Cambridgeshire County Council Extra Care Schemes Bircham and WillowbBank

The County Council is developing a new approach to social work and social care called Transforming Lives. The Transforming Lives model will change the way the council provides support to individuals, carers, families and communities within Cambridgeshire.

The Council, together with its partners, is seeking to develop an approach that is increasingly proactive, preventative and personalised. Transforming Lives will enable the residents of Cambridgeshire to exert choice and control and ultimately continue to live – to the fullest extent possible – healthy, fulfilled, socially engaged and independent lives.

5.2 The vision for the new way of working is to:

• enable people to live independently
• support people in a way that works for them
• support the development of strong, connected communities
• recognise the strengths of individuals, families and communities and build upon these
• work in partnership to achieve this.

6. Objectives
6.1 The objectives of the service are to:
• develop Service Users’ capacity to live independently within the community;
• reduce the number of people entering residential or nursing home care;
• reduce the number of emergency admissions to hospital;
• facilitate timely and safe discharge from hospital;
• maximise the number of people who are supported to participate in community activities;
6.2 Where the Provider is not also the Housing Provider, to facilitate and assist communication between the Service User and the Housing Provider.

7. The Service

7.1 The Services provided in the person’s home shall be as set out in the Council’s individual Support Plan. Exceptions can be made where recorded on the Service User’s Support Plan as prepared or agreed by the Service User’s Care Manager and the Service User or their representative.

7.2 As well as personal care tasks, Providers should make it a clear that an expected aspect of the work of their Staff is that part of their role is for Staff to spend time talking to, relating with, and understanding the lives of Service Users and supporting them with appropriate activities.

7.3 Continuity of service is important and Service Users have advised that their preference would be that staff absences are covered by staff who are familiar with them and the scheme rather than agency staff who have no experience of working within the scheme.

7.4 Within Bircham House, the Provider will also assess the tenants’ Housing Related Support needs to determine what housing support needs they require to facilitate independent living. This will be a flexible service and would include the following:

• Supporting Service Users to maintain their tenancy.
• Signposting to advice/support and other relevant organisations.
• Supporting Service Users with benefit, forms and other correspondence.
• Support with health and wellbeing.
• Advice and support with aids and adaptations.
• Encouraging Service Users to access services and facilities within the wider community.
• Encouraging social engagement, both with individual Service Users and by enabling social activities to be held within the extra care housing scheme itself.

7.5 Within Willowbank, the housing related support service will continue to be provided by the landlord as the Council has been advised it is a condition of tenancy.

7.6 The Provider will need to have a management agreement in place with the landlord setting out their respective responsibilities in relation to the provision of their service, including the housing related support service, where appropriate. The purpose of the agreement will be to encourage a good working relationship with the landlord.

7.7 The Provider will be expected to develop relationships with other key partners including Housing and Health.

7.8 All Providers, have responsibility to engage regularly with Service Users and have systems in place to implement service improvements where appropriate.

8. Required Service Outcomes

8.1 The Provider shall work in partnership with Service Users and the Council to deliver an outcome based and personalised approach to the provision of the Services and this specification reflects that requirement. The Provider shall be expected to meet evolving requirements during the Contract Period.

8.2 For each Service User, the determining factor will be the outcomes to be achieved. The Service User, (and where appropriate, their Carers), should always be central to decisions as to how those outcomes should be achieved. The outcomes to be achieved must be recorded in the Support Plan. The following are Outcomes for the individual Service Users that are relevant for this service:

• Service Users have choice and control.
• Service Users gain, re-gain or maintain independence.
• Social exclusion is reduced.
• Access to the local community is increased.