Home Care in Harrogate and Home Improvements Helping Elderly People Remain at Home

Published 12 September 2012.

Carefound, a provider of home care in Harrogate, is seeing that more elderly people are utilising its home care service to remain independent in their own homes for longer. At the same time, homeowners are increasingly renovating, adapting and improving their homes in order to meet their current and future life stages instead of seeking to move to alternative accommodation.

On average, people have lived in six homes over their lifetime with the average time spent in each home being 12 years. According to a recent study by Age UK, more than three quarters (77%) of people are happy in their current home and almost a third of homeowners see their current home as a place for life. As part of avoiding having to move to alternative accommodation, the average household now spends £23,000 on home improvements over a lifetime.

Lucy Hamer, Head of Research at Age UK, commented: “Whatever life stage people are at, home really does seem to be where the heart is and being able to adapt a property can make a positive impact on quality of life as we grow older”. She added: “Before embarking on any major adaptations, people should speak to their local authority to see if they’re entitled to any financial help or other sources of assistance”.

It is thought that the trend of home improvements vs. moving home is particularly significant amongst the elderly population, many of whom are keen to maximise the potential for changes and adaptations to help them stay independent for longer. Alongside these steps, support from a professional home carer can help individuals and couples continue to enjoy the comforts of home. This can range from basic domestic help or companionship through to full personal care, and even specialist help such asdementia care. Importantly, home care can be used at times and over periods that are required to meet the exact needs of the client and the level of support required to maintain independence at home may change over time.

About Carefound:

Carefound is a provider of specialist home care and dementia care services to elderly people in North Yorkshire, enabling clients to continue to live independently in the comfort of their own home whilst maintaining the highest quality of life achievable. Services provided include basic help in the home,companionship, personal care, medication help, post-operative rehabilitation, respite care and specialist help such as dementia care and palliative care. The flexible service ranges from 1 hour to 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, including bank holidays, and can also encompass 24-hour live in care services.

Source: Age UK, Carefound.