A Strategy for housing support for older people in Norfolk
During the spring of 2010, Melnyk and Scott, a local firm of housing consultants were commissioned by the Norfolk Supporting People Team to undertake research into what support older people wanted to allow them to remain independent and living in their own homes for as long as they wished. They listened to individuals, groups and the professionals and carers who worked with them.
They looked at a range of information, including where older people are living and what housing support services are currently available, what they cost and how they are funded. Which services people thought worked well and which don't and why.
This has allowed a proposal for a new model for services to be made, which will address future needs, with available funding, in a mostly rural county where the numbers of older people are growing.
Key Areas from the Report
The population of people over the age of 65 is growing nationally and the proportion of older people in Norfolk is rising faster than many other areas. In the next 30 years the number of people aged 65-74 will increase by 54% and those over 75 by 95%. By 2016 over 50% of Norfolk's population will be over 45 years, with North Norfolk projected to have the 5th largest percentage of older persons by head of population of any district in the country.
Older people told us that they want to remain living independently, but have some concerns.
Older people raised a number of concerns about how they could access services and get the help they needed. There were similar worries across all ages, but people who owned their own homes had more concerns about maintenance and how to afford it. Transport was a big concern, without it many feared the loss of their independence and increased isolation. People in sheltered and supported housing often said they were less concerned and felt that they were well supported.
Working from existing services at sheltered schemes, we are proposing to extend housing support into the wider community through Hub and Spoke models to any older person regardless of whether they own their home or rent it.
Over the next few months the organisations currently providing services and the district councils will be working with funders to agree how the new models can be put in place.
