UK
Government meets target for older people two years ahead of schedule
By Department of Health
Mar 4, 2005, 20:28

Health Minister Stephen Ladyman today announced funding of �60m for councils to develop innovative ways to help older people avoid emergency hospital visits and to live independently longer.

The �60m Partnerships for Older People Projects (POPP) grant aims to encourage councils in England with their NHS, local government, voluntary and community sector partners to devise innovative approaches to establishing sustainable arrangements for supporting older people in active and healthy living.

Launching the new scheme today, Community Minister Stephen Ladyman said:

"The Government wants older people to live as independently as possible and have great quality of life. That means keeping older people fit and healthy and out of hospital.

"Nearly 50% of all hospital admissions are of older people and many of these are avoidable. Working proactively to give care in a community setting enables older people to maintain their independence and quality of life, and reduces the need for hospital or high intensity care.

"The POPP project is about better meeting the needs of all older people, including those traditionally hard-to-reach groups."

Professor Ian Philp, the National Director for Older People�s Health said: "Social Services have already demonstrated their effectiveness in improving community services for older people and in doing so reducing pressure on acute hospital beds.

"To date, the main emphasis has been on reducing delayed discharge from hospital. The emphasis of the POPP project will be on reducing need for admission to hospitals in the first instance through services which enhance the independence, health, and well-being of older people living at home."

Successful projects will reduce reliance on hospitals and other institutions by introducing new approaches which emphasize healthy and independent living, including supporting older people in their own homes, active rehabilitation and health promotion such as falls prevention. They will also take account of the ideas contained in the Green Paper on Adult Social Care, due to be published shortly.

The Minister launched POPP today at Letchworth PCT in Hertfordshire which hosts a Handypersons scheme. This scheme allows vulnerable people living at home to call on someone to help with every day problems such as mending taps, fitting smoke alarms and changing bulbs. Not being able to perform these tasks can lead to loss of confidence and ability to live independently.

The scheme was established in March 2004 as part of a local project to reduce hospital admissions of older people.

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