What’s the Key to the Future of Housing with Extra Care?

A partnership of students, housing and construction professionals has launched a report which identifies the future of extra care housing for older people.

The 23-page report entitled ‘Ideas for Change 2017: Extra Care Housing in Lincolnshire’ is the result of a six-month research project delivered following a unique collaboration by University of Lincoln students and housing professionals led by LACE Housing, a housing and extra care service provider.

University Challenge

In August 2016 LACE Housing challenged 25 architecture and design, business and health and social care students to work collaboratively to design the next generation of housing with care in the county.

With support from LACE Housing, its residents and professional partners Saunders Boston Architects, Thornton-Firkin, Lindum Constructions and South Holland District Council, the students were able to use a multi-disciplined approach to create an insightful report which aims to replace current housing models.

The report, which was launched on Monday 10th April, highlighted the five principles that the students identified as key markers to address the future of housing for older people. These included infrastructure and network, deinstitutionalisation, community integration, social and economic opportunities and independence.

The Housing Challenge

Population projections, according to the 2009 Putting People First: Extra Care Housing Strategy by Lincolnshire County Council, estimate an increase of 101% in the number of those aged 75 and over choosing to live in the county by 2021.

The challenge is finding appropriate housing to accommodate the high numbers of people wishing to age in place while also accessing the amenities, services and community networks that they are familiar with and continue to need.

Ideas for Change 2017: Building Infrastructure and Networks

Statistics show that 70% of older people aged 65 and over remain within their own homes but research shows that a third of rural residents have difficulty accessing provisions to support daily life, for example going to the shops, thanks in part to poor transport connectivity and limited services.

The report suggests developing a holistic service, which will consider the regional spread of existing provisions against the level of need and seek to plug the gaps when planning new developments and services.

A hub and spoke model, in which extra care housing facilities could act as a centre to link with surrounding villages and nurses or community care service providers could act as the spokes, is proposed to remedy this need.

And urban morphology, the study of the form of human settlements, should play a key part in future planning processes. Housing with care developments should be built as an extension of a town or city rather than placed in isolated areas on the outskirts of towns and cities.

The report recommends the building of small extra care housing schemes within villages and towns to create a hub as part of the hub and spoke model with visiting nurses and outreach programmes serving an increased area.

Ideas for Change 2017: Increasing Integration

The students found that residents of LACE Housing with extra care facilities with access to nearby shops, GPs and hairdressers felt a greater sense of integration and community cohesion.  

The report reminds readers that older people who are living in housing schemes still enjoy being social and have something beneficial to offer the wider community.

Getting residents involved in the management and operation of the scheme in which they live, using their individual abilities and specialisms, can lead to a greater sense of control, ownership and independence.

Integration, the findings suggest, should be considered from both sides, encouraging the community into a care development and the residents out of it. Community projects like allotments create a happy middle ground and extra care community shops can act as a focal point for the whole community.  

Ideas for Change 2017: Social and Economic Opportunities

The report identifies the opportunity for extra care housing to act as a hub to support social enterprise and on-site businesses, not only to serve but also to involve residents and the local community.  

Participation in collaborative work could also go some way towards tackling loneliness and isolation.

Ideas for Change 2017: Independence by Design  

During interviews with LACE Housing residents’ feedback consistently referenced the importance of independence and maintaining control of decision-making.

One of the areas identified as limiting independence was having a front door accessed via an internal corridor which could give the space an institutional feel.

By designing a cluster of individual homes with central control over the main entrance, not only would residents feel a greater sense of independence, but their homes would also benefit from additional natural light, which helps to evoke a sense of wellbeing.

Healthcare equipment which can be used both for residents and the wider community could reduce the cost to the already stretched healthcare system. And facilities to house carers, nurses and other staff could be included in housing developments to further support the creation of diverse communities.

Conclusions

Although the report goes some way towards suggesting solutions to several challenges it has identified, the students propose that further research should be conducted and other specialisms called upon to help create lifetime neighbourhoods that facilitate independent living while delivering localised healthcare.

To download the report in its entirety please visit: https://www.housinglin.org.uk/_assets/Resources/Housing/OtherOrganisation/2017-Design-Guide-Lincolnshire.pdf

For more information about LACE Housing and to request a copy of the full report, please visit: www.lacehousing.org