Minister Addresses Seniors Awards Ceremony

Good afternoon,

It is an honor and privilege to be here today to both recognize and celebrate such a worthy segment of our community – our seniors.

It was members of your generation who laid the foundation for the Bermuda that we all benefit from today – so to all of you, I say, “thank you”.

I want to give particular thanks to today’s award recipients who have been nominated by their organizations, colleagues and peers for their contributions to civic life; their passionate commitment to their families; and for the example that they set in their day-to-day living.

Additional praise should go to the organizers of this event, the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, for choosing the theme for today’s award ceremony: “Stay Active and Involved”.

This is a timely and appropriate topic for many reasons…

For one, let’s look back at the National Conference on Ageing held in March 2011 where participants examined the issues facing seniors and the opportunities that are, or could be, made available to them…

As a result of the Conference it was determined that an “active ageing” approach to policy and programme development has the potential to address many of the challenges of both individual and population ageing.

Active Ageing is the process of optimizing opportunities for health, participation and security in order to enhance quality of life as people age.

We know that when health, labour market, employment, education and social policies support active ageing there will potentially be:

• fewer premature deaths in the highly productive stages of life;
• fewer disabilities associated with chronic diseases in older age;
• more people enjoying a positive quality of life as they grow older;
• more people participating actively as they age in the social, cultural, economic and political aspects of society, and;
• lower costs related to medical treatment and care services.

To promote Active Ageing, health systems need to take a ‘life course perspective’ that focuses on health promotion, disease prevention and equitable access to quality primary health care and long-term care, and the adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Consequently, the Ministry of Health is embracing the Active Ageing Approach to policy and programme development.

It may also interest you to know that we are also supporting the principle that persons should age and remain in their homes for as long as possible, based on what we learned from the National Conference in Ageing.

The Government is convinced that it is less expensive and more beneficial for families to keep their loved-ones at home whenever feasible, and we must ensure that the services are available for that to occur.

Thus, the Long Term Care Task Group, formed under the National Health Plan, is looking at how these things can be achieved.

I anticipate that the Task Group will soon provide me with some options for the Government to consider regarding these issues.

In summary, we know what the issues are…. What we have to determine is the most cost effective means to implement what are considered best practices; systems that suit Bermuda and are affordable but are based on quality service.

Thank you.

Read More About