A £300,000 boost has been given to a ‘pioneering’ project to help vulnerable older people get back on their feet after a stay in hospital.
The city council’s executive member for adult social care, Cllr Adam Ogilvie, has hailed the Hospital to Home scheme as a ‘genuine lifeline to older people in Leeds’.
Support can include shopping, cooking and prescription collections, home safety checks and cleaning.
Funding for the project has come from a new £2m cash pot set up by the Cabinet Office’s Centre for Social Action, NHS England, Monitor, the NHS Trust Development Authority and the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
Cllr Ogilvie said: ‘Adjusting to home life after a stay in hospital is an anxious time for anyone, but for older people there is the added worry of getting transport back home, getting around the house and, for many, wondering when they will next see a visitor or a friendly face.
‘That transitional period is a very vulnerable time for older people, when they can be at risk of either going back into hospital or becoming isolated and lonely, particularly over the winter months, when getting out and about can become much more difficult.’