Key facts
The population aged over 65 is increasing.
Based on data from 2010 to 2012, remaining life expectancy at 65 is 18 years for men and 21 years for women.
In 2011 there were 274,000 newly diagnosed cancers, 63 per cent of which were diagnosed in people aged 65 or over.
There is wide variation in rates of access to hospital services across the different age groups.
People aged 65 or over make up one in six (17 per cent in 2012) of the population and this group uses more than one sixth of some health and social care resources.
The proportion of deaths attributable to different causes varies between older and younger people.