Our newest study reveals that people with sight loss are at risk in their own homes because of a lack of home safety services that could protect them.
Read Research Discussion Paper No. 9 (PDF format, 99kb)
On the day that an All Party Parliamentary Group (1) reported that a lack of help with basic home improvements is seriously obstructing older people's struggle to maintain their independence, our study exposes gaps in existing services that put people with sight loss at particular risk.
The study found that people with sight loss don't know where to turn for advice on home safety and maintenance issues, leaving them at risk in their own homes. National data (2) estimate that one third of pensioner households live in sub-standard housing, and because sight loss is associated with age, it is likely that many of those householders will be affected by sight loss.
Most older people experience some level of sight loss which affects their daily lives, yet existing home safety and maintenance services - from voluntary organisations, home improvement agencies and local authorities - are often unable to take this into accoutn. They mostly rely on general leaflets to provide information and tend to focus on single projects such as smoke alarms and external lighting for security, or on making adaptations. For people with sight loss, the study showed that a more accessible approach is needed that doesn't rely on leaflets and looks at specific and wider problems which can be missed, such as damp that may affect health or flooring that may cause trips and falls.
Now Pocklington is urging all those who have contact with people with sight loss to consider offering regular visual safety checks. These could include organisations supporting older people, local authority benefit advisers, home visiting services, vision rehabilitation officers and people carrying out energy efficiency checks, as well as those who go into people's homes to provide one-to-one support such as occupational therapists, home improvement or handyperson services and care providers.
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(1) The All Party Parliamentary Group on Housing and Care for Older People launched a report from the 'Living Well at Home' inquiry on 18 July 2011 at the House of Commons.
(2) In 2006 Age Concern estimated that 32% of pensioner households lived in housing which failed the Decent Homes Standards, and that older women living alone were at particular risk of living in poor or unsafe housing.
