Brussels, 29/04/2008 (Agence Europe) - A report presented by the European Commission on Monday 28 April says that the demand for, and cost of, long-term care in the EU will rise considerably by 2050. Moreover, almost nine Europeans out of ten would prefer home or community-based care to care in an institutional setting, a press release reveals. The report's findings will be discussed at a conference on inter-generational solidarity, organised by the Slovenian Presidency of the EU, in Brdo (Slovenia).
The Commission report - “Long-term Care in the European Union” - analyses the main challenges member states face in the field of long-term care, their strategies for tackling them and presents possible solutions. It draws on the national reports submitted as part of the EU's system of common objectives, assessment and reporting for social protection and inclusion - the “Open Method of Coordination”. According to the report, the main challenges for national governments are: ensuring access for all to long-term care services; securing financing for long-term care through an adequate mix of public and private sources of finance and potential changes in the financing mechanisms; improving coordination between social and medical services, often involved in the provision of long-term care services; promoting home or community-based care rather than institutional care to help dependent people remain in their own homes for as long as possible; improving the recruitment and working conditions of formal carers and supporting informal carers.
It is projected that, by 2050, almost 50 million European citizens will be aged 80 or more (compared with 18 million in 2004). If the additional years of life are spent in ill health or in need of assistance, the number of dependent persons would more than double by 2050. Even in the more optimistic scenario which assumes that the increase of a disability-free life expectancy will be in line with the gains in life expectancy as such, there would still be a 31% increase in the number of dependent persons. This will lead to an increase in formal and informal care, so jobs will be created, but expenditure is also likely to increase. According to projections in the report, average public spending on long-term expenditure across the EU-25 countries is expected to almost double from 0.9% of GDP in 2004 to 1.6% in 2050. The most pessimistic scenario could see an even bigger rise to 2.3% of GDP.
According to a Eurobarometer report carried out in 2007, most Europeans expect to need long-term care at some point in their lives (with an EU average of 13% seeing this as inevitable, 32% likely and 29% unlikely but possible). However, 86% of Europeans would prefer to be cared
for in their own homes or that of a relative should they become dependent, as opposed to
only 8% preferring an institution. The report can be found at the following address: http: //ec.europa.eu/employment_social/news/2008/apr/long_term_care_en.pdf (O.J.)