Despite common perceptions, more than 90% of older people live in mainstream homes, rather than specialist or retirement housing.
Home adaptations allow people to remain in their home for longer by helping them stay active and independent, helping improve wellbeing. Changes to the homes like grab rails and level access showers can also help reduce falls and subsequently reduce the costs of health and care.
Research has found investment in adaptations to be highly cost-effective. Relatively low-cost home modifications have been shown to reduce the number of falls that require medical treatment by 26% – this brings potential savings of £500 million each year to the NHS and social care services.
We want people to be able to access funding and support to make changes and install adaptations in their homes.
We also believe the retail market offers an important opportunity to meet the needs of the UK’s ageing population, which cannot be fulfilled by specialist retailers alone.
