At a time when there is a £1 billion shortfall in social care funding in the UK, it is not surprising people are taking matters into their own hands.

“The demands on public services are increasing very rapidly and far out-stripping resources,” said Simon Newman, managing director of Independent Living Advisers, a firm which helps elderly people live in their own home for longer.

Mr Newman has lived in Tunbridge Wells for the last 20 years, about 120 miles away from his parents Valerie, 86, and John, 85, who live in Hampshire.

He launched his business with four friends, all of whom are in their 50s with parents in their 80s.

He said: “We have all experienced to differing degrees the challenge of trying to support parents in their desire to continue to live independently at home.

“No one taught us at school how to do this stuff..." - Simon Newman, Independent Living Advisers

“No one taught us at school how to do this stuff. We were having to invest days and in some instances weeks taking time our of our lives to understand how to go about providing the different elements of support.

“In light of that experience, we decided 12 months ago that there is a real need and opportunity for a new service to be created to do something about it.

“Rather than moan about how difficult we found it, we decided to do something about it.”

The company launched its service – sending personal advisers into people’s homes – across west Kent and parts of Sussex in July and has already built up a client list of 38 people.

The quick success is unsurprising given the number of seniors aged 85 and above in west Kent is forecast to grow from 12,100 to 27,500 over the next 20 years.

The company, which has its offices in Edenbridge, estimates there are about 5,000 people aged 80 and over living in the boroughs of Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge and Malling without family close by.

The firm employs seven people, including two advisers, who are at the heart of its service.

“Seniors want to have a face-to-face relationship,” said Mr Newman, 56, who has worked in the financial services his entire career prior to launching ILA, at the likes of Barclays, Prudential and Aviva.

“They are not going to be doing things over the internet or over the phone. The experience of talking to people about their challenges is really important.

“If our service can help avoid the need for seniors to go into residential care, or delay that need, there is a real financial benefit for them and the family..." - Simon Newman, Independent Living Advisers

“There are people out there who have identified the fact the elderly are more affluent today in the UK than they have ever been and are targeting that.

“We find our clients often ask for help finding reliable and trustworthy odd jobs people because they have been ripped off or have heard horrible stories.”

As well as its service, price is a factor separating homecare providers from residential carehomes, where residents can pay £1,000 a week to be looked after.

ILA charges £950 a year for its regular home service, while its lifeline service, used when a health crisis has struck, costs between £1,175 and £2,350 annually, depending on how long it takes to get someone back into their home and onto their own two feet.

That service may prove very attractive to the likes of Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, which was placed in financial special measures by health watchdog NHS Improvement in July after it forecast a deficit of £23m.

Bed blocking has grown by 35% in the last year, with more than 400,000 delayed discharge days, costing the NHS £95m a year. The biggest single cause of this (19%) is that they do not have sufficient support at home.

Mr Newman said: “If our service can help avoid the need for seniors to go into residential care, or delay that need, there is a real financial benefit for them and the family.

“The most important benefits are the intangible benefits, of having someone on your side. Your own dedicated expert.”