Stairlift Buying Guide – Home Adaptations
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Although most older adults would prefer to stay in their current home, changes in an individual’s health or circumstances can make this difficult. This briefing aims to help you understand what the main housing options are and where to find further information.
Often, older adults manage to remain at home with additional support from carents, care services (home care, live in carers) and other services such as cleaners, gardeners and maintenance services) or home improvements such as stairlifts, ramps, rails and security).
However, it is also important to ensure that there are appropriate arrangements in place to fund and maintain their property – issues like bills, repairs, security, pest control, heating. It is also worth considering whether staying at home is the safest and healthiest option in the face of other concerns such as safety or loneliness.
For some individuals, tackling these ongoing challenges or meeting these developing needs is best achieved by a move to a different type of home or location. Depending on age, funds, needs and preferences, the main types of housing to consider (always bearing in mind the level of care and support which is, or might be, needed) include:
Decisions about whether to move or just improve the home are complex and each has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms of risk, finance and wellbeing. It is important to make an informed decision and to recognise that as we get older our needs for care and support are likely to evolve or change over time along with our ability to fund and maintain property. Additionally, a house move is a major life event which is stressful at any age and can be very disruptive in the face of frailty.
HOOP is a tool to consider how suitable a property is as well as giving you information about available services which could help with specific concerns. The tool is linked to a limited number of geographies but even if yours is not included, it can still help you to think broadly and get a sense of the type of support which might be available.
HOOP is very comprehensive and can take time to work through properly. It explores 8 different topics as follows:
The HOOP tool has been developed by a small charity EAC which also provides advice and information about housing options available to older people with links to some housing providers (this link to the site gives a full explanation of why those providers have been featured)
We left it too late for a house move – it would have been too disruptive
I wanted to support dad as best I could but maintaining his property was costly and time consuming
The garden – which had provided so much pleasure over the years – became a burden
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August 2022
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