West Cumbria Opportunities & Challenges 2025 70 71 HOSPICE CARE / END OF LIFE The table below20 shows the location of death for people living in Cumbria. A lower percentage of people in Cumbria died in a hospice than in England in 2022. Local organisations like Hospice at Home West Cumbria provide a range of care and support for people with life-limiting conditions. Palliative and End of Life Care Profile (location of death) 2022 Geography Cumbria England Percentage of deaths that occur in hospital (All ages) 43.9% 43.4% Percentage of deaths that occur at home (All ages) 30% 28.7% Percentage of deaths that occur in care homes (All ages) 20.1% 20.5% Percentage of deaths that occur in hospice (All ages) 3.5% 4.7% Percentage of deaths that occur in “other places” (All ages) 2.5% 2.6% The rise in the numbers of people and their families experiencing dementia is troubling at both national and local levels. The recorded prevalence21 of people aged 65 years and over with dementia in Cumbria in 2020 was 4,613 people (3.82%). In 2023 approximately 9% of Cumberland’s older population has dementia, with a projected 25% increase in cases by 2035 (Alzheimer’s Society, 2023).22 Exacerbating this situation both for people with dementia and their carers is the reduced availability of both residential and nursing care within the 65+ care sector market in Cumberland.23 During the Covid-19 pandemic, digital technology provided opportunities for older people to keep in touch with family and access much needed services. However, the pandemic also exposed the extent of digital inequalities with nationally one in three people aged 65 and over unable to afford or use the internet at home including those who are disabled, poorer or from minority ethnic backgrounds.24 VCSE organisations in West Cumbria are stepping up to help older people to get connected, particularly those who will be further at risk in January 2027 when telephone landlines will move from an analogue to a digital (Voice over Internet Protocol) system which in itself will require an internet connection to work.25 Some older people may need support with the switch over and scammers may try to exploit the situation when the change takes place.26 Data suggests that older people may also be more vulnerable to fraud scams, including those that take place online or via phone. Data obtained from Action Fraud27 suggests that £1.7 billion has been lost over the last four years with over-65s across the UK losing £1.2 million to fraud each day. The analysis shows that elderly fraud is on the rise, jumping from 36,105 recorded cases in 2019 up to a staggering 57,430 cases in 2022, or more than 157 elderly fraud victims a day. Financial losses were also at a new high in 2022, with pensioners losing nearly £460 million, up 10% from £417 million in 2021. 20Palliative and End of Life Care Profiles: Fingertips Public Health Data, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, https://fingertips.phe.org.uk/profile/end-of-life/data#page/1/ gid/1938132883/pat/6/par/E12000002/ati/402/are/E10000006/iid/93474/age/1/sex/4/cat/-1/ctp/-1/yrr/1/cid/4/tbm/1/page-options/tre-ao-0_tre-do-1 21Dementia: Recorded prevalence (aged 65 years and over) indicator quantifies the proportion aged 65+ with a recorded diagnosis of dementia. 22https://www.cumberland.gov.uk/cumberland-public-health-annual-report-2025/chapter-1-ageing-population-cumberland-demographics-and-health-insights 23https://legacy.cumberland.gov.uk/elibrary/Content/Internet/327/6548/45012152556.pdf 24https://ageing-better.org.uk/summary-state-ageing-2023-4 25There are concerns about whether some telecare systems will be compatible with new digital phone lines although telephone suppliers will not change people over until it is confirmed that telecare systems work properly. In addition, digital phone lines do not work without electricity, which would mean that older people who do not use mobile phones and / or who live in areas with poor mobile signal would not have access to an alternative phone line in a power cut. Landline suppliers will be required to offer a “resilience solution” to make sure individuals can make emergency calls during a power cut, such as having a mobile phone available. 26Age UK Changes to Landline telephones, https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/consumer-issues/changes-to-landline-telephones/ 27The figures were revealed through a Freedom of Information request by the Liberal Democrats to Action Fraud, covering all fraud cases where the victim was 65 or older over the past four years, https://www.moneywellness.com/blog/elderly-fraud-victims-losing-ps1-million-a-day-liberal-democrats-reveal 28UK Poverty 2024: The Essential Guide to Understanding Poverty in the UK: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2024. PENSIONERS LIVING IN POVERTY Contrary to the perception that all older people are well off and enjoy a comfortable retirement, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation estimated that in 2020/2021, approximately 2.1 million pensioners lived in relative poverty.28 Pensioners in poverty are defined as pensioners in receipt of Pension Credit. Pension Credit is a government benefit that provides extra money to help with living costs for those over State Pension age who are on a low income. Parts of West Cumbria have higher than average percentages of pensioners in poverty compared to Cumberland (9.19%) and England (11.11%) averages, including five wards in Allerdale (Moss Bay and Moorclose 17.47%; Maryport South 16.74%; St Michael’s 16.70%; Harrington 12.36%; Maryport North 10.84%) and five wards in Copeland (Kells and Sandwith 14.64%; Cleator Moor West 14.49%; Millom 12.93%; Mirehouse 12.07%; Egremont 11.27%). Nationally, estimates suggest that 850,000 eligible pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit entitlements. For Cumberland, this equates to a loss of £7,680,576 in Pension Credit payments.29 % of Pension Credit claimants (% of all pensioners) November 2024 0.90% - 5.58% 5.58% - 7.77% 7.78% - 10.69% 10.69% - 16.69% 16.69% - 97.59% 3 Wards with highest % of pensioners in poverty: Moss Bay and Moorclose: 17.47% (245 people) Maryport South: 16.74% (210 people) St Michael’s: 16.70% (168 people) The Trussell Trust food bank network reported that in 2023/2024 an increasing number of food parcels (179,000) were going to households with someone aged 65+ representing a 27% increase on the previous year.30 According to the Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, in 2023, 14% of one person households aged over 60 were fuel poor and 10% of couples over 60 were also likely to be fuel poor.31 In addition, in winter 2024, the Winter Fuel Payment32 became means tested in England and Wales, meaning that only those older people receiving Pension Credit or other means-tested benefits received the payment. Age UK estimated that as many as 2 million pensioners who need the payment to heat their homes did not receive it.33 During 2022/2023 14,762 older people in Copeland received the Winter Fuel Payment of which 3,966 were aged 80+. In Allerdale 22,530 older people received the £300 payment of which 6,176 were aged 80+.34 The UK Government have since reviewed this decision and have widened the reach of the benefit for winter 2025. 29https://policyinpractice.co.uk/2024-unclaimed-pension-credit-value-by-local-authority/#table 30The Trussell Trust Impact Report 2023-2024: Trussell Trust, 2024 https://www.trusselltrust.org/about/our-impact/ 31Fuel Poverty Factsheet: Department for Energy, Security and Net Zero, 2023. 32The Winter Fuel Payment is an annual tax-free payment for households that include someone born on or before 22 September 1958 (for 2024-2025). It’s designed to help cover heating costs in winter, with households receiving up to £300. 33Save the Winter Fuel Payment for Struggling Pensioners: Age UK, 2024, https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/campaigning/save-the-winter-fuel-payment/ 34https://britishgasenergytrust.org.uk/news-research/changes-to-winter-fuel-payment
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