Care & Repair Cymru Receives GSK IMPACT Award

Care & Repair Cymru has won a major national award for its work helping vulnerable older people and people with disabilities to live independently in their own homes.

Care & Repair Cymru CEO Chris Jones accepted the prestigious award on 16 May at the award ceremony at The King’s Fund in London. He said: “It is such a great honour to be recognised for the preventative and the life-changing work we do with vulnerable older people across Wales. We want to thank GSK and The King’s Fund colleagues for running such a thorough and professional assessment process.

“We want to thank all the amazing front-line Care & Repair teams that work across Wales. And finally, love and thanks to the inspirational staff and trustees at Care & Repair Cymru for their dedication to such a great cause.”

Following a rigorous selection and assessment process, Care & Repair Cymru was chosen from more than 500 charities across the UK as one of the 10 winners of the 2024 GSK IMPACT Awards which are delivered in partnership with The King’s Fund.

As an award winner, Care & Repair Cymru will now receive £40,000 in unrestricted funding as well as a film produced about the charity:

The award judges were particularly impressed by the work the charity does to help older people return home from hospital without delays and to avoid readmission to hospital due to poor quality housing, thereby reducing pressure on local NHS services.

The judges also noted the charity’s work to represent the needs of Welsh homeowners and highlight the impact of poor housing on older people’s health. By gathering and presenting data, CRC supports the Welsh government to make evidence-based policy improvements and is currently supporting moves towards a new right to affordable and adequate housing.

Katie Pinnock, Director, UK Charitable Partnerships at GSK, said, “Housing is often the missing piece of the puzzle for improving people’s health and keeping them out of hospital. Care & Repair Cymru champions the housing needs of older people, seeks increased investment to improve older people’s housing, and provides independence to those who want to stay in their own homes.

The charity demonstrates excellent partnership working and is a strong and influential voice in housing policy. The programmes delivered by the charity and its agencies, such as Hospital to a Healthier Home and Managing Better, are effective innovations that also help to reduce the demand on overstretched NHS and social care services by supporting some of Wales’s most vulnerable people to live well in their own homes.”