Wentworth Home Based Care Programme

Summary

TAFTA (The Association for the Aged) has been serving vulnerable older persons in the city of eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal for over 67 years, promoting dignity, independence, and quality care. The Wentworth Home Based Care Programme currently supports approximately 82 vulnerable older persons within the community.
The programme employs 12 trained Home-Based Carers, who provide daily essential in-home support services to older adults who are frail, chronically ill, socially isolated, or financially vulnerable.

Services include:
• Assistance with activities of daily living (bathing, dressing, mobility support)
• Medication supervision and health monitoring
• Basic nursing care and referrals
• Emotional and psychosocial support
• Support to prevent neglect and abuse
• Linkages to social services and grants such as Old Age Pension and care dependency grant
• Family support and caregiver guidance

This programme enables older persons to age in place safely and with dignity, reducing unnecessary hospital admissions and institutionalization.

Community Impact
The programme contributes significantly to:
• Improved physical and emotional wellbeing of older persons
• Reduced social isolation of older persons
• Prevention of abuse and neglect
• Early detection of health deterioration
• Strengthened family support systems
• Employment creation within the community (12 carers)

Sustainability and Local Empowerment
• Carers are locally employed, strengthening community ownership.
• TAFTA provides supervision, training, and quality assurance.
• The programme reduces strain on hospitals and residential care facilities.
• It represents a cost-effective community-based model of care.

Website: https://www.tafta.org.za

Key facts

Main target group: Older people with chronic health conditions or disability

Other target group(s): Vulnerable older persons

Sector(s): Social protection

Desired outcome for older people:
Meet their basic needs

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageism
Accessibility
Ageing in place
Dementia
Elder abuse
Healthy behaviours (e.g. physical activity)
Intergenerational activities
Inclusion

Contact details

Name: Naidoo, Sunitha

Email address: sunitha@tafta.org.za

Preferred language(s): English

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Older People’s Association

Others involved in the project:

Volunteers
Private sector

How collaboration worked: The Wentworth Home Based Care Programme: • Demonstrates practical implementation of age-friendly principles at community level. • Provides measurable reach (82 beneficiaries). • Creates employment opportunities. • Integrates health, housing, social care, and inclusion in one coordinated model. • Serves as a scalable model for other communities within the municipality. • This initiative positions TAFTA as a key implementation partner in advancing an Age-Friendly City strategy.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: In a socio-economically challenged community such as Wentworth, this intervention is not only a care service — it is a protective social support system.

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: No

Do you plan to evaluate your age-friendly practice? No

Feedback:
The community views the Wentworth Home Based Care programme as a vital service in the Wentworth community. At various platforms, recipients of the service, their families and community stakeholders have all expressed the need for the service as well as commended the impact that the service is providing to older persons.

Expansion plans:
Yes, this is an age-friendly practice that can be duplicated in various other communities where older persons require care and support and resources are scarce. It will afford older persons dignity and care as they age in place.

Looking back

Reflections:
It is always important to take cognizance of the extent to which older people’s needs are interconnected. A health issue may be linked to poverty, food insecurity, loneliness, unsafe housing, transport difficulties or family circumstances. Also a point to remember is the importance of having baseline data from the beginning. For an Age-Friendly City initiative, it would be valuable to have consistent information on health status, mobility, social isolation, housing conditions, access to services and referrals.

Challenges:
• Poverty and financial vulnerability – Carers and TAFTA identify needs and link older adults to appropriate social and community resources. • Chronic illness and frailty – Regular home visits enable early identification of deterioration and referral to healthcare services. • Social isolation – Regular contact with carers provides companionship, monitoring and connection to support networks. • Limited access to healthcare – Carers assist with identifying health concerns and facilitate referrals/linkages to healthcare services. • Unsafe or unsuitable home environments – Home visits allow risks to be identified and appropriate interventions or referrals to be made. •Abuse and neglect – Regular contact creates an opportunity to identify concerns early and activate appropriate professional intervention. • Limited resources – TAFTA prioritises vulnerable older adults and uses existing professional and community networks to maximise available resources.