The role of preventative services for older people

Abstract

With an increasingly ageing population with high levels of dependency and a range of health and social care needs, housing professionals are having to review critically their strategies for housing the elderly in the new millennium. Purpose-built housing for this client group in the UK is going through a period of very low demand and this is set to continue. At the same time, the excessive costs associated with institutional care have led many policy-makers to consider innovative approaches to housing solutions for the elderly. One of the main aims of current UK policy is to consider approaches which delay or reduce the demand from this section of the population for long-term care. One such ‘demonstration’ project in the UK addresses this issue, by considering the impact of the provision of a range of preventative services (including health promotion, community pharmacists, GPs, chiropodists and social workers), delivered in a highly convenient and effective way by using four existing purpose-built sheltered housing schemes for the elderly. This multi-agency project (led by housing, health and social care professionals) highlights the benefits of such a preventative project for the elderly, through, for example, greater personal health awareness, less social isolation, greater confidence and self-help, and ultimately greater independence. The project also identifies important benefits for service providers. This paper outlines the nature of this preventative project in the UK and the potential benefits to the elderly in terms of their housing, health and social care needs.