O.P.R.A.H

O.P.R.A.H (Supporting Older People to Remain at Home) is an Ageing Well Network initiative aimed at enabling older people to remain in their own homes for longer. The initiative aims:

• To develop new approaches to supporting older people in their own homes, particularly those who for reasons of frailty or disability, may feel pressured to move to supported housing or residential care when their preference is to remain in their own homes and those in hospitals, medically ready for discharge but whose home environment doesn’t provide adequate support. 
• To ensure that the preferences and priorities of older people are at the heart of any policy and the provision of care and support is transparent, equitable and person-centred.
• And to explore and develop new approaches to the delivery of services to produce better health and well-being outcomes and greater efficiencies, potentially reducing the cost of care on a per capita basis.

To achieve these aims the AWN has established a working group at National level which has developed a framework for the initiative (see appendix 1) based on five key values

• The views and preferences of the older person are paramount
• Access to care and support is equitable, consistent across the country, needs based, person-centred and based on transparent criteria.
• There is a single, integrated holistic system with multiple choices
• All older people will be entitled to access the system, and charges for services will be based on transparent and fair criteria
• The system will be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of older people.

It is now planned that the network will implement at least two trials with the involvement of local groups and service providers through the Age Friendly Counties Programme.

Continue to Rationale