Ageing Well in Place at Meredith Court

Project team

The project team delivering this research was made up of nine residents from across the Aquarius estate – including tenants at Hopton Court and Meredith Court – and four staff members from CLASS and Turn2us.

Most members of the project team have been involved in previous community research, most notably the research carried out in Hopton Court, and a Cost-of-Living survey carried out at six Aquarius tower blocks in June 2022.

Community researcher training

There were six training sessions delivered by a professional researcher (employed by Turn2us). 

The sessions combined research training and the co-design of the survey. The survey and accompanying materials (including a service information booklet, participant information booklet and consent form) were piloted by the project team and adapted according to their feedback until they were satisfied the questions were suitable and relevant to the community.

Community engagement

Engagement with the Meredith Court community began in Autumn 2023 through a series of ‘light-touch’ community stalls in the grounds of the tower block, where residents were offered a cup of tea and slice of cake, and initial conversations began about experiences of living in Meredith Court and social care.

These culminated in a festive event at the tower block, where residents cooked and shared food, and continued to discuss life in the block. The aims of these engagements were for the project team and residents to get to know each other better; to raise awareness about the upcoming research project, and to begin to get a sense of the key issues affecting the Meredith Court community. 

The project team then held a series of ‘tea and chat’ events to build the profile of the project team and further spread the word about the upcoming survey. This included asking people what languages are spoken and whether people would need translators. 

Data collection and analysis 

The data collection period started with a launch event, where Meredith Court tenants had an opportunity to seek advice and information from local service providers including the local GP and housing provider.

The survey took place between the 28th May – 7th June 2024, and residents from 26 out of a total of 68 flats participated (38%).

Survey results were collated and analysed by our in-house researcher and verified with the project team and the wider tenant community through presentation of interim findings. 

These validation processes highlighted that some of the results on health status were misleading. We consider the reality to be that there are much higher rates of physical and mental health conditions than the survey findings suggest.

This is supported by data provided by Cornbrook Medical Practice (the local GP surgery) which shows that of the 68 Meredith Court tenants registered at the practice, around four in ten (38%) have a diagnosis of anxiety or depression.

The project team concluded that these contrasting findings resulted from: the subjectivity of our question phrasing (such as defining your health as ‘fair’ or ‘good’), the cultural differences in how people perceive good health, and the shame and stigma that can be associated with physical and mental health conditions.

Ethics

Ethics was covered in a range of topics during the training sessions, such as safeguarding, confidentiality, GDPR and informed consent. 

The training content and survey questions were reviewed by Dr Sophie King, Director of CLASS and Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Manchester. Turn2us provided supermarket vouchers to say thank you to participants.

Community Researcher experiences 

Peer mentors (who had led the previous research at Hopton Court) supported other residents to get involved in delivering the survey and teaching people about the NORC.

This peer mentor team has strengthened their leadership skills and expertise in ways which built their capacity to support more tenants in other tower blocks and neighbourhoods to realise their potential as community leaders and advocates for change. 

Community researchers expressed real enjoyment of the process, people described it as “eye-opening” and “impressive”. Moreover, one person said it was a “living, breathing NORC (Naturally Occurring Retirement Community) project”.

Case study 1

3. Ageing Well in Hulme’s Tower Blocks: Local context

There are 12 tower blocks in Hulme which are mostly located within or along the boundary of two areas called Aquarius and St George’s. 

They house a large proportion of older people. Hopton Court and Meredith Court have the highest percentage of older people (50+): 75% and 46% respectively.

These two blocks also house the highest number of older people (50+) living alone: 91% of Meredith Court and 96% of Hopton Court. Moreover, 30% of older residents report day-to-day activities being limited “a lot” due to long-term health issues, which is over 50% higher than the national average².

Cornbrook Medical Practice (CMP) have also been able to provide a small amount of wellbeing data on their registered patients at Meredith Court.

This data suggests that, of the 68 patients registered as patients and living at Meredith Court, one in five (21%) have a chronic illness (including COPD, heart disease, asthma and diabetes), around a third (32%) receive more than five repeat medications per month and around four in ten (38%) have a diagnosis of anxiety or depression.

4. Survey findings

This next section outlines the demographics of those who took part in the survey and the survey results, which can be understood as three main themes: 

1. Cost of Living: 81% of participants reported that they couldn't comfortably afford energy costs.
2. Social Isolation: 46% of participants saw family or friends about once a fortnight or less.
3. Health Inequalities: 46% of participants reported having a long-term health condition.

Demographics 

To get an understanding of the people who completed the survey, we asked some demographic questions. 

The total estimated population is 14,646, of which approximately 8% (1,183) are aged over 50 (Office for National Statistics, 2019).

Ethnicity

Findings 1: Cost of living 

The survey results showed that most tenants face some financial security issues. The main costs tenants were struggling with were transport for health appointments, energy, fresh healthy food and clothing. 

Fifteen people (58%) reported being unable to comfortably afford taxis, bus fare or fuel to get to appointments. 

“Money is a big problem” 

Nine people (35%) got prescriptions for free, whereas five (19%) didn't need them and six (23%) preferred not to say. 

“I have worked for 35 years but am now on low benefits. I need help with PIP.” 

Twenty-one people (81%) reported that they couldn't afford energy costs comfortably.

“Repaying the electricity company is very expensive since I can no longer work due to my health condition.” 

Seventeen people (65%) reported being unable to afford fresh, healthy food comfortably.

Sixteen (62%) people reported not being able to afford appropriate clothes comfortably, with eight (30%) unable to afford them at all. 

Case Study 2

Ann moved to Manchester from West Africa in the early 2000s and has lived at Meredith Court for 20 years. She is in her 60s. She worked for many years as a support worker for young people with learning disabilities and eventually retired for health reasons. 

When she stopped work, Ann noticed how disconnected everyone was at the block. She says that “this is a place where people mind their own business...in the morning everyone is gone away, when you come in at night after work you find something to eat and sleep so you don’t meet people.” 

Although her arthritis affects her mobility, Ann says she can go to the shops “when I am not in too much pain, or the weather is not too bad”. 

Her son visits once a fortnight to take her to appointments. Since being assessed as having limited capability for work, Ann has been on universal credit and is struggling to make ends meet particularly in terms of electricity costs. 

She used to pay by Direct Debit when she was working but when she stopped work, she was advised to move to a pre-payment meter. She finds that £30 only lasts her about 3 days and ‘when it’s gone, it’s gone’. She recently found out that she may be eligible for a free bus pass, but she no longer has Wi-Fi and doesn’t know how to apply.

Findings 2: Social isolation 

The findings suggest that there are significant levels of social isolation amongst residents at Meredith Court. 

Family, friends, and social contact 

A total of 46% of participants saw family or friends about once a fortnight or less and 35% said they don't have enough or would like more social contact. In addition, 58% of respondents do not have family living in the local area.

Getting out and about, and getting on at home

When asked which statement best describes their situation over the past twelve months, participants provided the following responses:

In response to our questions about the impact of money on socialising:

• Fifteen people (58%) reported that money was a barrier to socialising, whereas eight (31%) reported that it was not. 

In response to questions about accessibility: 

• 12% of participants reported that none of the rooms in their flat are accessible for their needs;
• 24% said two rooms or less were; 
• 62% reported all the areas of their flat (including bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom) were accessible. 

When asked what they would love to happen in Meredith Court, one person said:

“Change the bathroom so I don't have to climb in the shower – I want a walk-in shower.” 

“View back and front of building is depressing. I have bricked buildings facing me, I feel like I'm in a prison. The sun doesn't shine through, it's always cold inside because other buildings block the light”.

How do people spend their spare time? 

We also asked survey participants how they like to spend their time, and participants provided a variety of responses including:

• Socialise with friends.
• Bit of a loner now, older friends have died.
• See family rarely − Christmas, birthdays etc.
• Attend Aquarius (Community Centre).
• Watch TV, especially sport programmes.
• Used to enjoy musical festivals but due to chronic illnesses [I'm] unable to.

Findings 3: Health inequalities

There is clear evidence in the local census data, from the local GP surgery, anecdotal evidence, and a wide range of statistics about older and disabled people more generally, that there are significant health challenges at Meredith Court. 

As explained earlier, some of our survey findings on health status have been misleading which we believe is linked to a reticence among some respondents to discuss personal health information on the doorstep, mental health stigma, and generally wanting to be seen to be ‘doing ok’.

Family, friends, and social contact 

Our results showed that 35% of people reported that their physical health was ‘fair’ and 34% said it was ‘good’ (19%) or ‘very good’ (15%).

We believe that the wording ‘fair’ masks a diverse range of conditions and experiences which some participants were able to articulate: 

Further to this, 46% of people reported having a chronic or long-term health condition. This is supported by the data provided by local GP Cornbrook Medical Practice which shows that 21% of Meredith Court residents registered with the practice have chronic illnesses (including COPD, heart disease, asthma and diabetes). 

Case Study 3

Jay is a 62-year-old male who has lived in Meredith for 26 years. He has several long-term health conditions, including a complex lung condition. He enjoys going out to play pool when he can which isn't often due to financial reasons. 

He has worked all his life and has a small pension which excludes him from other benefits, and he must pay full rent and council tax. He had no money left to live on after paying all these bills. 

One of his issues was being able to access the GP. He remembered having been stood outside the local surgery crying with pain and deciding not to go in anyway because “you can’t get an appointment”. He had not seen a doctor for a number of years despite having a serious health condition. 

A member of the research team discussed a possible Personal Independent Payment (PIP) application. He said he tried once before, and his claim was rejected so he thought it was pointless. 

Fortunately, during the research process the project team were able to support Jay to see a GP and a money mentor who helped him submit a PIP claim.

Jay said he enjoyed being part of the research as he felt listened to but more importantly was able to get access to services there and then. He said it’s important that we do this as people in the block need it.

He said it was so great having the GP and money mentor on site – it would have taken him months to sort out without this on-site support because: “You get tired and give up”.

With regards to mental health, 50% of people responded that their mental health was fair, while 12% said it was good, 27% very good, 4% very bad and 8% preferred not to say.

Again, we suspect that many participants were using the word ‘fair’ to mean they were experiencing mental health conditions of various kinds, but they were managing to cope.

We know for example that 38% of the Meredith Court tenants registered at Cornbrook Medical Practice are experiencing anxiety or depression. 

Receiving and giving care

Despite 46% of people having a long-term health condition and ten people being disabled, only 2 of the people we spoke to said they were receiving help from statutory social care services.

Those people receiving support were more likely to receive this from family members, friends or neighbours:

Amongst respondents that said they don’t receive any practical help, there were the following additional comments:

Of those that do receive some help, there were the following comments: 

Of those in receipt of social care, one person was also receiving help with their finances and one said: “As I am not on the internet, I am finding it very difficult to access information”.

Providing unpaid care 

Most people we spoke to do not provide care for someone in their family or household.

Aspirations for later life 

When asked about aspirations for later life, health was mentioned in the following ways: 

• “I need to improve my health first.” 
• "Whether I want to stay or move [from Meredith Court] depends on my mobility.”

Additional responses included:

5. Summary and next steps

In summary, this survey demonstrates that people have significant barriers to financial security and appropriate care in Meredith Court; people cannot afford living essentials, people do not have enough access to services they need such as a GP and benefit information and some people do not have as much social contact as they would like. This is also evidenced by other research done in this area outlined earlier in this report. 

Moreover, it is evident from this tenant-led research at Meredith Court (as well as concurrent tenant-led initiatives at Hopton Court) that tenant-led actions are more likely to be effective and sustainable. Continuing this work would support more tenants to be part of the collective action for improving tenants' lives, including their financial security. 

Based on both our survey findings and the plans of the Ageing Well in Place partnership, we are taking the following steps to address the financial insecurity, health inequalities and social isolation in Meredith Court and continue supporting tenant-led initiatives in Meredith Court and across the Aquarius estate. 

As previously mentioned, the Ageing Well in Place partnership is proposing to employ two roles that were found to be effective through the NORC initiative at Hopton Court: an Independent Living Worker and a Naturally Occurring Retirement Community Worker. 

These roles delivered high impact for Hopton Court tenants in terms of addressing financial insecurity, improving access to services and increasing social connections. They also supported tenants to take the lead on various initiatives such as the creation of a regular breakfast club and social gatherings⁴.

4 These impacts will be detailed in the upcoming evaluation report by the Manchester School of Architecture who have been supporting the NORC and the Ageing Well in Place partnership.

1. Finding external funders 

The findings in this report have been analysed by the Meredith Matters project team and discussed with tenants in the context of the wider existing work taking place on Ageing Well in Place in Hulme and the Naturally Occurring Retirement Community model.

It is clear from the survey results that the same ‘solutions’ would work well at Meredith Court as for Hopton Court, as many of the same barriers and challenges have been identified.

Our first recommendation is therefore to seek external funding to support the creation of two critical roles which, together with certain other interventions, will generate significant social value in relation to the small amount of investment required from each funding partner. 

This could combine contributions from relevant public, private and third sector organisations including the two universities situated on the doorstep of the Aquarius estate whose developments have had significant impacts on the community over time. We provide more detail below. 

2. Recruitment of an Independent Living Advisor (ILA) 

The main duties and responsibilities of this worker would include: 

• Individual case work with Over-50s tenants. 
• Benefits and financial inclusion information and signposting. 
• Health and social care advocacy and follow up.
• Relationship building and partnership development with key local service providers and individual workers e.g. GPs surgeries; district nurses; care navigators; mental health and wellbeing services; advice agencies. 

3. Recruitment of a Specialist Development Worker

The main duties and responsibilities of this worker would include: 

• Confidence and skills building with tenants including digital inclusion. 
• Fostering stronger social relationships between tenants within the same block. 
• Supporting the development of new tenant associations/leadership groups across the blocks.
• Networking tenants together across the blocks and supporting learning exchange and peer mentorship including for new surveys and tenant-led research, data gathering, and advocacy work.
• Co-creation of programmes of social events with tenants and community groups including skills development, leisure, days out, physical activity, intergenerational activities and projects etc. 
• Development and governance of new and existing community spaces and communal areas and gardens to support increased social interaction and inclusion.

4. Support Meredith Court tenants to join Aquarius Community Savers 

Aquarius Community Savers is a peer support group and savings club that meets every Wednesday at the Aquarius centre as part of On Top of the World Project’s Seanchai café. 

Getting involved in Aquarius Community Savers enables people living on a low income who may be experiencing multiple disadvantages to become better connected and informed about support and services while also being able to save small amounts of money for particular goals. 

5. Recommendation for a block-wide needs assessment

Independently of the above actions there is an urgent need for collaboration between One Manchester and Manchester City Council to ensure that a block-wide social care needs assessment is carried out to ensure Meredith Court flats are fully accessible for older people and disabled people, and that people have access to the social care support, services, and essential items that they need.