Melanie Poyser

"There are too many older and disabled people in London who have a poor quality of life. My vision for London is that we, the professionals, work together to change this."

Why is sustainable development important to you?
There is currently a massive divide in London; those who have a good quality of life and those that do not. This is often a result of a lack of access to key services that prevent them from having decent housing, good and consistent health and social care. It is the most vulnerable, the elderly and disabled, who are greatly affected by this disparity. Therefore sustainable development is important to me as it forces us to address how we can make improvements to a wide range of issues. We have to include the issues affecting these London residents. It is not a separate discussion. We cannot ignore what is happening and we need to implement key long-term changes that will see London sustained for years to come.

What does being a London Leader mean to you?
Being a London Leader is a fantastic opportunity to highlight these issues and to continue the dialogue for making improvements in the lives of the vulnerable. There is already some excellent work happening in London via the multidisciplinary health, housing, social care and voluntary sectors. What we need to improve on is strengthening the current partnership working and making access to these services easier for London residents and professionals alike. Being a London Leader means that we, the professionals, can find a way of working smarter and harder on the things that really matter. Lack of funding is always going to be an issue and we constantly have to do more with fewer resources. We are getting older and living longer and we have to deal with the implications of this. Therefore we have to find a way to work together to provide answers and a constructive effective way forward.

Past experience
I began my career in the corporate sector working in marketing. Following this I made a career change and joined the public sector. I was commissioned to carry out research into the viability of implementing a service aimed at the elderly and disabled. The impetus for the report was based on the Government's drive to reduce health inequalities, reducing injuries from falls and delayed hospital discharges in the elderly. Based on the findings of the report, the Handyperson service was established to enable older and disabled people, both private sector and council residents, to maintain safe and independent living in their own homes. We carry out minor repairs and works to our clients homes which include anything from changing curtains, plumbing, carpentry, changing light bulbs and bleeding radiators. There is no job too small and with my team of multi-skilled handy people we often get involved with more complex projects. We have found if we don't do it, nobody will. We have successfully formed key partnerships with multidisciplinary teams in health, social care and voluntary sectors to ensure we provide a holistic service to our clients. We don't just fix the leaky tap and fail to notice that the client's home is cold or that they are unable to make a dinner for themselves because they have no cooker. Our work over the past four and a half years has seen thousands of Southwark residents remain safe at home and has potentially saved the NHS and social services millions of pounds.

My work with the Handyperson service is not just about fixing dodgy plumbing - it incorporates how we can make changes in the underlying issues of poverty and disrepair. Last year I was asked to work with Mark Johnson, Operational Director of London Warm zone and London Leader. Mark's commitment was focused specifically on private sector housing and aimed to engage the various professionals to make a change by targeting the lack of information on sustainability initiatives in London's private sector housing market.