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Therefore, average life expectancy of people can increase. Second, practically all around the world, especially in European countries, the reduction of the birth rate is observed, so the death rate exceeds the birth rate. Respectively in society the share of children and teenagers may decrease.
Thus, it is possible to draw the conclusion that mankind grows old and it becomes a serious problem for which decisions should be developed at state level. According to Economic policy Committee (2001 ) elderly people are ersons aged 65 and above. Consequently, in many countries governments define the age of retirement. According to Ministry of Labour (2003) in 1950 the United Nations counted that approximately 200 million people aged 60 and above lived in the world. By 1975 the quantity has increased to 350 million. Some people predict that by 2025 the number of people aged 60 and above may reach 1 billion 100 million.
In comparison with 1 950 the number of people may increase more in 5 times, whereas the population of the planet may increase only in 3 times. Among elderly people around the world there re more women than men. Such differences are partially caused by earlier mortality of men and the longevity of women. In Russia the difference between the number of elderly women and men is more considerable than in the IJK, because of big losses of men in Russia in the Second World War. In this assignment, the topic about attitudes towards the elderly people is narrowed down and will focus on healthcare provisions and social benefits.
This work is divided into two sections followed by a conclusion. The first section will concentrate on healthcare provisions for old people in the UK and Russia, while the second one will focus on social benefits for the elderly. 4 Section 1 . Comparison and contrast of the healthcare provisions in the I-JK and Russia. At the end of the Second World War the government of Great Britain has begun a global reforming of social care of the population. One of the results of this project became a creation of the public system of rendering of medical care, which is called National Health Service.
The National Health Service is the general name for four, state medical systems in the United Kingdom: National Health Service of England; Health Service and Social Security in Northern Ireland; National Health Service of Scotland; National Health Service of Wales. The National Health Service provides free treatment for people who live in the UK and emergency medical service for visitors. The big part of expenses is covered at the expense of taxes raised from a salary Of the population. people also pay money every month as some kind of insurance.
Travelers from the European Union and Switzerland in case of an emergency situation also have the right to free medical care (National Health Service of the CIK, 2012). The National Health Service consists of three main parts: general ractitioners, hospital and specialized services, and also local bodies of a health service. The center of the National Health Service is the general practitioner. people are registered for a certain doctor in their area. The doctor diagnoses, provides sick-lists, registers medicines. The United Kingdom pays big attention to the qualification of doctors.
They are trained in 16 universities. Moreover, they receive practice during their work in hospitals (Health System of the LJK, 2010). 5 The health system in Russia possesses the same structure, as the power: federal, regional and local health care. After a disintegration of the USSR at he same time to power decentralization in the country there Was also health system decentralization. The main leading document is the law “Bases of the legislation of the Russian Federation about health protection of citizens”, accepted in 1993 (Preventive Health Care Systems in the Russian Federation, 201 1).
According to the legislation in the Russian Federation there are 3 health systems: municipal, state and private. The municipal health system contains the treatment-and-prophylactic, research, the chemist’s, educational institutions, establishments of forensic medical examination and municipal overning bodies of health care. The state health system contains Ministry of health and social development of the Russian Federation, Russian academy Of medical sciences, treatment-and-prophylactic, research establishments and some federal institutions.
The private health system contains private medical organizations, which are carrying out private medical activity (Federal Law on the Prevention of the Spread in the Russian Federation of Diseases Caused By the Human Immunodeficiency virus, 1995). Health systems of Russia and the UK have many similar lines, but also have a lot of differences. First of all, the similarity of both systems is that both of them are focused on granting of available and free medical care to all population. Both systems realize the state guarantees and are rather rigidly regulated by the state.
At the same time the health system of Russia is considerably more decentralized. There the rights and degree of independence Of areas and municipal Structures are higher. Russian system is generally operated by local authorities, while in the UK the system is operated by central authorities. The degree of freedom of medical institutions is also higher in Russia, than in the IJK. At the same time it is necessary to note that more money for health care is spent in the IJK, than in Russia. Thus, the expenses on health care in the 1-1K are made by 500 pounds per year, while in Russia the expenses are made by just 50 pounds.
Other distinctive feature is that in the LIK in medical institutions there is higher technical equipment of medical equipment, and also the advanced information technologies. There is a distinction in provision of medicines for elderly people: payment of medicines in an out-patient network of the UK is carried out mainly at the expense of public means, hereas in Russia many effective medicines become inaccessible for socially unprotected segments of the population, which contain elderly people. Medical care to elderly people in Russia has historical traditions.
At the time Of the former USSR a lot of specialized hospitals and medical institutions have been opened for veterans of war. These days the majority of them have kept the specialization in assistance to elderly people. Thus, in Russia there are 50 specialized hospitals for elderly people, 100 hospitals of sisterly care, which are focused on ensuring care and medical rehabilitation of elderly people. In the LIK the medical care of elderly people is generally concentrated in geriatric day hospitals.
The first specialized geriatric day hospital has opened in Oxford in 1958 and by 1970 there were 120 such hospitals in the UK (Brocklehurst, 1970). The geriatric day hospital usually includes therapeutic office, treatment and medical care. In case of a serious illness and surgical interventions elderly patients are usually located in clinics of the general or specialized profile where, to them doctors offer necessary medical care. After that they can be transferred back to the geriatric centers for further rehabilitation.
Economist Intelligence Unit (a division of the British magazine The Economist) (2010) published a new rating of 40 countries of the world on accessibility to medical care, its quality and public safety for elderly people. In this rating on the first place on accessibility of anesthetizing preparations and quality of the help was the IJK. As well as Australia, it received 7,9 of 10 possible points, while Russia received just points. Apparently for Russian citizens access to drugs and to the medical staff, which is realizing care of patients, IS a problem.
Moreover, health system of Russia is outside of financing, in a ertain level is necessary on charity to offer care for patients. Comparing health systems of Russia and Great Britain it is possible to draw a conclusion that experience of effective and purposeful carrying out reform of the state health care is very valuable in the I-JK. 8 Section 2. Comparison and contrast of social benefits for the elderly in the UK and Russia. Today’s Great Britain has very centralized system of the social benefits for the population.
All social benefits can be divided into 4 big groups: Group I – benefits, which depend on an economic situation of the pplicant; Group II – benefits, which don’t depend on an economic situation of the applicant; Group Ill – benefits for the persons, who started working; Group IV – all benefits which can’t be concerned to one of the previous groups. The state policy of the LJK, concerning elderly citizens and disabled people, is oriented on creation of high-grade conditions for their stay in public places and livings in house conditions.
In the UK the Special Royal commission studied a question about the long-term help for elderly people according to the program WHO (World Health Organization) ‘Aging and health”. In 1992 the Concept of home visiting service is entered and reform of financing of social service is carried out. Special care houses for day stay are created. As a result the age of elderly people considerably increased and the quantity of places in the medical institutions, which occupied by elderly people, was reduced. In care houses there are no medical workers, they are caused as required.
In average, care houses and day hospitals may expect 30-50 places with the minimum quantity of staff. Philosophy of activities Of care houses in the UK is that people who live there are owners, and the ervice personnel are guests. 9 The most important thing in work of the social worker is usually rehabilitation therapy. The Association of Therapists, which has a special preparation, is engaged in the organization of this type of service. The therapist selects a special program, an adaptation and equipment.
The purpose of therapy is maintenance of physical skills, saving of feeling of usefulness to society. The new form of the help for elderly people in the UK is the organization of Centre Of the reminiscence, which has been created in 1993. Its purpose is awakening elderly people’s memories, which activate memory. Annually the Centre is visited by about 25 thousand people. People there train vocational training and it functions on a voluntary basis (Organization of healthcare and social care in different countries, 2011).
Thus, social service for the elderly in the UK is carried out: in day hospitals; in care houses of small capacity; in home visiting service; in special housing estates for the elderly; in rehabilitation work therapy; in reminiscence centres. Social service for elderly people in Russia is regulated by the Federal law “The law about social service for elderly and disabled people” from 17. 5. 1995 and it is carried out by a network of stationary establishments of social service, and also by centres of social service, specialized home visiting service and the emergency social help. 0 According to the federal legislation the following forms of social service for pensioners are defined: Social service at home, including social medical attendance; Stationary social service in stationary establishments of social service; Urgent social service of rendering of the urgent help for people who need social support; The social and consulting help, which is directed on daptation for elderly and disabled people in society, support development on own forces. It can be seen that in the UK and in Russia the state pay big attention to social care for elderly people.
However, in case of similarity there are certain differences. The main difference is that the social care in Russia is directed preferentially on satisfaction of primary vital needs of the person, while in the UK the main purpose of the state social policy is saving of high-grade, public, cultural and spiritual human life. One of the main factors of such difference is different level of economy of the countries. People of Russia and the UK approach to a retirement age with different level of the income. As a rule, the elderly person in the UK may have a separate house, a car and monetary savings.
Moreover, the size of pension allows elderly person to have a lifestyle of the person with average income. The person in Russia who reached such age is stimulated to continue to work, because the pension doesn’t allow having high-grade lifestyle. In case of all variety of types of the social care for elderly people the size of paid manuals in Russia is very low. Moreover, manuals are paid to needy itizens who have the low income or pension. Thus, in Russia even in the presence Of social support and received manuals elderly people have possibility to satisfy only the minimum needs. 1 The demographic processes watched in the modern world are a subject of incessant discussions in many countries. The increase in life expectancy in case of the considerable reduction of the birth rate and the proportional increase in quantity of elderly people force the governments of many countries to reconsider seriously the social and economic policy. In my view, the main thing in an official policy of the state in the I-JK is support f a high level of social involvement of the elderly population in social life.
Thus the state advocates the active way of life at elderly age and assumes specific responsibility for creation of conditions necessary for this purpose. As an example different educational programs and information centers for elderly people, and also activities of numerous non-governmental organizations can serve. Elderly people are perceived as high-grade members Of society who thanks to the abilities and knowledge can make the significant contribution to its development, taking the active part in public life.
As I specified in the main sections of the assignment, there are also many social programs and manuals for elderly people in Russia. All of them have character of monetary compensating on disability; it is also pensions, manuals, and different privileges. The state only financially supports an old age, covering the most necessary needs. Thus, society remains away from problems of elderly people, practically there are no clubs on interests, few educational and cultural programs, activities of non-governmental organizations are inactive in the country. Respectively the elderly person in
Russia not fully feels as the active and demanded member Of society. From the assignment it is possible to draw a conclusion that the maturity of the modern society in many respects is defined by the relation to elderly people and it is influenced by different factors: economy level of development, historical development, religion, traditions and mentality.