Cardiff is committed to being a great place to grow older and a place where older people are more empowered, healthy and happy.

The Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 required each local authority area to undertake an assessment of wellbeing; encompassing social, economic and cultural factors, to inform a local wellbeing plan.

Key findings from the Wellbeing Assessment:

– Rapid growth in population age 65+

– The number of citizens over the age of 85 is anticipated to double by 2030

– Older people are more likely to have long term conditions and complex care needs, and therefore require additional primary care services

– Health, affordability of housing, public transport and access to services are significant factors that contribute to the wellbeing of older citizens

– By 2035, it is predicted that over 6,000 people in Cardiff will be living with dementia

Cardiff Well-being Plan 2018-2023

Cardiff’s Public Services Board (Cardiff PSB) brings together the city’s public service leadership and decision makers, including those from the Council, Health Board, Natural Resources Wales, Welsh Government, The Third Sector and the Fire, Police and Probation Services. The purpose of the PSB is to improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Cardiff by strengthening joint working across the city’s public services.

Cardiff’s wellbeing plan sets out the priorities of the Public Services Board and focuses on areas of public service delivery that requires partnership working between the city’s public and community services, in collaboration with the citizens of the city.

Actions related to older people are encapsulated within Wellbeing Objective 6 – Cardiff is a great place to grow older.

Wellbeing Objective 6

How a society treats people as they get older reflects its values and principles, and sends an important message to future generations. Cardiff’s ambition is for the city to be a great place to grow older, where older people are more empowered, healthy and happy, supported by excellent public and community services and integrated within all areas of community life.

Older people will increasingly become an asset to the city, making a significant contribution to the economy, the life of the city and its communities. As the city grows, it will also be important that new communities are designed in a way that accommodates the needs of older people. This will require joint planning alongside the provision of a range of future accommodation options to meet the demand for housing and enable people to remain at home and active in the community.

A preventative approach will be of central importance. Accelerating the integration of services for older people, and joining up our resources and services at a community level, will ensure that as many people as possible are able to receive care in their communities. Meanwhile, investment can be focused on prevention and the promotion of independent living. This will not only deliver better health outcomes, it is also a more sustainable approach to meeting an individual’s needs in later life, by reducing pressures and costs on the city’s health and care services.

Voluntary sector groups and organisations are developed and run by the people whose interests they represent. The ageing population, together with growing pressure on the NHS and other public services, will make the voluntary sector’s role even more important. The sector already provides a range of preventative and responsive services that contribute to the wellbeing of the population, including older people. From formal services aligned to statutory sector provision, through to informal activities and services, the sector helps to connect people – including older people – within our communities. In doing so, it assists in meeting strategic priorities – such as increasing social cohesion, reducing loneliness and improving levels of activity.

Being an Age Friendly City, and being Dementia Friendly, will mean adapting the city’s structure and services to be accessible to, and inclusive of older people with varying needs and capacities. This means ensuring that policies and programmes of work which focus on the needs of older citizens, particularly the most disadvantaged or excluded, are central to the work of service providers. Planning practices will require genuine collaboration with older people, their carers and their families. This will help to ensure that information, support, assessment, diagnosis and care plans are citizen-led, reflecting what is important to them and achieves the outcomes they value. This will include drawing on all of the assets within the public and community sectors, and working in partnership on the basis of an equitable distribution of influence and resources, to ensure this approach is developed sustainably.

Cardiff’s Commitments to Older People

We Will:

– Ensure that our citizens can live independently, and are connected to their communities, taking into account what matters to them

– Create resilient communities and develop strong community networks that can support older people to live well

– Deliver services in a locality setting, close to citizens homes as a foundation for the provision of seamless, person-centred services

– Work towards a Dementia Friendly City which helps people living with dementia and their families to thrive

– Ensure that older people are able to enjoy all aspects of city life and are provided with opportunities to participate in activities and events to improve wellbeing and enrich their lives

– Deliver a city that is open and accessible to all, and work towards a transport system that everyone has the confidence to use

– Deliver the best housing outcomes for all older people in Cardiff

– Collaborate with older people, their carers, support workers and families to improve assessment, diagnosis and care planning practices so that their plan reflects what is important to them and achieves the outcomes they seek

Cardiff aspires to membership of the Network as an opportunity to:

– Inspire change by showing what can be done and how it can be done

– Contribute to the connecting of cities and communities worldwide to facilitate the exchange of information, knowledge and experience

– Discover appropriate innovative and evidence based solutions to challenges