Derry ‘least safe place’ to age in the North after Belfast, new research shows
Derry City and Strabane is the least safe place to age in the North after Belfast, new research from a leading safe ageing charity suggests.
Hourglass NI’s Safer Ageing Index ranked each local government district in the North on a range of indices including health, crime, economics, isolation and population.
Once Belfast was screened out Derry and Strabane was the ‘least safe’ place to age.
“The overall highest scoring council area is Belfast and consequently, this is the least safe place to grow older in Northern Ireland in 2021/22. This is followed by Derry City and Strabane, and Causeway Coast and Glens,” a new report on the index states.
The ground-breaking research shows Derry occupies a top three spot on a majority of the indices, and when Belfast is taken out – it generally occupies the top position.
"Overall, Derry City and Strabane is ranked second out of 11 council areas with a score of 107. In Population, Derry City and Strabane sits in eighth with a score of 95, and has a predicted population growth score of 80 with a low and slow population prediction profile,” the report, which was produced by Hourglass, previously Action on Elder Abuse, supported by the Hallmark Foundation, acknowledges.
The authors crunched data from 2021/22 and earlier when necessary. It found health outcomes for older people are worse in Derry than elsewhere, although the data used for long-term conditions dated back to 2011.
“In Health, Derry City and Strabane sees one of the highest prevalence of older people with mobility/dexterity difficulties, or long-term pain/discomfort and is ranked in second with 107, just behind Belfast,” it outlines.
According to the research 8117 people aged over 65 in Derry and Strabane had mobility or dexterity difficulties; 5901 suffered long-term pain or discomfort; and 4,275 suffered chronic illness.
Derry’s poor economic performance compared to other areas, not surprisingly, contributed to the city’s high score.
“In Economics, Derry City and Strabane takes the top position, and sees a high level of income deprived older people and those still economically active after 65, and a score of 108,” the report adds.
Crime against people aged over 60 years of age was also a factor.
In 2021, 245 people aged over 60 were victims of crimes involving violence against the person in Derry and Strabane; 169 were the victims of criminal damage; 62 were the victims of non-criminal theft; 45 were the victims of burglary; and 33 were the victims of other offences.
In total 554 people aged over 60 in Derry and Strabane were the victims of crime in 2021.
The report notes: “Looking at Crime, and again like Belfast somewhat because of population size and the urban area, Derry City and Strabane is ranked second (first without Belfast) in the percentage of victims of crime over 60 in 2021 with a score of 120.”
The authors also scored each district in terms of social isolation.
“Again, in Isolation, Derry City and Strabane sits high, third in the rankings – thanks to the highest levels of low self-belief (26.6%) and a relatively high percentage of older people living alone (21.5%),” the paper indicates.
Hourglass estimates that in 2021 32,999 people in Derry were aged over 60, comprising 22 per cent of the population.
This is predicted to grow to 42,756 in 2043.
Life expectancy for men in Derry and Strabane stood at 78 years while for women it was 81.3 years.
The Safer Ageing Index concluded that Mid Ulster was the ‘safest place to grow old’; with Fermanagh and Omagh the safest from a crime perspective.
The launch of the research comes amid a campaign by Hourglass NI for more resources for the charity, its 24/7 helpline and the elder abuse issue in general.
It takes in excess of 15,000 calls from victim/survivors annually and is currently embroiled in a financial challenge, where the UK Government is asking the charity to compete against leading ‘Violence Against Women & Girls’ organisations for a share of a small pot.
This, the charity says, underlines the lack of understanding of the abuse and neglect of older people.
SDLP East Derry MP Cara Hunter said: “I wholeheartedly welcome the launch of the new Safer Ageing Index NI report which will show Councils across the North where the best places are to grow old independently.
“This is just one of the important pieces of work carried out by Hourglass to highlight the needs and challenges faced by older people here. From the support Hourglass provide, to their campaigning on ending abuse and neglect of older people, their work is crucial in our society.”
The Deputy CEO of Hourglass, Veronica Gray, said: “Hourglass wants the people of Northern Ireland to age safely, free from abuse and neglect and we want to work with communities, third sector colleagues, academics, statutory agencies, assembly members and parliamentarians to make a difference.
“This Index underlines the challenge ahead and with an older population that is set to rise sharply over coming years, now is the time to place safer ageing at the forefront of the policy agenda.”
Stephen Burke, Chief Executive of the Hallmark Foundation, commented: “Wherever the growing number of older people live in the UK, they should be confident that they can age well and safely. Sadly, that is not true.
“This ground-breaking research highlights why these issues need to be much higher priority for all levels of government across the UK and where policymakers should focus attention. Updating the index annually will show older people, their families and communities whether progress is being made.”