New South Holland District Council service allows older people to live independently and safely
The most vulnerable members of our society are now able to live independently, safely and with dignity for longer thanks to the dedicated officers at a unique service.
South Holland District Council’s independent living team is putting a safety net around older and younger sheltered housing tenants to ensure that they have a place to turn to rather than struggling on alone.
Since the sheltered housing transformation scheme went live in April last year, it has picked up incidents of vulnerable people being targeted by criminals and helped to prevent others from getting into a health crisis.
Our struggling NHS has also been saved thousands of pounds thanks to this scheme as it has not only stopped unnecessary ambulance callouts but also helped to free up hospital beds by supporting patients to be discharged safely.
A handyman service is helping to prevent pensioners risk falling by doing simple jobs like changing a light bulb or end up being charged huge bills for small jobs.
But the difference being made by the service does not stop there as they are also helping people to lower their utility bills, ensure they are receiving the right benefits as well as organising social events such as a fish and chip lunch to ease social isolation.
Bev Chapman, project manager for service transformation, said: “Our ultimate aim is to keep people at home for as long as possible and as independently for as long as possible.
“We aim to give the best service as possible so they can remain at home.
“We don’t want people to end up in a crisis which is a spiralling situation where they end up in hospital or a care home as that is exhausting for the person and their families. If you can do it an methodised approach then that might be a better way of doing it.”
The service transformation came about as a result of the need to update the pull cord system which prompted councillors to ask more about what was offered to their sheltered housing tenants.
One of the reasons the changes are so successful is that residents of the 1,027 properties had a say in what was needed.
Bev said: “A handyperson service is what they were crying out for. They also said they need more connection to health services and didn’t know who to ask for help and support when they needed someone to do a little job as they never found a tradesman to come out without charging an exorbitant amount of money.
“We found a few tenants didn’t have a family or nearby relations that could arrange that for them. They also wanted the confidence to feel safe and secure and make the community feel like a community again.”
Now the four-strong Independent Living Team is helping to meet a variety of needs such as arranging for a community nurse to visit the community centres or pointing residents in the right direction to afford new glasses and an eye test.
But they are also there to help with more serious aspects.
There have been incidents of older people - who usually don’t have family or friends to look out for them - being targeted by vile criminals who are after what little money they have.
These vulnerable members of our society can fall prey to gangs who use their home as a base to sell drugs (cuckooing) or be exploited by people who know them (mate crime)
Service co-ordinator Polly Clarey, who is enjoying working back in sheltered housing, said: “Everyone has different support needs but the team are picking up things like mate crime, domestic abuse, and cuckooing.”
Along with saving them from being victims of crime, the team is also playing a vital role in saving the NHS vital cash.
Before the service started, ambulances were called out around 25 times a month to the council’s sheltered housing complexes because a pull cord had been activated and there was a struggle to get hold of the resident.
Bev said: “Their only option would be to call an ambulance and half of the time it was a wasted call out as they were not required.
“We have procured a response service which responds 24/7 and up to 25 times a month.”
Tenants will receive a visit if they have fallen over and need assistance to get up or if the customer call centre cannot get hold of them.
This ensures that people are not left on the floor for hours until help can arrive.
Bev said: “They will get the customer upright and make sure they are comfortable, that they’ve had a cup of tea and do a fall report.
“To read some of those is heart warming. One lady had messy hair and she was a proud woman so they brushed it for her and gave her a cup of tea and made sure she was alright.”
This service has seen the number of ambulance call-outs to the complexes fall by more than 30%.
Importantly, this saved the NHS £78,171 - but also resulted in savings by ensuring that people are not taken to our busy hospitals unnecessarily.
When living independently is no longer a safe option, the team have also provided assistance with that.
Data collected by the pull cord team highlights when a person is regularly falling and in need of extra assistance.
In one case, when a man was falling eight times a day, this evidence was presented to social services in order to push for more help.
Bev said they are also hoping to prevent people from having to go into hospital.
She said: “We are getting the service to predict when there is going to be a serious problem. We can tell that from the information we are getting through. Using that data and intelligence, we can start to predict that.”
But it doesn’t just help to stop people from going into hospital, it can also help to get people home again.
One of the major issues which is adding to the crisis in our hospitals is discharges. If patients cannot be safely discharged, it means their bed cannot be used for someone who needs it.
But one tenant was able to return home thanks to the help of the independent living team.
They found him a suitable chair which had been required by the hospital along with delivering it and setting it up. They have also set-up a Whatsapp group to help him remain in contact with the team and his family. The team even helped arrange the delivery of his shopping.
Polly said: “We had to get him home safely and we had to put in a care package.”
One issue that residents had raised was the fact that they wanted to feel a closer connection to the health services.
So to change that, the team has asked community nurses and other services into the sheltered housing complex community centres to do health checks.
There have 15 sessions which have been attended by 200 people and this has picked up conditions such as hypertension and diabetes.
Polly said: “When you go to the GP, there are 15 minute slots and sometimes it takes a conversation to open up about things. We don’t have time slots, you come in talk to the nurses and if that takes 15 minutes or an hour that’s what it takes.
“If they are not able to make it to a health check they are able to book an appointment.”
The community centres were social hubs in the years before covid but following the pandemic some of those activities dropped away.
But the team is also hoping to change that to bring people together for things like gardening sessions - and even organised a fish and chip van to come to a complex.
This brought together tenants and council officers, who chatted with residents during their lunchhours. And for those who were housebound, they also delivered their orders.
Independent living officer Haley King said: “With the community centres, it encourages them to get to know their neighbours.”
Bev said people were found in ‘dire situations’ with no family or friends to help them find the information.
The team had helped some tenants find the right funding to ensure they can buy essential items such as glasses.
Haley said: “The financial aspect is really rewarding to help people.
“People who have worked all their lives have a private pension but then think that they are not allowed to claim anything extra.
“People who don’t really know where to turn when they are struggling but we are there to help.”
The internet and technology can also be daunting for people who haven’t used it before but the council has been working with tenants to help them get to grips with that. A proud moment for the team was when some of tenants sent over selfies or videos.
But by not having access to the internet, they can be missing out on deals such as lower utility bills - some tenants are now saving 50% on their bills thanks to help from the team.
Officers are also working with a number of charities and other organisations to provide support for tenants. They have also provided a ‘reading pen’ device which helps those who have issues with literacy read mail or books.
Haley said of her job: “I like how rewarding it is to make a difference. Someone had moved in with absolutely nothing, no bed, no cooking facilities. They were new to the area and didn’t know where to go so we helped them.”
One person who is incredibly proud of the service is portfolio holder Coun Tracey Carter, who puts the success down to the incredible team along with listening to residents.
She said: “I am so proud of the difference this service is making to people. The team are amazing and are so vested in the whole thing. They are a pleasure to work with.
“This is a truly admirable service and we are going to keep going with it. There are things we can do better and we are always listening and learning to make things happen.”
Tenants who feel that they need help can contact the team or be referred by a family member.
For more information about the service, visit www.sholland.gov.uk/shelteredhousing
Handyman Tim is providing vital help
Handyman Tim Brinn is able to provide support with anything from a changing a lightbulb to more complicated jobs like putting up blinds and curtains.
Tim is paid for by tenants in their service charge so they are being urged to call in with jobs which need to be completed.
He has also helped the tenants with things like moving a satellite dish to ensure they can continue to watch favourite television programmes.
There has also been a social aspect of older men coming together to help Tim put up flat pack furniture on one occasion.
Tim said: “I love it. I like helping people.
“You hear horror stories.”
Some of the stories shared by tenants include being quoted £4,000 to put up a cupboard or £1,000 to plumb a dishwasher in.
Bev said: “I would rather we get Tim inundated with calls to put up lightbulbs than one person stand on a stool and end up falling. Tim would rather do that. It’s just as simple as that - don’t sit in the dark or fall.”
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