Supporting People Service Review
Service: Sheltered Housing. Service Address: 21-70 Chelwood
Drive, Odd Down, Bath, BA2 2PR. Service ID Number: 3. Service
Provider: Guinness Trust. Service Provider Address: 1-2 Osprey
Court, Hawkfield Way, Hawkfield Business Park, Bristol, BS14 0GT.
National ID Number: 10000195. Date: April 2005. Review Officer:
Simon Dicker, on behalf of Bath & Ne Somerset Supporting People
Team.
1. Report Summary
The review of the Chelwood Drive sheltered housing scheme was
conducted by Simon Dicker on behalf of Bath and North East Somerset
(B&NES) Supporting People Team. The review found the service to
be strategically relevant to B&NES Supporting People programme
and value for money. The service was assessed at level C in all
areas of the Quality Assessment Framework and level B for Support
Planning, as laid out by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
(ODPM). Service users are pleased with the accommodation and the
support they receive.
|
Service type and capacity: |
Sheltered Units
(50)
46 x 1 Bedroom Flats
4 x 1 Bedroom Bungalows |
|
Annual Contract Value: |
Block Subsidy Contract
Max Value @ 100% Usage
£8988.50 |
2. Introduction to Agency
Guinness Trust is a national provider of Care and Support to
Older People. Schemes in Bath are managed via the Regional Office
in Bristol, but a local office at Chelwood Drive supports the
scheme via Housing Officers and administrators. Guinness Trust
describes their aims as follows:
- Helping residents to
retain their independence
- Support and/or
reassurance in the event of illness or emergencies
- Limiting the need
for resident to move as they get frailer
- Actively trying to
reduce loneliness
- A responsive and
effective repairs and maintenance service
- Freeing residents
from the worries of managing and maintaining their homes
2.1 Brief History
Chelwood Drive is located to the South of Bath, comprising 46
flats and four bungalows. There is a resident scheme manager and
emergency call system.
The scheme has a resident’s common room and there is ample
residents parking available. Guinness describes the scheme as
suitable for people over retirement age.
2.2 Capacity
Units:
46 x 1 Bed Flats
4 x 1 Bed Bungalows
Total Units
50
Staff Hours:
1 x Supported Housing Officer (35 hrs per week)
2.3 Monitoring Information
|
|
2003 Q3 |
2003 Q4 |
2004 Q1 |
2004 Q2 |
2004 Q3 |
2004 Q4 |
|
KPI a |
Not required |
Not required |
103.92% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
Availability
SPI 1a |
100% |
106.47% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
100% |
|
Occupation
SPI 2a |
100% |
100% |
96.92% |
100% |
100% |
99.54% |
|
Staffing
SPI 3a |
90.77% |
92.31% |
100% |
101.79% |
94.55% |
83.33% |
|
Throughput
SPI 4a |
Not provided |
104% |
102% |
100% |
102% |
102% |
NB There are no issues of concern evident from the monitoring
submissions. Availability (1a) and Utilisation (2a) are
consistently high showing evidence of availability and high
demand).
2.4 Existing Funding
|
Supporting People funding |
Currently paying 32 units@ £3.45 each |
@100% Occupancy |
|
Adult Care funding (SSD) |
£0 |
£0 |
|
Total Cost p.a. |
£5724.16 |
£8944.00 |
3. Strategic Relevance
All the evidence gathered found that housing related support is
being delivered to Guinness tenants from the funding in this
contract.
4. Legal / ODPM Guidance on group and type of service
There is no specific guidance from ODPM for this sector.
It was noted that many of the recommendations from EROSH (The
emerging role of sheltered housing) had been followed, particularly
in relation to support planning.
5. Quality Assessment Framework (QAF) Outcomes
The objectives were assessed using the QAF lite as follows:
|
QAF Objective |
Self Assessed Score |
Validated Score |
|
C1.1 Needs and Risk Assessment |
C |
C |
|
C1.2 Support Planning |
B |
B* |
|
C1.3 Security, Health and Safety |
C |
C |
|
C1.4 Protection from Abuse |
C |
C |
|
C1.5 Fair Access, Diversity and Inclusion |
C |
C |
|
C1.6 Complaints |
C |
C |
* The score for C1.2 was validated at Level B; however the
review noted that the review systems for support planning are newly
introduced. The administration for this system is lengthy and would
benefit from further improvement into a more concise
format.
6. Consultation with Service Users
The premises were visited on 13th April jointly with Lynn
Tuttle, Housing Officer for Guinness Trust.
6.1 Consultation Findings
There were no specific problems raised in relation to this
scheme, tenants are believed to be widely satisfied at the service
being delivered. There were no unresolved complaints at the time of
the validation visit.
7. Evidence and Risk Assessment
There are no associated risks to this service.
8. Value for Money
Cost per unit (to Supporting People) per week:
£3.45
Regional Lower Quartile:
£4.84
Regional Upper
Quartile:
£17.72
(Drawn from 1527 Comparable services regionally, however these
are costs for sheltered housing including those with warden
support.)
National Lower Quartile:
£5.03
National Upper
Quartile:
£16.65
(Drawn from 13590 Comparable Services Nationally, however these
are costs for sheltered housing including those with warden
support)
There are no strong conclusions drawn from the value for money
comparators due to the reliability of comparative data, although
it would appear that these Guinness sheltered scheme costs
are amongst the lowest both within Bath and North East Somerset,
and throughout in the country).
9. Review Outcome / Recommendations and Impact
1. Although the
Shadow and Five Year Supporting People Strategy both indicate a
small surplus of sheltered housing, the recommendations is to renew
the contract for this sheltered scheme, on grounds of low unit cost
and high satisfaction amongst tenants. It is also evident from the
review that Guinness was well prepared and submitted timely and
comprehensive QAF evidence and service statements.
2. The system of
support planning has been developed and implemented to satisfy
Supporting People requirements. It is at an early stage and
refinements have been made through additional procedures and
documents and training has been delivered to Sheltered Housing
Officers. The review recommends that these processes are
streamlined to enable more concise documentation.
3. The review
recommends that for the annual self assessment QAF submission by
April 2006 a Level B is achieved for each remaining core objective
in relation to this scheme.
10. Action Plan (completed by the Provider) to address points 1
– 3 above
