A Celebration of Housing for Later Life

At last the retirement housing sector has its own dedicated awards. At the inaugural event at Lords on Feb 4th around 350 guests, including designers, providers and managers of retirement housing and over 100 elderly residents will be present to see 32 Awards handed out across 11 categories of retirement housing and housing with care. Uniquely, the finalists and the awards were determined by residents and not the industry –upholding the central aims of empowerment and listening to consumer feedback.

The list of winners and a special page on this event will appear shortly on our website

The nomination process for these new awards is now well underway. The response has been brilliant. These awards are supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and by the Housing LIN of the DH Care Networks. The Nationwide Building Society is one of its main sponsors.

For the first time residents of retirement housing, sheltered housing, assisted living, extra care housing, etc, can nominate schemes through a consultation involving them in small groups as well as individually. A deck of cards has been designed to stimulate discussions and help capture satisfaction ratings on design, services, and well-being.

Aims
• Publicly celebrate the best specialist housing for older people
• Engage thousands of residents in identifying what contributes to quality of life in traditional and emerging models of specialist housing provision
• Ensure that older people, families and carers have access to the best possible information
• Help shape the future of housing in later life

The Nomination Packs are available from early September 2009; nominations will be expected by the end of October, and the award ceremony will take place in London in January 2010. Housing providers and managers are asked to obtain Nomination Packs and to encourage their residents to participate. If you know someone in retirement or sheltered housing, please tell them about this opportunity to have a voice and be counted.

For general enquiries and order forms:
EAC Housing Awards, 3rd Floor, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP
housingawards@eac.org.uk
Tel 020 7820 3755
www.housingcare.org

More information on this website at
http://www.housingcare.org/providers/eac-housing-for-older-people-awards.aspx

The government is consulting on its proposals to improve sheltered accommodation tenants’ access to new technology, such as the internet, by running “digital inclusion projects”. The government plan is that these projects will initially target 21,000 people but hopes they will eventually reach 600,000 as they work with people who live in sheltered accommodation or nearby, or in the vicinity of other community centres such as village halls.

Source: Building a society for all ages strategy document P.27
http://www.hmg.gov.uk/buildingasocietyforallages.aspx

About 100 demonstrators, including Dame Joan Bakewell, took part in a demonstration against council cuts to the number of sheltered housing wardens in Parliament Square in Westminster on Wednesday 22nd July. A delegation then presented a letter of protest to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The campaigners claim the Government's decision to give councils discretion in how they how they spend central government allocated supporting people funding has led to cuts in local warden services. The replacement of on-site wardens with floating wardens was having a negative impact on residents and leading to more money being spent on health and social services.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Communities and Local Government commented: "Councils have benefited from £1.6 billion this year alone through the Supporting People programme to help vulnerable people to live independently, including older people.

"This money is available to use as councils see fit to meet local needs and priorities and a recent report showed that this flexibility leads to improved services for vulnerable groups and better value for money.

"Removing the ring fence from Supporting People builds on the flexibility we have already given 127 councils to provide these services and move Supporting People funding into wider welfare provision.

"Local authorities will continue to be assessed on their housing support performance through the Comprehensive Area Assessment.

"Any change to the service provided, including any move away from residential wardens and towards a system of floating support, is a decision for the individual council concerned.

"However, we have made clear that any changes should only be implemented after meaningful consultation with residents."

Source 24dash.com

Elderly Accommodation Counsel (EAC) is pleased to announce the forthcoming launch of new awards for all forms of retirement housing. These awards are supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government, and by the Housing LIN of the DH Care Networks.

For the first time residents of retirement housing, sheltered housing, assisted living, extra care housing, etc, will nominate schemes through a consultation involving them in small groups as well as individually. A deck of cards has been designed to stimulate discussions and help capture satisfaction ratings on design, services, and well-being.

Aims
• Publicly celebrate the best specialist housing for older people
• Engage thousands of residents in identifying what contributes to quality of life in traditional and emerging models of specialist housing provision
• Ensure that older people, families and carers have access to the best possible information
• Help shape the future of housing in later life

The Nomination Packs will be available in September 2009; nominations will be expected by the end of October, and the award ceremony will take place in London in January 2010. Housing providers and managers are asked to obtain Nomination Packs and to encourage their residents to participate. If you know someone in retirement or sheltered housing, please tell them about this opportunity to have a voice and be counted.

For general enquiries and order forms:
EAC Housing Awards, 3rd Floor, 89 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7TP
housingawards@eac.org.uk
Tel 020 7820 3755
www.housingcare.org

'Nobody's Listening - The impact of floating support on older people living in sheltered housing' has recently been published by Help the Aged, based on research by the Housing & Support Partnership.

It looks at the changes to the way warden services have been delivered since the introduction of Supporting People (SP) funding in 2003, from the point of view of older people, sheltered housing providers and Supporting People Administering Authorities. There has been a steady move from resident wardens for specific housing schemes, where people move to recive support, to floating support services, provided by non-resident staff to older people regardless of where they live. The different standpoints and the range of new models of support provision come through very clearly.

The report identified the need for a strategic Government review of sheltered housing that involves the residents. Help the Aged made eight key recommendations, including the view that the Government should seriously consider taking sheltered housing out of SP, and that resident wardens should be retained if alternative arrangements are unsatisfactory for tenants living in existing schemes.

The report touched on, but did not consider in detail, two additional points which have been raised with EAC's Advice Line (020 7820 1343). One issue is the impact to existing sheltered tenants of changed allocation policies, as older people choose not to move and to have floating support in their current home, and younger people, identified as vulnerable, are allocated flats in sheltered schemes. The second issue is the risk to older people who decline to receive services that they need where there is direct charging.

The full report can be downloaded at http://policy.helptheaged.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/652BC405-AA9E-49CB-B7FE-E16A7BOD3A99/0/nobodys_listening

The publication of the national dementia stategy is good news.  In time, it should lead to more people being diagnosed earlier and to improved services, both for people with dementia and carers of people who have dementia.

With funding provided by the Freemasons' Grand Charity, EAC has been working to improve our knowledge of different accommodation and care options for elderly people who have dementia, particularly when they are diagnosed early.  Traditionally people with dementia have usually stayed in their own home, with many being admitted to care homes in later stages.  Late diagnosis has led to there being few alternatives.  This is still what happens for many people.  Housing providers have been working hard to improve services however and now an increasing number of sheltered and retirement housing schemes offer on-site care services.  A small number of these schemes provide specialist services for people who have dementia, enabling them to live in their own flat in a supportive and enabling environment.  EAC is able to advise callers to their Advice Line whether there are any schemes like this in their area.  EAC also has information about care homes for people who have dementia.

The strategy promises a personal dementia advisor for everyone with a diagnosis.  This proposal is particularly welcome.  With the help of an advisor, a person diagnosed at an early stage can be meaningfully involved in planning for their own future needs.

EAC looks forward to assisting in the provision of high quality information for people who have dementia, as well as for their family and carers.

Elderly tenants of Woking Borough Council have made a complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman about the length of time it took to deal with a younger resident who, they say, caused a nuisance and behaved anti-socially for more than two years before he was evicted. The tenants live in Frenchs Wells in Woking. It was originally built for elderly people with first a resident, and then a mobile, warden. In recent years, due to a perceived surplus of elderly people's housing in Woking, Frenchs Wells was re-designated as general needs accommodation and since then allocations have been made to applicants of any age, who were deemed to be in need, and who required one bedroomed accommodation. Some of the younger residents have lifestyles and habits very different from those of the elderly people who have been there for many years.

This is part of a wider picture of what is happening across the UK, as the changes that resulted from, amonst other factors, the move to Supporting People funding in 2003, mean that people do not have to move to sheltered housing to get support. In many areas resident wardens have been replaced by off-site staff or floating support. While this may be beneficial for elderly people who do not want to move to receive support, it can result in sheltered housing being harder to let and resident warden/scheme manager services can become harder to sustain economically. Unless the change of use is handled very sensitively, it can mean stress and misery for the elderly people who remain, and they may have to adapt not just to the loss of their resident warden/scheme manager, but may also find new neighbours do not share their aspirations for a quiet life.

Update February 2009

The Local Government Ombudsman decided that investigation of the complaint should  be discontinued because there did not seem to be evidence of sustained anti-social behaviour which the Council failed to deal with.

EVIDEM is a major new initiative on identifying what works in the care and provision of services for people with dementia or memory problems, which is looking for volunteers to help in reaching their goal.

Ther are five projects that will consider diagnosis; challenging behaviour; incontinence at home; enhancing end of life care; and practical guidance on the use of the law about making decisions for people who might be unable to do so themselves (the Mental Capacity Act 2005).  EVIDEM is seeking volunteers who live in North London, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.  They may live in any setting.  If you, a person you are looking after, or a friend or family member are currently experiencing memory problems or have been diagnosed with dementia and want to consider volunteering to take part, please contact one of the Programme Managers by E-mail or telephone:
David Lowery: d.lowery@nhs.net / 020 3214 5889 or
Jane Wilcock: j.wilcock@pcps.ucl.ac.uk / 020 7830 2239

They will be pleased to answer any questions you may have that will help you to decide if you want to be involved in this important research.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) has recently published a study “Safeguarding adults” on the effectiveness of local authorities’ arrangements to safeguard adults, including elderly people, from abuse and on the support they offer to those who experience abuse. CSCI’s report found: 

• The effectiveness of arrangements to help prevent abuse and provide support for people who have been abused varies within and between local authorities’ areas.  It also varies within individual care services. There are councils showing active leadership and building strong strategic partnerships. However, there is a gap between the best and worst performers.
• More needs to be done to ensure people who direct their own support are safeguarded.  
• The evidence suggests that if a council is performing well safeguarding its adults a greater number of care services in its area are also performing well. There is an also a positive relationship between a care service’s overall CSCI quality rating and its ability to safeguard adults.

CSCI is the government body responsible for regulating and inspecting all social care providers - whether public, commercial or not for profit. They are also responsible for assessing the performance of local councils’ social services departments. Their press release can be viewed at http://www.csci.org.uk/about_us/press_releases/people_experience.aspx. The full report can be downloaded free from http://www.csci.org.uk/PDF/safeguard%5b1%5d.pdf