In an age where over half of the babies born today will reach 100, and the number of people aged over 65 in the UK will grow from 10 million to over 15 million by 2030, we are at a crossroads where the policy decisions we make today will have a massive impact on tomorrow's reality for older people — and the cost of public services. That we are living longer must be celebrated, but our ageing society also brings with it massive challenges to public finances.
The average NHS spend for retired households is nearly double that of non-retired households and, as age increases, so does the average NHS spend per person. So are we being smart enough about our spend? Policy makers and budget holders are still reacting to pressures and demand for acute services and treatment, rather than taking a longer term view and focusing more on preventing older people from needing NHS services in the first place.
We all want responsive NHS services at a time of crisis for ourselves and loved ones and the media focus heavily on waiting times, but by investing more now on services that can prevent hospital admissions, far more substantial sums will be saved in the future and those who still need responsive treatment will get it quicker.
This is the offer of the Care & Repair movement in Wales. We are a not-for-profit organisation, and have a strong infrastructure with a Care & Repair agency in every Welsh county.
With support from the Welsh assembly and local government, our aim is to help older homeowners to stay comfortable, safe, warm and independent in their own homes, getting them home quicker if they are in institutions such as residential care or hospitals. This helps tackle the problem of bed blocking that is estimated to cost the NHS in Wales £30m per year.
So how do we do this? By visiting older people in their homes, listening to their needs and solving their housing problem with a tailored solution. This could range from making their home more energy efficient; making sure they are claiming all the benefits they are entitled to; and offering tenants access to necessary home adaptations.
For every £1 spent on adapting a person's home, £7.50 is saved from NHS and social service budgets. By focusing on the preventative agenda, savings can be made on services such as expensive hip replacement surgery conservatively costing approximately £25,000 a go and residential care placement by social services costing approximately £27,000 per year.
We have started to develop good local partnerships with health boards, and as part of the Community Housing Cymru Group, are actively campaigning to ensure that the huge contribution Care & Repair and the mutual, not-for-profit housing sector can make to the service and the financial challenges of the NHS and social services is recognised and acted on.
With growing evidence that our services are cost-effective, we are naturally pushing for more investment in the solutions we offer older people. We know we can do "more for less", so, in the age of austerity, we urge all public sector services to take a closer look at what the third sector can offer to help meet the genuine challenges of sustainable public services for older people.
Chris Jones is the managing director of Care & Repair Cymru
