we need to maintain good mental well-being as we age.”
The report called on research funders to prioritize projects that look at mental health in later life, urged Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) to review their provision of mental health support for older adults, and said efforts should are provided in staff training to address the attitudes of the elderly.
The plan states that the plan should ‘challenge the entrenched and entrenched ageism in health and care services, and create a new narrative that values mental health in later life’.
NHS England has been contacted for comment.