Walking the Talk: Building a Future of Healthy Ageing

Healthy Ageing

Over the past few weeks, I was fortunate to immerse myself in two remarkable events focused on healthy ageing: a dynamic workshop hosted by the Centre of Excellence in Healthy Ageing, and a broader Healthy Ageing Conference hosted by Wentworth Healthcare. Both experiences offered rich opportunities for deep thinking and reflection — not just about the theory of healthy ageing, but about how we can walk the talk in our own practices, organisations, and communities.

As the World Health Organization (WHO) reminds us:

"Healthy ageing is about creating the environments and opportunities that enable people to be and do what they value throughout their lives."

It is a concept that demands we think and act differently — not focusing only on disease and decline, but on the full potential of individuals to lead meaningful, connected lives.

Healthy Ageing: A Lifelong Investment

A powerful message that resonated throughout both events is that healthy ageing is not simply about care for older people. It is a lifelong investment. Our early environments, opportunities, choices, and communities all shape our experience of ageing.

As WHO articulates in its Healthy Ageing 2030 vision:

"Healthy ageing is not a programme for the old; it is a lifelong investment."

This framing invites a positive, empowering approach: ageing well is not the absence of disease, but the presence of functional ability — the capability to do and be what one values.

Outcomes that Matter: Beyond the Clinical Lens

Another strong theme from the events was the importance of focusing on outcomes that truly matter to individuals. Too often, healthy ageing is reduced to condition specific issues, or narrow perspectives such as preventing frailty or reducing hospital admissions. While important, these are narrow markers. Real outcomes are broader and richer: maintaining autonomy, dignity, joy, social connectedness, and the ability to contribute meaningfully. As ICHOM reminds us:

"Measuring outcomes that matter to patients is the single most important step we can take to improve healthcare globally."

Next Practice Deakin, has been deeply committed to this philosophy. We measure what matters most to our patients — not simply what is easy to count. We have been deliberate in growing a team that is fit for purpose: a team focused on nurturing all dimensions of wellbeing, supporting people to thrive across their lifespan.

From Ideas to Action: Local Innovation and Leadership

The Healthy Ageing Conference was also a showcase of practical action. Whether through microsystem redesign in primary care, intergenerational community programs, or the growing momentum around social prescribing, the message was clear: change is possible, and it starts locally.

Healthy ageing must be flexible, community-led, and tailored to local strengths. There is no single model; rather, success lies in applying core principles with creativity and care.

At Prestantia Health, we embrace this local approach. Through a supportive, engaging quality improvement methodology — and with fidelity to evidence-informed frameworks — we work alongside health systems, proivders and PHNs to build capability in healthy ageing. This is not about compliance or ticking boxes; it is about empowering teams to lead their own innovation, embedding healthy ageing principles sustainably into daily practice.

As one health equity principle reminds us:

"The true measure of a system is not how it cares for the average person but how it enables every individual to thrive."

Prestantia Health’s approach honours this principle, supporting healthcare teams to genuinely meet people where they are, and help them flourish.

Looking Ahead: The Best Time is Now

Reflecting on these experiences, I feel both energised and grounded. There is enormous opportunity to reimagine ageing — to move beyond outdated notions of decline and towards a future where participation, autonomy, and connection are possible at every stage of life.

And while the best time to start would have been years ago, as the old proverb wisely reminds us:

"The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is now."

At Prestantia Health and Next Practice Deakin, by walking the talk, embedding outcomes that matter, and supporting others to do the same, we can help shape a future where healthy ageing is not an aspiration for a few, but a reality for all.

For more information contact us via https://www.prestantiahealth.com/about