Emergency care for older people in India

Increasing longevity has been hailed as a triumph of medicine in recent years. With increasing life expectancy all over the world, ageing has been seen to outpace social and economic development in many countries. Declining mortality rates and total fertility rates result in an increase in the proportion of elderly individuals. The impact of the ageing population is felt less in the developed world, and it has been estimated that by the year 2050 over 80% of the elderly world population would be living in the developing world. Despite a higher life expectancy in developing nations, there has also been an increase in the risk of having chronic ailments during the increased years; a reflection of life-long accumulation of risk factors.1.