Caremark
‘Homecare is where it’s happening’ Demand for care is surging as the elderly population grows ever larger The UK’s population is ageing rapidly – that’s a fact. To self-starters, it’s also an opportunity. The figures are all there in black and white. A 2018 study by Newcastle University and the London School of Economics, for instance, stated that the over-85s are the country’s fastestgrowing demographic. By 2035, their numbers are projected to more than double. In parallel with that, those over-85s who need daily help with tasks such as dressing or going to the shops will 4
almost double to 446,000, according to the report. Meanwhile, diseases such as cancer, diabetes, dementia and depression will pose a growing challenge as the number of over-65s keeps heading higher. All the indications are that our ageing population will carry on expanding. In 2018, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), roughly one person in every five was aged 65 years or over. The proportion will be more like one in four by 2038. In 2016, the ONS put the value of
informal adult care at £59.5 billion a year, with about 2 million adults in the UK receiving such care. Few would disagree that in the nearfuture, more and more of us will need care and assistance with daily tasks. This might be personal care, companionship, cooking, shopping, help with mobility around the home, administering medicines, cleaning, dementia care or live-in care. It’s a challenge Caremark is ready for. The homecare opportunity With a network turnover of £100 million, Caremark is in the vanguard of the homecare revolution. Establishing the company in 2005, its chief executive, Kevin Lewis, foresaw a growing trend: that, given the choice of where to be cared for, most people prefer the familiarity of their own home. When YouGov tested this proposition with a survey of 2,058 adults last September, 92% of respondents aged
