Britain: Becoming a nation of carers?

Britain was once a nation of factory workers and farmhands, and then a country of office pen-pushers. But within the next ten years could the workforce transform again to meet the needs of an ageing society and changing economy?

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says an army of 2.75million extra carers, nurses, healthcare assistants, doctors and social workers will be needed by 2022.

It should be a cause for celebration that people are getting older, but often we look at it with dread, wondering who’s going to look after them... unless we invest and find a more sustainable model for health and social care, it’s only going to get worse.

Jonathan Clifton, IPPR senior research fellow