How the Better at Home service is making a difference to residents

Publish Date
09 August 2024

Staff have been very proactive and helpful with organising all the things we needed for the client.

It’s great that you taken over my shopping. It has gone so smoothly and it’s working so well. I am very relieved.

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Friends taking photo with mobile phone

We are proud to be working with Age UK Wandsworth to deliver their Better At Home services for people aged 60 or over – and the feedback from those using the service shows the impact it’s having.

Funded by Wandsworth GP Federation and Wandsworth Council, the service enables older people across Wandsworth to live independently in their homes for as long as they wish to, or are able to.

It recently supported a 93-year-old Battersea resident, with a history of hoarding, get the support he needed following recent falls he had at home. These falls resulted in him being admitted to hospital on several occasions.

The Hospital Discharge Service (HDS) assistant worked closely with a neighbour to reduce his grocery costs and hoarding by making a basic shopping list with the essentials for the week.

The HDS assistant also helped with moving furniture and disposing of rubbish to make the house environment safer. A deep clean of the property was also carried out, resulting in a cleaner home to live in.

There are several elements to the Better at Home service, each designed to provide holistic support to those needing it, including two befriending services, a handyperson service, support with hospital discharge and online food shopping and a Voluntary Services Navigator, who acts as a link between Age UK Wandsworth and community health services and GPs. 

Read more about the work of Age UK Wandsworth.