Older & Bolder closed June 2013 This is an archived website
Make Home Work
Home is a special place for most of us. We want to continue to live in our own homes as we grow older. For the last twenty-five years, Ireland’s consecutive governments have said that we should be able to age well in our own homes. However, policy implementation has been weak and our system of community care remains patchy and inefficient.
Older & Bolder’s campaign MAKE HOME WORK highlights the obstacles faced by people – older people, people with chronic illnesses, people with disabilities - who want to live well at home and who need support to do so. Our campaign highlights solutions and shows how we can MAKE HOME WORK by building on older people’s insights and improving our system of community care.
Currently, the HSE is considering cuts to vital supports such as home help hours, home care packages and grants to voluntary service providers. The HSE itself says that these cuts would:
- increase demand on hospitals and long-stay care or Fair Deal beds;
- increase the number of delayed discharges and lead to longer waiting lists;
- impact on A&E waiting times; and
- decrease older people’s ability to remain at home.
By supporting our 12 month campaign to MAKE HOME WORK you will be working with Older & Bolder to make the right to age well at home a reality. Join us in calling for:
- older people to be recognised and supported as active managers of their own health.
- clarity around entitlements to key supports like Home Help, respite and Home Care Packages.
- the protection of funding to existing community care.
- the development of effective primary care in the community, integrated with acute hospital services and step-down facilities.
- the recognition - and safeguarding - of an adequate income, local transport and vibrant community activity as real health inputs not expendable luxuries.
- the publication of an ambitious National Positive Ageing Strategy as a vehicle to make ageing well at home a real option.
