Benefits of extra care

Extra care

At St Christopher’s, it is envisaged that Grace House will be at the heart of the property, housing the majority of the communal facilities and focussing on supporting the wellbeing of residents. Grace House will be surrounded by a mixture of apartments and cottages for purchase. The services will help residents to live independently for longer.

THE BENEFITS OF EXTRA CARE FOR OLDER PEOPLE AND THE COMMUNITY

Purpose-built extra care housing is able to cater for the specific needs of older people as they age, alongside management and delivery of care and assistance, which can be increased or decreased depending on a resident’s individual circumstances and needs.

According to ARCO, the retirement community industry organisation, currently, just 0.6% of over-65s in the UK live in housing-with-care, compared to at least 5-6% in New Zealand, Australia and the US. 

This is despite the considerable benefits that the sector brings for the health and wellbeing of older people, as well as extensive wider social and community benefits, including big cost savings for the NHS and social care system.

To tackle this shortage the later living industry is focused on increasing the number of older people living in extra care from around 77,000 today to 250,000 by 2030.

In Bristol, the St Christopher’s project will help address the shortage of extra care housing in the local area, supporting the whole of Bristol through the services and facilities provided. 

Within Bristol, the over 65s account for every one in seven people, while there are 9,100 people aged 85 or older. By 2043, Bristol Council predicts there will be a 40% increase over 75s in the city, which demonstrates the increasing demand for age-appropriate housing.

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

With a focus on wellbeing, extra care communities can play a positive role in helping people lead healthier lives, contributing overall better health outcomes and reducing pressures on the NHS. 

Research by the Bristol-based not-for-profit St Monica Trust and Housing Learning and Improvement Network found that fewer housing-with-care residents died from Covid-19 (0.97%) than expected between March and December 2020, when compared with people of the same age living in the wider community (1.09%).

Extra care communities also play a role in tackling the loneliness epidemic among older people. According to ARCO, residents of extra care communities are five times as likely as non-residents to participate in social events, and four times as likely to get together with friends, ensuring they remain active socially and a part of a community, helping reduce depression, loneliness, isolation and anxiety and improve memory and mental function

REDUCING PRESSURES ON NHS AND SOCIAL CARE

The NHS and social care system are under huge strains and the extra care model can play an important role in reducing this pressure. As resident’s are provided with care on site and because their homes are especially designed to enable adaptations to cater for increasing needs, they are able to continue to live in their homes and the community as they age. 

If a resident has an accident, for example, breaking a hip, they can return more quickly from hospital after treatment to their home in an extra care community than they otherwise would if living in a family home or more traditional retirement community, as the purpose built apartments can easily be adapted to provide new facilities to support their increased needs, and the onsite provision of care can be dialled up to support their requirements. This means they spend less time in hospital and can avoid be transferred into care homes, relieve pressure on both the NHS and the social care system. 

ARCO estimates that extra care settings cuts the cost of social care for individuals with lower level needs by around 17.8% and for those with higher needs by 26%. And by improving the physical and mental health of residents, costs like GP, nurse and hospital visits reduce by 38%. 

Overall, ARCO estimates that if 250,000 over-65s live in housing-with-care by 2030 this would provide around £5.6bn in cost savings for the health and social care system.

BENEFITS FOR WIDER HOUSING MARKET

As residents often move from family homes into extra care communities, the model also helps strengthen the local housing market, by freeing up family homes for up-sizers and in turn smaller homes for younger families or first-time buyers.

This is crucially important on cities like Bristol, where the housing market has become increasingly constrained amid an influx of families leaving London during the COVID pandemic. These so-called ‘London leavers’ are reducing available supply and helping drive up prices.

ARCO estimates that if the extra care sector achieves it’s growth targets by 2030, 562,000 bedrooms will be released to the market for all generations across the country.

The development of extra care communities is also a considerably more efficient use of development land than providing new family homes, using six times less space than a traditional home development by a housebuilder. 

This means extra care developments of just 100-150 units can have a significant impact on the local housing market, not just by freeing up existing family homes – and those further down the housing chain - but through an efficient use of land, allowing additional development land to be given over to the development of new homes for first-time buyers and families.