In this talk Tony will talk about his 42 years in health and social; care and how this prepared him for caring and how he uses his experience of being a wellbeing manager to enable better hydration and nutrition for his mum. He will also discuss how the declining health of his parents made him take up exercise, eat more nutritionally and look at ways to change his health patterns. Tony will share insights into how being gay can also bring expectations about being a carer - “you do not have children mostly, you might have a good income and job and you are seen as having no real commitments so, this makes you ideal for caring, and to take on the family caring role”. But as Tony reflects, if you had a difficult coming out and your family might have been hostile and not very understanding, that is forgotten when they need you.

Tony Collins- Moorehas worked in Health and Social Care since he left school at 17, he is an accomplished advocate, writer, policy development. He is passionate about carer wellbeing and is a co-author of the OU carer learning project, he is published in The British Journal of Learning Disability - Using Social and Educational Approaches to Enable a Man with Learning Disabilities to Develop his Sexual Identity and Orientation. He is an advocate and champion for carers and has worked at the Carers Centre Tower Hamlets for 13 years.

Challenging ageism

Ageism is the prejudice that’s hidden in plain sight. It’s embedded in our society and even accepted as normal by those of us who are older. 

It doesn't have to be this way. Getting older can have its challenges but being treated negatively because of your age should never be one of them. 

Harriet and Niall will join us from Age Without Limits, the Centre for Ageing Better’s campaign to challenge ageism for the benefit of all of us as we grow older.  They will discuss what ageism is, how research shows that ageist ideas or beliefs can be incredibly damaging for us as individuals and for wider society, and the impact of their campaign. They will also share practical tips for pushing back and challenging ageism in our workplaces and everyday lives, whatever our age.

Harriet Bailiss is joint-Head of Ageing Better’s anti-ageism campaign, Age Without Limits.

Harriet heads up the team developing and overseeing our anti-ageism campaign, Age Without Limits. The campaign aims to raise awareness and understanding of ageism, and change attitudes towards ageing and older people. Harriet has spent her career developing campaigns with real-world impact, both in-house and in creative agencies, including working with corporates on social impact projects around sustainability and DE&I.

Niall Ryan is Campaign Manager working on Ageing Better’s anti-ageism campaign, Age Without Limits.

Niall provides editorial, strategic, creative and operational support to maximise our reach and influence in tackling ageism. He has previously worked at the Royal College of General Practitioners where he co-ordinated communications in their clinical and innovation teams. He also helped to develop and deliver a multi-channel communications strategy for Vision UK, an independent charity in the eye health and sight loss sector. 

Accessible Documents: Ageing Well Public Talks Series 2025-26: Talk 9.