Living Well and Living Well PLUS

Please note, this service is not available outside Age UK Merton - Head Office's catchment area.

Age UK Merton
277 London Road
Mitcham
Surrey
CR4 3NT
United Kingdom

Email: livingwell@ageukmerton.org.uk
Telephone: 02086 485792

The Living Well service aims to keep people safe and independent in their homes for as long as possible. We visit people in their homes and provide a holistic assessment around their needs.

What is the Living Well Service?

Living independently at home for as long as possible is what most of us want. Over time it may be that help at home is needed to remain happy and safe. The Living Well Service aims to provide a holistic needs assessment for older people in their homes to decide whether additional support is needed. Our main aim is to make sure that older people in Merton are living longer, safer, and happier lives, and the Living Well Service aims to improve the livelihood of those who need help.

What happens in the needs assessment?

The assessment covers topics such as socialisation, access to transport, emotional wellbeing, finances, safety and security in the home, personal care etc. We also do a home risk assessment at our visit, looking for and testing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors. Our assessments are very person centered and from our visits we then go on to support them with making referrals and solving issues.

What are the outcomes?

As soon as we have made the assessments, we are able to help in numerous ways by supporting the individual with making referrals and solving problems. Some of our associated services which we can refer to include:

- Activity centres & lunch clubs
- Adult social care & safeguarding referrals
- At Home service (support with cleaning & shopping)
- Befriending
- Falls prevention services
- Fire safety checks
- Living Well PLUS
- Grants
- Merton Councils handyperson service
- Information & Advice – includes benefit advice & support to fill out applications
- Liaising with housing associations
- Mascot
- Meals at home
- Merton Uplift / counselling services
- Occupational Therapy
- Transport forms such as Dial-A-Ride, Taxicard, Blue Badge

Working with the community

The Living Well service is committed to collaborating with local health and wellbeing services in Merton. We are dedicated to helping some of the most vulnerable individuals by working with GP's, social workers, district nurses, social prescribers, third-party companies, and other organisations in the local community who promote accessible and inclusive support for older adults.

Living Well PLUS

The Living Well PLUS service (previously Fresh Start) is now embedded into the wider Living Well service. By helping individuals with de-cluttering and supporting hoarding disorders, the Living Well PLUS service aims to make the most vulnerable individuals' lives a lot more manageable; giving them the ability to lead safer, more independent lives in the home. Hoarding and cluttering can be hugely detrimental to an older person's safety and wellbeing, we are committed to tackling these issues by getting a team of professionals to help the individual make positive and long lasting changes.

What can the Living Well PLUS service help with organising?

- Signposting to deep cleaning services
- Support from registered psychotherapists specialising in hoarding disorders
- Signposting to de-cluttering specialists
- Safety checks
- Referring externally to undertake fire risk assessments
- Providing wider family support
- Support to apply for grants

How much is the Living Well PLUS service?

Although the Living Well PLUS initial assessment is free-of-charge, Age UK Merton use external third-parties and professionals to undertake the hoarding and de-cluttering service. This will be discretionary based upon the individual company's rates. Clients will be expected to fund this for themselves. Older people who do not have sufficient access to funds can be supported to apply for grants from other third-party organisations.

The Living Well team are dedicated to providing a quality service which aims to have a lasting impact on older individuals in the Borough of Merton. Through their commitment to providing a holistic service, they aim to help older people love later life.