HAC5815: Extra Care Supported Housing

This contract is for the provision of six extra care schemes which provide 214 units of accommodation for people in need of care and support. All referrals to the service are via Adult Social Care (ASC) who undertake an assessment to establish the person needs both accommodation and care and that they can sign and maintain a tenancy. This service is therefore, aligned to the Care Act 2014 provisions and statutory requirements.

The six schemes are staffed 24 hours a day, seven days per week, the larger schemes having two waking night staff to ensure the seamless provision of care, the staff on site. As such, all bidders are required to be registered with the CQC as a community care provider. The staff provide a range of support inclusive of personal and domiciliary care and there is a premium included within the contract value for the provision of activities to reduce social isolation and promote health and wellbeing.

The aim of the service is to assist and enable service users, who need significant levels of support to remain living in the community for as long as practically possible. The service aims to increase independence, choice and control and reduce the use of more institutional forms of care.

As well as improving outcomes and the quality of life for service users, the preventive nature of this service helps to reduce pressure on other services and reduces the need for more costly interventions.

The schemes were initially developed to meet the needs of the older population, the criteria for access have since been broadened to include all people assessed as needing the minimum or core level of support. This has meant that the profile of residents has and will continue to change over time. Initial analysis suggests that the schemes are not just supporting people under as well as over 55 years of age, but that their needs are more complex, the average number of support hours per week increasing from eight to thirteen hours per week during the term of the contract..

The core service approach allows the directorate to commission a given number of hours every week from the on-site care support provider, in order to guarantee the viability of the on-site service, enabling residents to either top up the on-site service from their own personal budgets, or to purchase the rest of their care and support service from off-site providers, as they choose.

The schemes also contribute to the boroughs work to reduce delayed transfers of care by providing 4 units of stepdown accommodation which can be accessed ‘on the day’, as well as being fundamental to the ASC safe place procedure, demonstrating the strategic need and value of the provision.