Following a successful pilot programme of Care & Repair with priority given to hospital discharges, Age Action has expanded the Care & Repair programme nationwide.
The recent expansion included the recruitment of more maintenance staff, admin staff, and putting more vans on the road. The Age Action Care & Repair programme prioritises hospital discharge jobs all over the country with a new base recently set up in the Donegal region.
Age Action will carry out DIY jobs that are too small for a tradeperson such as installing grab rails and changing lightbulbs - making it safer for older people to live at home.
Gas Networks Ireland recently partnered with Age Action for a Garden Blitz. There was a lot of physical work on the day, blitzing gardens in Finglas, Blanchardstown, Crumlin, Inchicore and Dolphins Barn. The day was a great success and we have since received positive feedback from the day. A client rang after the day to thank us so much for arranging the job for her mother. She said there were 28 bags of garden waste removed and a truck. She said it was just extraordinary and she wanted to let us that it has made such a difference. A big thanks to Gas Networks Ireland and their volunteers for their commitment on the day.
Care and Repair is Age Action's Free DIY and Home Repair Service for odler people in Ireland.
Since Covid-19, this project has provided essential DIY and repair to support older people to maintain both their homes and their independence.
In the last year, we have extended this service to offer a hospital discharge service to older people to support them to return home to a safe environment and avoid extended hospital stays. This element of Care and Repair is now available nationally.
In 2022, we plan to further extend the reach of Care and Repair standard services to reach all regions of Ireland and are seekign fundraising support to enable us to do this to support more older people.
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2021 was a very busy year for Age Action's Care and Repair programme.
Care and Repair provides free DIY home repairs to older people to help them maintain their homes and independence. During COVID, the programme helped ensure that older people in Ireland had safe environments. For example, while COVID cases rose in nursing homes and long-term residential facilities, the Care and Repair service allowed older people to remain at home in safety and comfort, avoiding potential moves to nursing homes. We also expanded the programme to prioritise older people who have recently been, or are currently being discharged from hospital to ensure they have appropriately safe homes to return to. This means that older people have shorter stays in the hospital, freeing up beds for additional patients and reducing risk of COVID transmission among older people! Altogether, the programme has proved to be a useful resource throughout COVID and beyond.
In 2021, we served over 1,300 older people through the Care and Repair programme. This includes over 360 clients, 103 of whom got support in their hospital discharge. It also includes over 900 trades referrals to trusted tradespeople who our clients can work with to tackle bigger projects like plumbing or electrical fixes.
For clients being discharged from hospital, survey results show that:
We surveyed health professionals as well, and found that:
Overall, we are very proud of our impact this past year and look forward to continued expansion in 2022!
Thank you so much for your support of the Care and Repair service.
If you know anyone who could benefit from Care and Repair, please call (01) 475 6989 or visit https://www.ageaction.ie/how-we-can-help/care-and-repair
The Care & Repair Programme provides DIY jobs to older people free of charge to help them maintain their homes and independence. During COVID, we piloted our idea to make this service available to people who have recently been discharged from hospital or will be discharged from hospital soon, to ensure they can return to a safe and comfortable home.
We are delighted to announce that the Care and Repair service is now able to travel ANYWHERE in Ireland to support older people who are or who have recently been discharged from hospital!!
You can learn more about the programme here: https://www.ageaction.ie/how-we-can-help/care-and-repair/about
If you know anyone who could benefit from Age Action’s DIY support, please get in touch to see about opportunities for us to help. And, if you are a medical professional or know a medical professional who is looking for support to help discharge patients to a safe home, call us and ask about our Care and Repair service!
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