Sheltered housing guidance

The purpose of the Sheltered Housing Service is – ‘To provide accommodation and support where needed’

The Sheltered Housing service provides housing-related support services to enable residents to live as independently as possible in their own home.

Criteria:

To receive the Sheltered Housing Service the applicant must:

• Be over 55 (but under 55’s with support needs may be considered)
• Have a defined housing need
• Have defined support and / or health needs
• Benefit from the Sheltered Housing services provided

What is not provided:

The sheltered housing service provides housing related support only and is not Care Quality Commission registered and therefore we cannot provide:

• Personal care such as washing and dressing or toileting residents
• Nursing or medical care
• Administering of medication
• Moving and handling tasks such as lifting or hoisting residents

However we will always assist with arranging an appropriate agency or service provider to deliver personal care, administer medication, undertake medical duties or lift and move residents on a long term basis. Scheme staff will assist in these areas if it is an emergency and it is safe to do so.

Personal care & moving and handling assistance

In Category (Cat.) 2.5 schemes on site staff do not provide personal care but will ‘step in’ and do what is necessary in an emergency (e.g. incontinence accident) or short term illness such as a diarrhoea & sickness for example supporting the resident while they are waiting for their personal care to be arranged. Each circumstance would be taken on its merits as to the appropriateness of the scheme staffs support. In Category 1 & 2 schemes because there are fewer staff (often only 1 per scheme) this type of support is harder to arrange and sometimes is not possible.

All scheme staff cannot physically ‘lift’ residents but all have basic training in techniques to guide residents up from the floor if they have fallen/slipped out of a chair and it is appropriate to do so. Scheme staff also receive basic training in safe handling techniques such as rolling somebody in bed (should they need urgent assistance) & when assisting out of a chair/wheelchair. Each request would be taken on its merits as to the appropriateness of the scheme staffs support.

PCC scheme staff cannot administer medication/eye drops etc, however we will prompt/remind residents to take them and monitor this if there is no other resource to do so.

Ian Gibson Court Care

Ian Gibson Court is a Category 2.5 scheme. Within this scheme, in addition to the sheltered service support team, is a PCC Care Team who deliver an in house personal care provision. This is a CQC registered service where on site carers are able to deliver personal care to potential residents & existing residents that receive ASC funded/arranged packages of care. The need for private care can also be discussed directly with the Ian Gibson Court Care Service & considered for those residing at Ian Gibson Court.

Care staff are NOT on site 24 hours a day (this is not an ‘extra care’ service). This service is currently available for packages of care arranged for specific times of the day usually between 07:00 and 22:00 during any day of the week.

Potential residents with an existing ASC funded/arranged care package or those on the cusp of requiring a package of care may benefit from the consistency of the in house care service at Ian Gibson Court.

Support

The needs of each resident will differ so support needs are identified using a Support Plan to determine what support is in place for the resident and what support needs to be arranged and delivered/monitored thereafter.

This plan is put in place to ensure that the resident’s support needs are understood, defined and/or met by scheme staff and/or other agencies and service providers

Cat 1, 2 & 2.5 all scheme staff have basic training to identify & respond to sudden illness (such as strokes, UTI’s, dehydration, heart attack, diabetic hypo, unconsciousness etc) and accidents (such as falls, skin tears, electric shock etc).

However they are not fully first aid trained but are trained to identify signs and symptoms, and determine what initial action to take and who to contact in an emergency. PCC scheme staff attend basic training as needed to better understand certain illnesses/ailments common to older people such as dementia, Parkinson’s disease, depression, incontinence, loneliness & substance misuse for example.

The Cat 1 service will include the following:

• Unfurnished accommodation for older people with support needs, in a variety of building types
• Pull cords situated in flats and communal areas to allow the resident to summon help quickly. The response will be from a dedicated Cat 1 Scheme Manager during office hours, Monday to Friday (with the exception of bank holidays).
• At weekends/bank holidays and out of hours, calls for assistance are responded to by colleagues at the Southampton City Council Telecare Service who redirect to the appropriate responder and this could be: PCC ASC night responder service, The PCC out of hours team, GP services or 999 Emergency services
• A Support Plan is completed with the resident which is reviewed at least annually and can be more frequent if the residents desires it or if their circumstances change
• Daily/regular visits from scheme staff to ensure the wellbeing of the resident. Frequency of staff contact with resident must be no less than every 7 days
• Support with household and domestic tasks such as shopping, cleaning and laundry can be arranged with other agencies
• Access to and use of communal facilities available such as community rooms, lounges and laundry rooms, depending on the building

The Cat 2 service will include the following:

• Specific unfurnished accommodation in the Leigh Park, Crookhorn and Wecock Farm area for older people with support needs, there are no mixed schemes
• Dedicated on-site support during office hours Monday to Friday (with the exception of bank holidays). Generally this is a Scheme Manager and Support Assistants
• Pull cords situated in flats and communal areas to allow the resident to summon help quickly. The response will be from a dedicated Cat 2 Scheme Manager and/or Support Assistant, during office hours, Monday to Friday (with the exception of bank holidays)
• At weekends/bank holidays and out of hours, calls for assistance are responded to by colleagues at the Southampton City Council Telecare Service who redirect to the appropriate responder this could be
• – The PCC out of hours team
• – GP services
• – 999 Emergency services
• A Support Plan is performed with the resident which is reviewed at least annually and can be more frequent if the residents desires it or if their circumstances change
• Daily/regular visits from scheme staff to ensure the wellbeing of the resident. Frequency of staff contact with resident must be no less than every 7 days.
• Support with household and domestic tasks such as shopping, cleaning and laundry can be arranged with assistance from scheme staff and/or other agencies
• Use of communal facilities available such as gardens, lounges and laundry rooms
• Communal bath or shower facilities

The Cat 2.5 service will include the following:

• Specific unfurnished accommodation for people with higher support needs, there are no mixed schemes
• Pull cords situated in flats and communal areas to allow the resident to summon help quickly, these are responded to within the scheme 24 hours a day 7 days a week
• NB – Each scheme provides a sleep in service between 22.00 – 07.00 and sleep in staff will respond to pull cords during this time. However, frequent and / ongoing planned visits by sleep in staff to residents throughout the night cannot be accommodated
• A Support Plan performed with the resident which is reviewed at least annually and can be more frequent if the residents desires it or if their circumstances change
• Daily/regular visits from scheme staff to ensure the wellbeing of the resident
• A heated meal is available in all Cat 2.5 schemes (there is a separate charge for this)
• Some schemes provide a communal breakfast/supper service which is arranged in response to demand for such a service (there is a separate charge for this)
• Support with domestic tasks and laundry can be arranged with assistance from scheme staff and/or other agencies
• Use of communal facilities available such as lounge, dining area and laundry room.
• Use of Parker baths and wet rooms where assisted bath or shower facilities are available to residents who have this requirement.

Other housing related support provided in all Sheltered Housing categories:

Scheme staff will assist residents with housing related support which could include –

• Support to read post and manage paperwork
• Support to make appointments and attend appointments with the resident if they are the right resource to do so
• Support to access services and clubs
• Financial support such as assistance to maximise their income, support to pay bills and accessing their own money
• Liaising with friends/family members, Social Care and Health services to ensure and maintain the wellbeing of residents
• Providing additional support when a resident is unwell or has fallen by increasing visits and/or providing additional short term help with domestic tasks, personal hygiene tasks, eating and drinking, emergency shopping and ensuring they have taken short term medication to help them get better
• Arranging and delivering scheme activities to reduce isolation and loneliness (there is a charge for some activities if delivered by an external provider)

This is not an exhaustive list of housing related support provision; we have a high number of residents with a variety of housing related support needs and so every request for support is taken on its merit. The right resource is then identified and arranged to provide the support requested or identified. The right resource may be scheme staff or it may be an appropriate agency or other service provider.

Please note – Scheme Managers have to organise daily service delivery and arrange daily and weekly staffing levels using their knowledge of the residents’ support needs within that scheme. We design our service provision around the support needs of our residents whilst still keeping in mind our scope of service. Therefore the level of demand for and support services offered will inevitably differ from scheme to scheme

The Portsmouth City Council Pets Policy applies to all sheltered schemes & when registering potential residents, Housing Needs, Advice and Support officers will pay attention to the impact of pets and advise any applicant appropriately.

Portsmouth City Council sheltered staff will not care for residents’ pets and therefore applicants must be capable of managing their pet’s needs. For example the applicant should:

Have somebody available to care for their pets

• Should they go on holiday
• Become unwell
• Go into hospital
• The pet becomes unwell and needs to go to the vet

Portsmouth City Councils pet policy states that small generally caged animals such as budgerigars are allowed but larger animals such as monkeys are not.

In Cat 1 sheltered schemes 1 dog or 1 cat would be allowed only if the flat is on the ground floor with its own outside door access direct to the flat

Cat 2 and Cat 2.5 schemes do not allow cats or dogs; however exceptions may be made for assistance dogs on a case by case basis.

Housing – weekly residential charges with effect from 29 March 2021

UNIVERSAL CREDIT
Eligible Charges – Rent, General/Sheltered Service Charges.
Non-Eligible Charges – Heating, Water, Supporting People

GENERAL SERVICE CHARGE – For houses and flats not in a block the General Service Charge covers – Anti-social Behaviour Team, Resident Participation Service, Money Advice Service, Neighbourhood Services, Play & Youth Services and Out of Hours Service. (Lower Service Charge )In Addition, for flats, maisonettes, etc. in blocks the General Service Charge also covers – Communal Lighting, Cleaning Services and Grounds Maintenance. (Higher Service Charge)