New tricks for older owners
Home design needs a serious rethink to benefit the elderly, says Paul Drury
AREVOLUTION in domestic design is needed across Scotland to allow older people to live in their own homes for longer. Local authorities and health boards have funds in place to help pay for adaptations to property, such as widening doorways for wheelchairs or providing a downstairs bathroom.
But campaigners at Age Scotland believe the needs of retired people should come at the start of the domestic design process, not at the end.
‘We have to think seriously about how we design our houses in the first place,’ said Ciaran McDonald, policy officer for the charity Age Scotland.
‘People want to live in their own home for as long as possible. We have not properly taken the needs of older people into consideration in the past. We need to re-think the whole upstairs/downstairs arrangement that fits well at the start of your life, but not in later years.
‘You should be able to travel up and down easily if you are old or disabled.’
Figures published this month by the Registrar General of Scotland demonstrate how urgent is the need for a review of building practices in this country.
The number of people aged over 75 living here has jumped 17 per cent in just ten years.
In disclosing the figures, Tim Ellis, the Registrar General, confirmed that this will inevitably lead to changes in society.
He said: ‘The population is continuing to age and this change will bring both opportunities and challenges in the years ahead.’
Traditionally, retired people have not enjoyed the greatest political clout in society. You don’t often see them out, beating their chests and waving placards.
However, there are signs that the growing political power of the older generation is beginning to have a positive effect on those in charge.
Age Scotland’s Mr McDonald added: ‘To keep on track, we need 12,000 new affordable houses to be built every year.
‘As a result, some local authorities have now said they are going to open up land they own for housing.
‘Older people are now enjoying a louder voice in society.
‘Policy-makers are starting to sit up and listen. There are more and more older voters now….and they are making themselves heard.’
Of course, there is a variety of alternatives to remaining in the family home ad infinitum.
Pensioners with funds are able to move into communities offering ‘independent living’.
Others are investing in park homes, normally located near beauty spots.
But issues of social interaction emerge in rural areas, say, when someone in Wick has to move to more suitable accommodation in Inverness. To that end, Age Scotland say the ‘Men’s Sheds’ movement has proved a lifeline for many older gents, who can gather in a simple hut or barn to share tools and tall tales.
Walking Football is another activity which can help older men tap into a new network of friends, perhaps having lost touch with workmates.
Mr McDonald added: ‘The way we perceive ageing has changed. Retirement living no longer needs to be boring.’