A new five-year action plan aims to make Cardiff a great place to grow older.
Age-Friendly Cardiff, a network of public service partners , has developed the new five-year plan as a road map for creating an environment where older people are supported to be more active, where they can participate in all aspects of city life, and live independently in their own homes and communities for as long as possible.
The network's partners include Cardiff Council, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service, South Wales Police and the third sector as well as other organisations including businesses, shops, entertainment venues, community groups and older people themselves.
The 2024 - 2028 plan, discussed by Cardiff Council's Cabinet at its meeting today (19 September), builds on the progress made by Age Friendly Cardiff since becoming the first Welsh member of the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Network for Age Friendly Cities and Communities in March 2022.
Now considered by the WHO as an "outstanding member" of the network, Age Friendly Cardiff's work has been showcased to other members around the world as an example of good practice.
The plan highlights the achievements of the past year including:
36,318 care hours delivered by Care Hubs
344 home visits carried out by Sight Life, a charity for visually impaired people
2,055 older person's events delivered in Cardiff Hubs
33,147 customer contacts managed by the Council's First Point of Contact team
12,000 Home Safety Checks carried out by South Wales Fire and Rescue Service
290 dementia-friendly businesses
17,144 visitors to the Dementia Friendly Cardiff website
Over 200 engagement events by South Wales Police
The new plan commits to ensure that citizens can live independently, and are connected to their communities, taking into account what matters to them; to create resilient communities and develop strong community networks that can support older people to live well and to deliver services in a locality setting, close to citizens' homes.
The city's dementia-friendly work remains a priority as well as ensuring that older people can access opportunities to participate in activities and events to improve wellbeing and enrich their lives. Open and accessible transport, the best housing outcomes for all older people and collaboration to improve assessment, diagnosis and care planning practices are also key objectives.
The plan has been structured around the eight domains used by the WHO to describe age friendly cities, which are:
Outdoor space and public buildings • Housing • Transport • Community Support & Health Services • Communication & Information • Civic Participation & Employment • Social Participation • Respect & Social Inclusion
Older person's champion and council cabinet member for adult services, Leonora Thomson, said: "Cardiff has an ageing population and while the fact that people are living longer is something we should celebrate, it's important that we work together to help older people to be active, healthy and as independent as possible as they grow older."
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