7 minute read
Safety by design
Safety in all of our homes is of paramount importance. Usually the safety debate revolves around high-rise blocks, but there are major safety issues going on in traditional housing. Mark Lawrence looks at how the sector can solve some of these issues and save wider society money in the process.
When the word safety is mentioned, the sector is usually referring to overall building safety or one of the five fundamentals – electric, gas, legionella, asbestos or fire.
However, according to the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, falls in people aged over 65 are as serious an issue, costing the NHS in England £435m a year. The total annual cost of fragility fractures to the UK has been estimated at £4.4bn, which includes £1.1bn for social care. Hip fractures alone account for around £2bn of this sum.
But it isn’t just about the cost that these falls have on the NHS. An increased one-year mortality of 18%-33% and negative impacts on daily living such as shopping or walking are common outlooks.
20% of hip fracture patients end up in long-term care within a year of a fall, losing their independence.
There’s plenty of research showing the importance of adaptations to homes in preventing falls – falls that negatively impact both people’s lives and the health budget. So, why isn’t it easy to install adaptations in people’s homes?
Simply put, many don’t like them as the traditional grab rails and other adaptations look ugly and come associated with stigma.
But there’s a huge need within social housing for these adaptations to be made and for the safety of residents to be placed as high in importance as those living in tower blocks.
Over half (54%) of housing association tenants have a long-term illness or disability and almost a fifth (18%) of new lettings are to households with specific disability needs.
21% of housing association households with at least one person with a long-standing health condition said their accommodation was unsuitable, and 56% of those who need adaptations lack them. To further compound this, the number of accessible social homes has declined in recent years.
So, what’s a potential solution? An adaptation that can be installed for whoever is living there, doesn’t cause stigma, and fits with the design of the home.
And that’s exactly what Invisible Creations does. They say their products “remove the negative stigma” and that their aim is to make homes “a haven, not a hospital”.
The products are often moulded into the fabric of the room, be it a metal rail on a mirror or as part of the shower rack where shampoo is placed. On the outside of the home there are rails made up of plant potholders, adding a bit of colour to what’s usually a stark white piece of equipment.
Delores Taylor, a tenant who’s had them installed in her home, said: “I love that they really blend into the home, they’re there doing an important job, helping me get around my house easier, giving me something sturdy to grab onto if I was to fall, but they don’t stand out as a grab rail, or look like a product for an older person or a disabled person.
“We don’t want a label, we want more inclusive products. And these are just niceproducts that look good in my home but they give me the support and reassurance I need to keep me safe.”
These adaptations being appropriate for those who don’t need them is a major plus for many housing associations who’ve already taken on the adaptations, saying that there’s a reducedneed for delays in void turnover because they now don’t have to rip out the adaptations and start again.
Poor design can also have a serious detrimental impact. A report on doorstep crime showed that 43% of victims had a handrail, grab rail, a ramp to their door or a key safe for use by carers. Related statistics in relation to anti-social behaviour shows that targets are found through similar means.
Karbon Homes is one of the early adopters of the adaptations, and have received fantastic feedback.
Karbon resident Susan Devan, who didn’t feel like she necessarily needed them yet, found herself using them occasionally for support and stability.
She says: “The subtle support is actually so important because you use them subconsciously because they’re just there when you need them and that makes all the difference.”
Her husband had also fallen ill since moving into the property and she said: “Having that built in support already there, but without it feeling clinical or obtrusive, was so valuable and more landlords should be thinking about adding more supportive products into homes as a normal, standard thing.
“We’re all going to need them at some point so why not just have them there in allhomes.”
Paul Fiddaman, Chief Executive of Karbon Homes, said: “At Karbon we believe everyone should have access to a home that helps them to thrive and remain independent.
“Working closely with Invisible Creations and installing their products in to both our new and existing homes has been really valuable to Karbon and the feedback from residents has been fantastic. We’re hoping the rest of the housing sector will get behind them too.”
So, is it time for housing to think more strategically about the future challenges it may face with an ageing population? Installing these kinds of invisible adaptations is one way to make residents lives better, while playing a significant role in community healthcare.
The key statistics
• 54% of housing association tenants have a long-term illness or impairment
• 21% of disabled tenants say their accommodation is unsuitable for them
• 56% of tenants that need adaptations don’t have them
• Falls and fractures in people aged 65 and over account for more than four million hospital bed days each year in England
• Almost 44% of social housing tenants are 55 and over and the average age of all tenants is 52
• Households with adaptations had a 31% reduction in the rate of fall injuries at home per year
• 16% of people aged over 65 have difficulty with at least one activity of daily living
• If all necessary remedial work were undertaken, NHS treatment costs alone would be repaid within seven to eight years.
The practical lessons from the early adopters
• Changing mindsets in the business is a long-term challenge – not only change products, but to change processes, policies and strategies
• Involving residents is key — positive feedback from residents on how valued they feel as a tenant and that their landlord is thinking about their future health needs
• Important that this isn’t just seen as something ‘done to tenants’ – that it’s something done with tenants
• Critical to involve all key stakeholders in the process — the message often gets lost once it makes its way down to contractors and there’s a risk that all the hard work done at the frontend to make the design of homes more inclusive and universal gets replaced for cheaper alternatives
• Adopting a more universal approach to design across assets programmes has been a challenge so far due to budget restrictions, legacy specifications and a lack of importance for including future-proofing solutions
• There’s a massive lack of data across the sector when it comes to adaptations.
