Housing adaptations campaign launch

Age Cymru has joined forces with Care & Repair Cymru, the Older People's Commissioner for Wales and the College of Occupational Therapists to launch a campaign on helping the right support and advice for older people.

Graeme Francis, our Head of Policy and Public Affairs explains:

"We all want to remain living independently in our own homes as we become older, yet finding the right help, support and advice for adapting them to meet our needs can be confusing and difficult.

" That's why we've teamed up to launch a campaign to ensure older people and their families and representatives have clear information about the support that is available for housing adaptations and repairs."

The campaign - ‘Housing Adaptations: the key to independent living for older people' was launched today at 12 noon at The Senedd, Cardiff Bay.

40,000 leaflets will be delivered to doctor's surgeries, libraries, Age Cymru  and Care & Repair agencies and other partners across Wales and will contain information on what assistance is available to help people.

This will include organisations that can help, the types of adaptations available, advice on what best suits clients' needs and information on the grants that are available to pay for the cost of the adaptations.

Graeme Francis concludes:

"Adaptations don't only ensure that older people can remain living independently in their own home for longer, they also alleviate pressure and financial strain on NHS and social services budgets.

"It is estimated that for every £1 spent on adapting a person's home - £7.50 is saved from health and social services budgets.

"It is easy to see how these saving are calculated when the cost of a hip replacement surgery conservatively costs about £25,000 and it has been estimated that housing adaptations reduce or remove the costs for home care, saving between £1,200 and £29,000 a year per household."