Action on Elder Abuse (AEA) is a charity working to protect, and prevent the abuse of,

vulnerable older adults:

http://www.elderabuse.org.uk #

(see next text section for more info)

The Centre for Policy on Ageing was established in 1947 by the Nuffield Foundation with a

remit to focus on the wide-ranging needs of older people

http://www.cpa.org.uk/index.html

Citizens Advice, Lambeth: 1, Barrhill Road, Streatham Hill; 0844 245 1298; or

www.adviceguide.org.uk/england.htm

Mobility aids

In this guide we look at the most common and useful mobility aids, ranging from walking sticks and frames, to wheelchairs and mobility scooters. We explain the choices that are available and, when it comes to mobility scooters and wheelchairs, the different opportunities you have for hiring as well as buying them.

If you're wondering what kind of help would be best for your relative or friend, our Care advice tool can give you some guidance about housing options, day-to-day living arrangements and how to pay for care. 

Use our Care services directory to find care homes, agencies for care at home or local authority services for your relative anywhere in the UK.

In this guide

• Understanding your relative's mobility needs

  If your relative now has poor mobility, there is a wide range of mobility aids that could help with access and avoiding falls. Our guide steers you through the choices.

• Mobility scooters, walking sticks and other mobility aids

  You may know that your relative would benefit from a walking stick, walking frame or a mobility scooter, but how do you set about choosing one and then buying one?

Source: http://www.which.co.uk/elderly-care/housing-options/mobility-aids

Elderly Care Money Helpline

The Which? Elderly Care website offers you a wealth of information on financing care. But sometimes a friendly phone call with a knowledgeable expert is all you need to get you on the right track.

Speak to an elderly care money expert for FREE

1. Arrange a call back at a time convenient to you with one of our experts. Call 01992 822891 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday.

2. Receive an email from our booking team asking for a few key details to help us best answer your questions.

3. Prepare any documentation ahead of the call so that you have all the information to make the most from your 15 minute free call. These documents could include information on pension provisions or any allowances provided.

The elderly care money helpline key facts

~ Your 15-minute phone call will be free of charge and allow you to quiz our money experts on your financing care needs in the UK, such as how to pay for a care home or care at home and applying for the attendance allowance.

~ The helpline allows you to go beyond the information we provide on our site and receive personal guidance on your individual circumstances.

~ You can ask us any question about financing elderly care. We can’t give you regulated financial advice, but you will always get personalised assistance with your query.

~ If we can’t help you with your concerns, we’ll do our best to guide you to an organisation that can help.

~ This pilot service is free as it is a part of our commitment to providing unbiased advice to consumers. As a not-for-profit charitable organisation, Which? ploughs the money from our commercial ventures back into our campaigns and free advice services.

Ahead of your call back

We recommend you read the following guides to prepare for your call.

Helpful guides

• Attendance allowance
• Gifting assets
• Financing a care home
• Financing care at home
• Financing home alterations
• Managing your relative's financial affairs

Source: http://www.which.co.uk/elderly-care/financing-care/elderly-care-money-helpline

http://www.which.co.uk/elderly-care

Dealing with a fall

Within the care system, preventing falls in older people has an increasingly high priority as falls and fall-related injuries are a common and serious problem for older people. Here we explain who can help in preventing falls and identify common causes of falls and how to deal with them.

If you're wondering what kind of help would be best for your relative or friend, our Care advice tool can give you some guidance about housing options, day-to-day living arrangements and how to pay for care. 

Use our Care services directory to find care homes, agencies for care at home or local authority services for your relative anywhere in the UK.

In this guide

• Preventing falls

  You want to do everything possible to reduce the chances of your relative falling again. This may require a care plan that involves either private or NHS support.

• Common causes of falls

  Several factors can cause a fall, including how older people move, sit and stand. We have advice on common hazards in the home.

• Checklist to help prevent falls in the home

  The NHS has some practical tips to reduce the risk of falls at home, such as what to wear and how to make the home environment safer.

Welcome to the Jumbulance Trust

What is 3rings trying to do?

My Ageing Parent has compiled an extensive list of apps to help care for your parent and to keep your parent entertained. They are available for iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Apps featured here cover medical, mobility, reading, hearing, help with shopping, social media, games and hobbies.

Medical and Mobility Apps

2. Communication Tool/ iPhone/Free. This app has over 500 pictures, plus you can download your own personal ones, to help someone with dementia to communicate more easily, as well as allowing for reminiscence exercises, memory prompts and other mental exercises

Help with reading and hearing

1. Dragon Dictation, FREE.This app lets your parent dictate text and then send it as an email message. They can also dictate reminders to themselves and post on Facebook and Twitter

Hobbies

Agencies which can provide help and support

Able Community Care 01603 764567, www.uk-care.com - Arrange live-in carers for an elderly or disabled person in the UK.

Age UK Advice Line
0800 169 6565
www.ageuk.org.uk
Information and advice for older people

Aid for the Aged in Distress: 0870 803 1950, www.agedistress.org.uk - Makes emergency grants to enable elderly people to cope with living alone. Grants for essentials such as heating, bedding, cookers, carpets, curtains, furniture, repairs, telephones, alarm connections, clothing.

Alzheimers Society. This organisation has been mentioned several times on this site.
Helpline 0300 222 1122
www.alzheimers.org.uk
Information, support, advice and referrals to appropriate organisations.

The Cinnamon Trust: 01736 757900, www.cinnamon.org.uk - National charity for elderly or terminally ill people and their pets. Network of volunteers who can visit homebound owners to take dogs for daily walks, foster pet as one of their family when owners face time in hospital, take pets to the vet, by pet food, clean budgie cage, have national register of nursing homes and residential homes and sheltered housing for elderly that will accept residents and their pets. Can arrange care of pets when owners die.

Contact the Elderly: 0800 716 543, www.contact-the-elderly.org - To enable very elderly people living alone to enjoy social contact, bringing companionship into their lives. Independent self run groups of volunteers and elderly housebound people are formed in a particular area. Once a month on a Sunday afternoon, each group (of some 6 volunteers and 8-10 elderly people) meets in the home of a volunteer host.

Different Strokes:
0845 130 7172 / 01908 317618
www.differentstrokes.co.uk
Registered charity providing unique free services to younger stroke survivors throughout the UK. Helps stroke survivors of working age to optimize their recovery, take control of their own lives and regain as much independence as possible by offering rehabilitative services, information and advice. Network of different stroke exercise groups, telephone helpline, counselling network.

Elder Abuse Response: 0808 808 8141, www.elderabuse.org.uk - Helpline offering information and support for anyone concerned about the abuse of an older person.

Elderly Accommodation Counsel: - First Stop Advice for Older People, 0800 377 7070 , www.housingcare.org - Helpline for older people, families and agencies. Guidance, advice and information to help callers choose and fund the accommodation most suited to their needs. Maintain a national database of all forms of accommodation for older people.

Dementia UK: 0845 257 9406, This organisation has been mentioned several times on this website.  www.dementiauk.org - Telephone or email advice and support for family carers, people with dementia and professionals provided by experienced Admiral nurses.

Friends of the Elderly: 020 7730 8263, email: enquiries@fote.org.uk, www.fote.org.uk - To support older people, often frail, confused or with dementia, to maintain a level of independence and choice by providing a complete range of services for them, provides home visiting services, run day centre facilities.

Grandparents Apart - Self Help Group Scotland: 0141 882 5658, www.grandparentsapart.co.uk - Support for grandparents apart from their grandchildren.

Grandparents' Association: 0845 434 9585, www.grandparents-association.org.uk - Helpline and other advice and support services for all grandparents, particularly those denied contact with their grandchildren or responsible for their upbringing. Support Groups.

IndependentAge (new brand name of the Royal United Kingdom Beneficent Association (RUKBA)
0800 319 6789
www.independentage.org
Charity that champions independence for older people. Aims to help older people on low incomes to live independently with dignity and peace of mind by providing a regular extra income, grants for emergencies, equipment to aid independence, support and friendship of volunteers, nursing and residential care and help with fees.

NBFA Assisting the Elderly
020 7828 0200
www.nbfa.org.uk
To improve the quality of life for older people in the UK on low income by tackling isolation, loneliness, pain, fear, especially for those who live alone. The NBFA does this by giving direct practical help in three specific ways, free holidays, free TENS machines, free emergency telephone alarms for those on low income.

National Federation of Solo Clubs:
www.federation-solo-clubs.co.uk
To provide social events for widowed, divorced and separated people and other single people at 64 clubs nationwide.

National Federation of Women’s Institutes: 020 7371 9300, www.thewi.org.uk - Arrange monthly meetings with speakers, demonstrations, activities, learning experiences for women.
Wales Office: 02920 221712

Pets As Therapy: 01844 345 445, www.petsastherapy.org - Provide therapeutic visits to hospitals, hospices, nursing and care homes, special needs schools, and a variety of other venues by volunteers with their own friendly temperament tested cats and dogs.

Ramblers Association:
020 7339 8500 – Ring for details of local group.
www.ramblers.org.uk

Relatives and Residents Association: 020 7359 8136, www.relres.org - Telephone advice and support services for older people living in nursing and residential homes, and for their families and friends. Referrals to 25 local volunteer run groups across the UK. Local groups provide information and enable people to share experiences.

Seniors Network: www.seniorsnetwork.co.uk - Website with lots of useful information - computers/interests, health, money, pensions, making a Will, leisure, travel - an information resource for older people and their organisations. Encourages all seniors to take an interest in technology, computers and internet.

The Stroke Association – 0303 3033 100 www.stroke.org.uk information, advice, latest research, Talkstroke discussion forum.

Stroke Support Group – for all types of stroke online community and information www.strokesupportgroup.org

St. Vincent de Paul Society:
020 7703 3030
info@svp.org.uk
www.svp.org.uk
To support the needy and marginalized by person to person contact. Activities include helping the elderly, sick, unemployed, lonely, bereaved.

The Silver Line: This website has been mentioned several times on this website.
0800 4 70 80 90
www.thesilverline.org.uk
Free confidential helpline providing information, friendship, advice to older people. Open 24hrs a day every day of the year. Can link callers to local groups and services, offer regular befriending calls, protect and support those who are suffering abuse and neglect.

Thrive:
0118 988 5688
www.thrive.org.uk
Thrive is a small national charity that uses gardening to change the lives of disabled and older people. Thrive has two gardening projects, one near Reading in Berkshire and one in Battersea Park, South London. Thrive also supports around 900 gardening projects in England and the Irish Republic and can put people in touch with a project in their local area

Other useful websites

• www.caredirections.co.uk - Information relating to care and rights of older people including information on funding different care options

• www.laterlife.com - Information for over 50s includes features, travel, health, leisure, retirement courses, jobs and working in later life.

Independent living if you are deaf or hearing impaired

There is a range of equipment available for deaf and hearing impaired people to use at home. It includes textphones, listening devices and alerting devices, such as specially adapted doorbells and alarm clocks.

Equipment and aids for home and work

Help is available with everyday situations involving telephones, textphones and listening equipment. Extra aids include induction loops which work with your hearing aid, alarms, alarm clocks, doorbells and teletext adapters.

You can get equipment and advice about the different types of aids available from social services, National Health Service audiology departments and voluntary organisations.

• Action on Hearing Loss
• Signature Northern Ireland
• Hearing Dogs for Deaf People
• National Deaf Children's Society (NDCS)
• British Deaf Association

More useful links

• Free sight tests for over-60s and help with other health costs
• How to use your health services

Hearing Link has a lot of useful information on hearing loss.This can be found at:

 http://www.hearinglink.org/

http://www.which.co.uk/elderly-care

• Find out about care homes and living independently options, including sheltered accommodation and choosing mobility aids
• Understand how to deal with common concerns about elderly parents and other relatives, including dementia and falls.
• Learn about funding options for care homes and care at home together with gifting assets, power of attorney and attendance allowance

Download their guide, available as a PDF, for more information on helping a loved one:

http://www.which.co.uk/documents/pdf/helping-loved-ones-in-later-life-401116.pdf

http://www.myageingparent.com/

Check out my blog for news on some very useful websites.

INDEPENDENT LIVING:

• Assist UK

Redbank House

4 St Chads Street

Manchester

M8 8QA

Tel: 0161 832 9757

E-mail: general.info@assist-uk.org

Website: http://www.assist-uk.org

Provides a network of centres throughout the UK that aim to improve disabled and older people's access, reliable information and advice about products and equipment for easier living.

• ABLEize:

ABLEize is a disability resource directory offering a huge range of disability, mobility and health resources as well as links to other useful mobility websites.
Website: www.ableize.com

• Action on Hearing Loss (AHL):

Previously known as the Royal National Institute for Deaf People, AHL is a charity that provides excellent information for people with partial or total hearing loss.
Telephone: 0808 808 0123
Website: www.actiononhearingloss.org.uk

• Age UK:

Independent charity giving advice to older people, including advice on finding, choosing and financing home care services. The charity also runs handyperson services offering older people help with small jobs around the home.
Telephone: 0800 169 6565
Website: www.ageuk.org.uk
Handyperson services: www.ageuk.org.uk/home-and-care/home-safety-and-security/handyperson-services/

• Alzheimer’s Society:

A charity aimed at improving the lives of people living with dementia. Their online shop has many products specifically for dementia sufferers.
Telephone: 020 7423 3500
Helpline: 0300 222 11 22
Online shop: http://shop.alzheimers.org.uk/
In Scotland, contact Alzheimer Scotland – Action on dementia
Website: www.alzscot.org

• AT Dementia:

A web-based information resource on assistive technologies (including telecare) for people with dementia. In addition to general information, the website contains a database of products that may be appropriate for people with dementia.
Telephone: 0116 257 5017
Website: www.atdementia.org.uk

• British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA):

BHTA is the UK’s oldest and largest healthcare association. Its members make or sell assistive technology products and its Code of Practice is overseen by the Trading Standards Institute (TSI). As well as providing advice, it also deals with complaints independently, so it’s worth contacting them if you have any problems with a mobility scooter manufacturer or supplier, for example.
Telephone: 020 7702 2141
Website: www.bhta.net

• Care & Repair:

A national charity aiming to improving the housing and living conditions of older people and disabled people.
Care & Repair England
Telephone: 0115 950 6500
Website: www.careandrepair-england.org.uk
Care & Repair Scotland
Telephone: 0141 221 9879
Website: www.careandrepairscotland.co.uk
Care & Repair Cymru
Telephone: 0300 111 3333
Website: www.careandrepair.org.uk

• Co-operative Independent Living:

This website offers a range of disability aids and healthcare equipment designed to make life easier for older people in particular.
Telephone: 0800 622 6001
Website: www.co-operativeindependentliving.co.uk/

• Disability Equipment Register:

A not-for-profit organisation that enables people to buy and sell items of used disability equipment, such as hoists, stair lifts and scooters, on a direct one-to-one basis.
Telephone: 01454 318818
Website: www.disabreg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

• Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) and Living Made Easy:

The Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) is a national charity providing impartial advice, information and training on independent living. They have developed the Living Made Easy website to give further information about products and equipment, with links to commercial retailers.
DLF helpline: 0300 999 0004 (10am-4pm weekdays)
DLF website: www.dlf.org.uk
Living Made Easy helpline: 0300 999 0004
Living Made Easy website: www.livingmadeeasy.org.uk
The DLF also has an equipment library for simple electronic aids, which allows people to borrow and trial certain products - see www.dlf.org.uk/library

• Independent 4 Life:

Independent 4 Life provide specialist products to assist older and disabled people looking for increased independence in their day-to-day lives.
Freephone: 0800 500 3001
Website: www.independent4life.co.uk

• Living Made Easy:

See Disabled Living Foundation (above)www.disabreg.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk

• Mobility Equipment Hire UK:

This company leases mobility equipment for holidays, and delivers it to your required destination in the UK and abroad. It can deliver to countries including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece, France, USA and even to the Caribbean.
Telephone: 0800 644 6062
Website: www.mobilityequipmenthiredirect.com

• Motability:

The not-for-profit Motability scheme allows people with a government-funded disability allowance (A Personal Independence Payment (PIP), which was previously known as the Disability Living Allowance, if your relative is already using that particular benefit) to hire a powered wheelchair or mobility scooter (or car) for three years in exchange for all or part of their benefit.
Telephone: 0300 456 4566
Website: www.motability.co.uk

• Red Cross:

As a part of the work of the Red Cross, they provide short-term loans of wheelchairs and other equipment in outlets around the UK. The charity’s website also features many independent living products.
Telephone: 0844 89 300 90
Website: www.redcross.org.uk

• Rica:

Rica (formerly Ricability) is the trading name of the national research charity Research Institute for Consumer Affairs. They focus specifically on issues of concern to disabled and older consumers. Their website has many guides to products relating to mobility, the home and technology.
Telephone: 020 7427 2460
Website: www.rica.org.uk

• Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB):

The RNIB has an online shop with many products aimed at supporting blind and partially sighted people.
Telephone: 0303 123 9999
Website: www.rnib.org.uk

Shopmobility
Shopmobility is a charity set up to assist people with mobility difficulties – whether permanent or temporary – with shopping or leisure pursuits in city and shopping centres through hiring electric scooters or wheelchairs.
Telephone: 0844 41 41 850
Website: www.shopmobilityuk.org

• Telecare Services Association (TSA):

The UK representative body for the telecare industry. Consumers can search for providers, and get advice on different products and services available. The TSA can also give you more information about the large telecare providers.
Telephone: 01625 520 320
Website: www.telecare.org.uk

• Thomas Pocklington Trust: Guide to good lighting:

Charity offering help and advice to people with sight loss or reduced visibility.
Telephone: 020 8995 0880
Website: www.pocklington-trust.org.uk

(Please refer to the General Help section for additional organisations)

Benefit Enquiry Line (BEL) - provides advice and information for disabled people and carers on the range of benefits available.

British Red Cross - provides short-term support to vulnerable people in the UK, for instance if they're recovering from an operation, need a wheelchair or need help coping around the house, plus a transport service for people who cannot get about easily or use public transport.

Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) - free, independent, confidential and impartial advice on people’s rights and responsibilities.

My Life Software - Software that provides communication support and interactivity for the elderly and people with dementia. Digital Life Story allows you to create, with someone with dementia, the story of their life and interact with it on-screen. The Interactive Reminiscence Aid contains photographs, video clips, music and lyrics dating back to the 1930’s - to spark recollections that can form the basis of conversations and promote well-being.

/indepeWarm Front - provides heating and insulation improvements to households on certain income-related benefits living in properties that are poorly insulated and/or do not have a working central heating system. It is only available in England but similar schemes are available in other parts of the UK ie Nest in Wales ; The Energy Assistance Package in Scotland; and Warm Homes in Northern Ireland.