SUPPORTING PORTSMOUTH’S OLDER POPULATION

Portsmouth, a compact, densely populated, ‘island’ city with a total population of just over 214,000 people (ONS 2020), there was a pensioner population of 40,000 people living in the city aged 60+, ocer 14,000 aged 75+ and over 4,000 aged 85+. The ONS have projected that between 2020 and 2030 the number of people living in Portsmouth of state pension age may increase from 29,289 to 32.657 and that by 2035 this may rise further to 35,920 ( Note : this projection was calculated prior to Covid19).

Social support

Nationally the % of adults who reported feeling lonely in 2019/20 was 13% aged  65-74 and 15% aged 75-84, this jumped to 27% aged 85+. In 2014 42% of Portsmouth residents aged 65+ were reported as living alone. Of the residents aged +65 who provide unpaid care to a friend or family member, less than 40% had as much social contact as they like in 2018/19.

Deprivation

In 2019 income deprivation affecting older people was at 17% in Portsmouth ( significantly higher than England at 14%)

Housing

The number of excess winter deaths in residents aged 86+ was 50 in 2019/20. This represents a 26% increase in deaths between winter and non-winter months over the August 2019 to July 2020 time period. For context, England showed a similar but smaller increase of 21% more deaths in the same period. In 2019/20 Portsmouth had 204 households who were owed a duty under the Homeless Reduction Act where the main applicant was aged 55+ this represents a rate of 5.8 per 1,000 ( higher compared to England at 2.9 per 1,000)

According to the 2011 Consensus, 8.3% of people aged 65+ in Portsmouth did not have central heating, The wards with the highest % aged 65+ without central heating were Fratton at 14% and Central Southsea at 13%. The wards with the lowest % of people 65+ without central heating were Drayton & Farlington and Charles Dickens at 4%

Health

In 202 there were over 1,300 residents aged 65+ in Portsmouth recorded as living with dementia. That is 4% of the 65+ group. In the same year over 65% of residential care and nursing home beds aged 65+ were rated as “good” or “outstanding” when assessed by  the Care Quality (CQC) in Portsmouth. This has improved since 2018 when under 50% of beds received “good” or “outstanding” ratings. In 2019/2020 Portsmouth had the highest proportion of residents living with preventable sight loss ( aged related macular degeneration) out or 10 comparator aurhorities at 167.7 out of every 100,000 residents over 65