Life has changed dramatically since the NHS was created in 1948. Back then, life expectancy at birth in the UK was just above the state pension retirement age of 65, and there were only 750,000 people over 80. Nobody imagined the remarkable progress that would follow. By 2020, average life expectancy at birth in the UK was 79 years for males and 82.9 years for females, and there are now 3.3 million people over 80. By 2030, there are projected to be 4.5 million over 80. Clearly, our care and health services cannot cope now, with workforce shortages and record vacancy levels, so if we continue as we are, the situation will only worsen. What could we do differently to ensure our care workforce is fit for the future?