The fact that people are living longer is often celebrated as an achievement of better economic, medical and social policies adopted in the last few decades. What many political, economic and social analysts fail to point out, however, is that, increasingly, longevity is generating a host of new social problems that are affecting the social fabric of most communities.

Living longer does not always equate with better quality of life and is often accompanied with greater morbidity. Older people usually suffer from a string of conditions like dementia, loss of mobility, mental and other illness that deprives them of their independence. In these cases, the burden of caring for such people falls on their children, grandchildren or the State.

Family members who care for their elderly relatives often do so in silence receiving little or no support at all from the State or voluntary organisations simply because the need for support by far outstrips what these organisations can realistically provide.

A sobering light was focused on this problem by the charity SOS Malta that is “working hand in hand with St Jeanne Antide foundation, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ and various ministries, to raise awareness and help child carers” to come forward and discuss their problems.

These voluntary organisations are understandably very concerned about the psychological effect that young children would suffer when suddenly they become unofficial carers of a sick or immobile elderly relative.

While the concept of extended family has often been praised as one of the merits of our society, the negative implications cannot be ignored. These last few decades have seen the emergence of the ‘sandwich generation’ – usually middle-aged women who have to take care of young children while, at the same time, also look after their ageing parents or relatives.

Now we are experiencing the emergence of child carers who in most cases still need to be cared for themselves by parents who often have to work full-time to earn some money for the family.

The Parliamentary Secretary for the Elderly, Justyne Caruana, recently said that the State cannot be expected to provide sheltered accommodation for all those elderly people who can no longer take care of themselves. She added that family members should share caring responsibilities.

The better off can pay for private residential care accommodation but for the vast majority of people this is not an option. Building more public residential homes for the elderly is an expensive option that the country cannot afford without increasing taxation on the declining productive workforce. Clearly, society is not well enough prepared for the implications of worsening demographics. Hospital wards that are crowded with ‘social cases’, long waiting lists for admittance to public residential homes for the elderly, middle-aged people who have to cope with caring for their own children as well as their ageing parents, and “the hidden army of ghost carers” that are usually children who have to shoulder responsibilities that they are not prepared for are symptoms of a grave problem.

Our social and political leaders know that society is changing fast and that old ways of dealing with social issues are often no longer viable. The country needs to deal with the negative effects of worsening demographics by promoting cultural changes that will encourage people to plan financially for their old age early on in life. Voluntary organisations should be empowered to be more effective in their work with the elderly being given more public support.