Time to Adapt: Examining waiting times for Disabled Facilities Grants in Wales

Older People’s Commissioner: delays in home adaptations putting older people’s health, safety and independence at risk

A new report published today by the Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, reveals that older people in many parts of Wales are waiting over a year for crucial adaptations to be made to their homes, with the average in one area sitting at nearly two years.

The Commissioner has warned that delays in adapting older people’s houses puts their health, safety and independence at risk, often leaving individuals unable to undertake basic tasks or move around their homes safely. In some cases, prolonged waits have resulted in older people experiencing falls or other serious injuries, leading to hospital or care home admissions that could be avoided.

The report highlights that in addition to the significant personal costs to older people, these issues also create additional pressures for public services.

The Commissioner’s findings are based on data requested from local authorities¹ on average waiting times for works delivered through Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), which offer funding for home adaptations to those who qualify.

The Commissioner found an average overall waiting time for adaptations of 370 days in Wales, indicating that waiting times have almost doubled since 2019, when the last comparable data was published. Reponses from local authorities also show that older people in around half of areas are waiting longer than the average – many months longer in some cases – with the average waiting time in one area sitting at a massive 692 days, almost a year longer than the average for Wales.

The Commissioner also requested data on the age, gender and ethnicity of people who received DFGs to identify potential barriers to access or gaps in delivery. Concerningly, she found that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals are significantly underrepresented based on the data received – comprising just 1.3% of recipients despite representing 6% of the population in Wales.

Other key findings include:

• Many older people find the DFGs process to be complex, confusing and difficult to navigate.
• Local authorities across Wales are struggling to meet rapidly rising costs and increased demand.
• There are inconsistencies in the ways that the home adaptations/DFGs process is delivered across Wales, including approaches to means testing.
• Data captured about DFGs is very limited – offering no real insight into people’s experiences – and is published infrequently, limiting opportunities for scrutiny.
• Current guidance and service standards are out-of-date and offer little support to local authorities.

Discussing her findings, Older People’s Commissioner for Wales, Rhian Bowen-Davies, said:

“Our homes play an important role in our lives, influencing our health, wellbeing safety, security and independence as well as connecting us to our loved ones and our communities, fundamental in enabling us to live and age well.

“But as we get older, we may find that our homes no longer fully meet our needs or may even present potential risks to our safety, which means that adaptations may be required.

“The extent of this issue was highlighted in recent polling undertaken by my office, which found that nearly 1 in 5 people aged 60+ (approximately 178,000 individuals) have difficulties getting around their homes, such as with stairs or bathroom facilities.²

“Home adaptations are therefore crucial to enable older people to remain living at home (if they wish to) or return home after a hospital or care home stay, while also preventing accidents such as falls and ensuring that the home environment meets people’s needs in terms of accessibility, mobility, and care delivery.

“Given the importance of home adaptations, it is essential that any required works are completed as quickly as possible, with older people supported throughout this process.

“However, many older people across Wales have shared their concerns and frustrations with me about the amount of time it can take for home adaptations to be made, particularly when involved in the DFGs process, and the impact of this on their lives.

“The reality of this is often people being unable to undertake basic tasks or move around their homes safely while waiting for adaptations, which reduces people’s independence and may force them to rely on others for support.

“In some cases, prolonged waits have also led to older people experiencing falls or suffering injuries, creating significant personal costs to individuals, as well as often leading to health and social care interventions that could have otherwise been avoided.

“I wanted to examine these issues in more detail, with a particular focus on understanding the extent of the waits older people are facing and why these are occurring.

“The data provided by local authorities presents a concerning picture: waiting times appear to have increased by almost 80% since 2019 – up to 370 days compared with just 207 days previously. Some individuals also seem to be waiting much longer, with the average waiting of 692 days in one area, almost a year longer than the average.

“Demographic data also suggests that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic older people are missing out on access to adaptations, reflecting the significant barriers that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic individuals often face when trying to access services and support.”

Chief Executive of Care & Repair Cymru, Chris Jones, said: 

“Data shows that over 75% of Disabled Facilities Grants are for people aged over 60. These grants contribute significantly to supporting older people to stay living independently at home, which is where our loved ones prefer to be as they grow older. It is therefore worrying to see that waiting times for DFGs have increased significantly over the past 5 years, since the focus on measuring waiting times nationally in Wales ended.

“Increased waits for DFGs means more falls, more admissions to hospitals and visits to GPs, and admissions to care homes sooner than needed. This is detrimental to the well-being of older people, and short sighted from a public service perspective, costing more to the public purse in the long run.”

The report includes a series of recommendations for local authorities and the next Welsh Government to address the issues identified, including improving the quality of the data collected and publishing this more quickly to enable greater transparency, monitoring, oversight and scrutiny, as well as opportunities to identify and respond to potential issues more quickly.

In addition, the Commissioner wants to see action to reach out to and engage with Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic older people to increase uptake amongst this group.

Furthermore, the Commissioner is calling for the Welsh Government to work with local authorities, housing adaptations service providers, support agencies and older people to develop an updated All-Wales Practice Guide and new Service Standards for Wales, which would support effective practice and help to improve consistency.

While these actions are focused on delivering change over the longer-term, the Commissioner also highlights potential opportunities for more immediate action, using additional funding announced by the UK Government earlier this year.

She wants the Welsh Government to make any consequential funding it receives available to local authorities and third sector service providers to enable them to direct resources at parts of the system where, locally, there are particular issues or blockages. This might include increasing short-term capacity to speed-up assessment or planning/approval stages, for example, engaging with groups who are more like to face barriers when accessing services or support, or improving local information about home adaptations and DFGs.

The Commissioner added:

“It’s crucial that action is delivered both immediately and in the longer-term to ensure that older people across Wales can access the adaptations they need to be safe, healthy and independent at home, and can live and age well.”

ENDS