Housing is a key determinant of health, wellbeing and financial security. The quality of our homes can mean the difference between a good later life or one that is marred with ill-health and poverty.
The connection between inadequate housing and negative health outcomes is well-established. In 2022 to 2023 alone, 5,000 excess winter deaths were attributed to cold homes, highlighting the life-threatening consequences of inadequate heating and insulation.
Falls, exacerbated by hazardous housing conditions, resulted in 234,000 emergency admissions for people aged 65 and over in 2019 to 2020.
These preventable health issues place an unsustainable burden on the NHS, with poor housing costing the healthcare system £1.1 billion annually, of which £595 million is attributable to homes headed by people over 55.
As Lord Darzi stated in his recent review of the NHS:
“Everybody knows that prevention is better than cure. Interventions that protect health tend to be far less costly than dealing with the consequences of illness.”
The role of Disabled Facilities Grant therefore has a direct connection to managing NHS waiting lists, budgets and winter pressures. The grant programme is acknowledge as a key means by which we can 'reduce hospitalisations and prolong independence.'
The Home Improvement Agency model offers a one stop shop with access to DFGs but also a range of services, aids and changes that can be made to the home to keep people safe and warm and living independently.
A recent report by The Centre for Ageing Better identified clear benefits to service users:
- significant benefits including enhanced independence, improved safety, and better wellbeing - testimonials highlight how small adaptations such as grab rails, restore confidence and reduce anxiety
- adaptations also support improvement in mobility and helps top the decline in physical health - big changes such as stair lifts, ramps and wet rooms were life changing for those with mobility challenges
- the 'one-stop-shop' model has also been praised due to how easy it is for service users to access and use the range of services available
Benefits to the health and social care system include:
- adaptations to the home that aim to prevent falls have significant potential to reduce demand on local health services - with an estimated saving for the NHS of £1.10 for every £1 spent, and a saving for society of £4.56 for every £1 spent
- home adaptations installed by home improvement agencies as part of a hospital discharge service reduced the need for formal caregiving and enabled faster hospital discharge, saving £2,690 per discharge and reducing average bed days from 15 to 9
The Cumberland HIA will deliver physical changes to home and realise the impacts set out above. Our ambition is to go beyond this by forging a strong interconnecting relationship with the new Cumberland Council Prevention Service on pre front door activity by linking people into social prescribing services as well as household and welfare related support, and vice verse, from the preventative service into the CHIA service offer.