Care & Repair Cymru is a charity consisting of 13 agencies across Wales that helps older people in Wales to live independently in warm, safe, accessible homes. The organisation is funded by a mix of Welsh Government funding, national and local funding applications to Local Authorities, Local Health Boards, Lottery, and partnerships with public organisations.
In 2020 a team of analysts including ADR Wales researchers assessed the risk of care home admissions for people with different frailty levels receiving Care & Repair home advice and modification interventions, against a control group who did not.
The study findings indicated that the service helped to prevent care home admissions for moderately and severely frail individuals.
This evidence helped inform the Welsh Government decision to increase funding to Care & Repair agencies in Wales (capital funding has increased from £1.6M to £3M in the last 2 years, and revenue funding has increased from £4.3M to £5M). This is despite budgetary pressures.
Care & Repair agencies across Wales are now able to help more older people to maintain their independence. This alleviates pressure on care home services, and provides value for public money.
The Welsh Government is also encouraging Regional Partnerships Boards to invest in housing adaptations as a preventative intervention through the Housing with Care Fund.
Study link: Do home adaptation interventions help to reduce emergency fall admissions? A national longitudinal data-linkage study of 657,536 older adults living in Wales (UK) between 2010 and 2017 | Age and Ageing | Oxford Academic (oup.com)