03.09.14
Elderly patient discharges delayed by ‘unsuitable’ housing
Thousands of older people face unnecessary delays in being discharged from hospital because their homes are ‘unsuitable’ for adaptions, according to new analysis by Age UK.
The charity looked into NHS figures and found that patients who need home adaptions, such as grab rails or ramps fitted at home, have to wait, on average, an extra 27 days before being discharged.
It has been calculated that this has led to more than 40,000 days in delayed discharges – costing the NHS an estimated £11.2m per year.
Within Age UK’s ‘Housing in Later Life’ report, the charity has called on the government to ensure that all new homes are built to the lifetime homes standard – a set of 16 design criteria that provide a model for building accessible and adaptable homes – so they can be easily adapted as people age.
Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, said: “Ensuring all new housing can be easily adapted would save the country millions and help end the nonsense of older people lingering for long periods in hospital, simply because of delays in fitting adaptations like grab rails and ramps so they can safely return home.
“Building all new homes to higher accessibility standards would cost a little more today but it would pay off hugely tomorrow, and both older people and the NHS would substantially gain.”
It has also been recommended that the government should work with local authorities to encourage the development of older people’s housing strategies which provide a range of different options including: smaller homes, flats, retirement villages, bungalows, shared ownership, private rented schemes, new forms of co-operative housing and co-housing.
Age UK estimates that fitting a grab rail so, for example, an older person can get to the toilet safely, costs between about £20 and £40 – yet the benefits are often substantial.
“It is worrying that so many older people are living in homes that are hard to adapt and in a poor state of repair. It’s time we woke up to the fact that good housing is central to supporting older people to be independent, fit and well,” Abrahams added.
Housing minister Brandon Lewis MP has said that planning policy already requires the housing needs of older and disabled people into account. He added that the government is changing the rules so that councils can set much clearer standards for accessible and wheelchair-adaptable new homes.
He also hopes that the Care Act, the £315m Specialised Housing Fund and £3.8bn Better Care Fund will help keep people out of hospital in the first place - getting them home more quickly when they are admitted.
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