Poor housing puts millions of elderly at risk of injuries

NEARLY a million frail OAPs are set to flood the NHS with fall-related injuries caused by poor housing.

The number who are 80-plus and injured at home is expected to rise from 1.6 million now to 2.5 million in 2032 and will cost the health service £2billion a year.

The figures are in a study by ex-Treasury economist Chris Walker for the new Homes for Later Living consortium.

Mr Walker also calls for an extra 30,000 homes to be built just for pensioners each year, highlighting a severe shortage for the growing numbers of retirees.

Caroline Abrahams, of Age UK, said: “Having a safe and decent home is a basic human need. Simple changes like putting in grab rails near stairs or bathrooms and installing a level access shower can definitely help prevent falls.

“The average cost of a home adaptation is £9,000 compared with the cost of having to move to residential care of £35,000 annually.

“But too many older people are still living in accommodation that is risky from a falls point of view, with little hope of being able to move or improve it.

“This needs to change. In the longer term, the solution is to ensure that all new homes have good accessibility standards as the default.”

Labour MP Rachael Maskell, chair of the all-party parliamentary group for ageing and older people, said: “Many older people are often living alone in substandard accommodation, where they are more likely to suffer from falls, loneliness and dementia.

“This is why we urgently need more specialist retirement housing. Building more homes for later living would give people choice and flexibility on how they live their lives.”

Older people in housing with ramps, wider doorways, grab bars, stairlifts and downstairs bathrooms are half as likely to trip compared with those in an ordinary house. The fewer hospital admissions saves the NHS and social services typically £3,500 a year, claimed Mr Walker’s report.

And building 30,000 more adapted bungalows and flats every year for the next 10 years would generate savings across the NHS and social services of £2.1billion annually, he stated.

Councillor David Renard, of the Local Government Association, said councils needed more power to ensuring developers build the right homes in the right places.

“It is crucial to acknowledge that the majority of older people will live in existing housing,” he said.

“The Government needs to invest in supporting the adaptation of homes to meet the needs of people as their circumstances change, keep older people safe in their homes, and prevent avoidable admissions to hospital and care homes.”

An 80-year-old feels 10 years younger after moving to housing designed for them, the report found.

John Slaughter, of Homes for Later Living, added: “There’s a severe shortage of suitable housing for people in retirement.

“The consequences are severe, both to the NHS, which will be under increased financial pressure from falls-related injuries, and to individuals who are often living alone in mainstream housing that is unsafe, unsuitable and unhealthy.” Homes for Later Living was set up to promote housing for pensioners and includes developers Churchill Retirement Living, McCarthy & Stone and PegasusLife.

The number aged over 80 is set to rise from around 3.2million now to five million in 2032, figures show.

There has been an 85 per cent increase in the number of people aged 100 or over in the last 15 years, with 14,430 centenarians in the UK.