Explain the geographical challenges resulting from a greying population.

Furthermore, clearly more nurses will have to be trained as well as more nursing homes and hospital will need to open which clearly is going to cost a lot of money, but with the younger population being considerably low it will increase the pressure on careers options, even then medicine is considered as one of the toughest courses at university so it’s a matter of would the younger population be able to cope with this demand in years to come. It may be that this wouldn’t be a risk the government would be prepared to take so another option would be increasing the retirement age. At the moment it is 65 however this would be expected to rise to about 67 or even as high as 70.

Governmental and public opinions play a major role as some feel that the elderly are a burden on our system and they don’t bring anything positive to the economy yet, some think that the elderly are obliged to access the NHS and a pension as they have paid taxes before hand.

Population structure varies form place to place and so will the degree of dependency in the area. Reports have sown that the more dependant citizens are located on coastal regions of the country as it is an area where there isn’t much pollution. Many pensioners like to move away from the city and prefer to live in a more peaceful place, which offers natural beauty so coastal areas are hotspots. There aren’t many hospitals in these types of areas compared to major cities so it makes it difficult for the elderly to access them. Compared to London where there is a majority of working age people the dependency level is considerably lower.

As healthcare has improved it means people are able to live longer so it could be considered that only the very old are those who are dependant on the NHS or housing, as people aged 65-70 can be classified as economically independent because they are likely to be living of their savings meaning they aren’t as reliant on public health sector.

To conclude, at one point the elderly will be reliant on pensions, housing and the NHS and to keep up with this demand therefore it will cost the average taxpayer more money, as the working population isn’t equal to the pension claiming elder citizens. This consequently will put massive pressure on housing and the NHS as it will be difficult to cope with such demand, however I think that this problem needs to be tackled by the government before it’s too late as the consequences could be upsetting.