AFTER pensioner John Larrett had three serious falls at home, his family suggested he move into “extra care” housing.

He responded: “I’m not going to live with all those old people”.

But after one more fall, he gave in and now says he could not be happier.

Mr Larrett, 92, is one of more than 500 people in extra care housing in Oxfordshire, and the number of places is set to jump 50 per cent in the next six months.

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At Nicholson House in Abingdon, Mr Larrett, a former worker at Abingdon’s MG car plant, has his own apartment, but he also has 24-hour care available.

Staff in the block go shopping for him, fetch his medicines, and he can eat in the restaurant every night.

The father-of-four and grandfather said: “I couldn’t have it any better than this – I am friends with everyone here.

“I can go down to have dinner if I want to, go out if I want to and if I don’t there is plenty going on here.

“We have concerts, bingo, games and we all know each other, we are like one big family and we have a laugh.”

If he has another fall, as he has done, he wears a buzzer around his neck and only has to press the button for a member of the care team to come running.

The number of specially-designed apartments like Mr Larrett’s will go up by 256 to 768 by March 2015 thanks to a £35m investment.

New complexes are being built in Abingdon, Kidlington, Goring, Shipton-under-Wychwood, and Witney.

The £35m comes from a partnership between housing associations, which provide the vast majority of funding, central government and Oxfordshire County Council, which nominates applicants for schemes.

Each will include apartments to rent and buy.

The council expects the total to increase past 1,000 apartments by 2016.

It called extra care housing an “effective alternative to care homes, designed to enable people to stay active and independent for longer”.

Cabinet member for adult social care Judith Heathcoat said: “The great thing about extra care housing is that older people have their own flat with their own front door, but can also have the peace of mind knowing care staff are available on-site 24/7.

“The quality of the new housing is of a very high standard and we will also ensure that the care delivered matches that standard.”

 

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