Demonstrators of Older People's Housing, Support, Health and Care

Highland

The Highland housing and care demonstrator aims to provide enhanced, redesigned services at points of crisis for 20-50 people in the Nairn locality who have been identified as "at risk" through the anticipatory care assessment tool. This tool enables identification of clients who are high users of NHS Primary Care and Acute Care Services and Local Authority services. These clients will have an Anticipatory Care Plan which is holistic and has a focus on crisis response.

Co-ordination of service response will rest within the unscheduled care team department lead by health and based within the campus of Nairn Town and County Hospital.

Service users are offered assessment and provision of enhanced telecare package, the profile of this group will be mainly, but not exclusively, older people. Some residents in a local authority sheltered housing development adjacent to the hospital site may be included in the project, but the project will be open to any housing tenure or living arrangement.

Central to the project is the provision of a single point of access for this client group at points of crisis with an integrated assessment from a co-located social work and health team. This facilitates access to the appropriate support and/or response for client and/or carer. The aim is to maintain contact with clients so that they can obtain immediate access to services when the need arises without having to experience a repeated assessment process.

The initial phase of the project, up to April 2010, focused on 20 clients, and extended to 50 clients thereafter. This staged approach allows for the training in telecare assessment of staff, and any adjustments to be made in the delivery and co-ordination of the service.

The preparation of a flat on the hospital campus will be used to provide demonstration and training of the Telecare equipment to potential service users, Local Authority, Health and voluntary services staff.

Inverclyde

The Inverclyde demonstrator involves the review and re-use of sheltered housing and associated re-design of services for older people in ordinary housing.

  • Revisions to assessment and allocations processes to both sheltered housing and housing with care, ensuring effective tie in with health and social care information and assessment. This will include advice to applicants to sheltered housing and housing with care about opportunities to remain within their existing housing with additional services such as telecare, equipment and adaptations, support and care packages.
  • Improving health and social care links with a housing with care development, recently upgraded from sheltered housing, so that a more integrated, holistic service is available to residents and the facilities are available for wider use, such as respite and intermediate care.
  • Extension of telecare to address the needs of other care groups, and greater integration of telecare into the mainstream of housing services

The overall scheme is intended to improve service provision for older people, and to support the overall objective of a shift in the balance of care by making better use of existing sheltered housing and by improving links between housing social care, and health, as well as other members of the Community Planning Partnership.

The Inverclyde demonstrator completed its work in September 2010 and a final report is being prepared.

West Lothian

The West Lothian demonstrator is based around plans for a campus development in Bathgate that involves a new housing with care public sector development of 45 residential units, 20 of which are specifically for people with dementia and an additional 20 Housing with Care units for owner occupation if a need and a market can be established.

There are also plans for the construction or adapted use of adjacent buildings to house a range of services including a dementia day care centre and day respite facilities for 20 people: this will also be used to provide outreach support for people in ordinary housing (both social rented and private sector) in the area surrounding the new housing with care facility, and similar support for people in sheltered housing facilities located close to the new housing with care complex.

The overall scheme is intended to improve service provision for older people, with an emphasis on support for those with dementia, and involves a number of innovative features:

  • Development of a 'core package' of telecare and telehealth monitors to support older people with dementia living in proximity to the new development to remain in the community. This will include the use of RFID and other existing and new technologies.
  • Establishment of new assessment tools based on an 'expert system' approach, such that non-specialist staff in the health, housing and social care sectors can accurately identify people who would benefit from telecare, occupational therapy and falls prevention services or equipment.

The West Lothian demonstrator completed its work in March 2010.