Glen Lodge “extra care” expansion plans submitted

Glen Lodge

Glen Lodge

Plans to meet the care and support needs of York’s older people are continuing to gather pace with the submission of a planning application to extend the facilities at Glen Lodge Extra Care facility.

The proposals are part of the council’s plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city giving them more choice and control about the care and support they receive, as well as meeting the increased demand: in the next 15 years the number of people aged over 75 will increase by 50%.

The plans will go through the normal planning process and be considered by the Planning Committee in the new year.

They involve building 25 new flats and two bungalows, each having access to 24/7 ‘extra care’ support, providing residents with flexible care in their own home. Each of the homes has been specially designed to meet the meets of people with complex care needs, including dementia.

The proposals have met with support from residents and neighbours and, if approved, building will begin in 2016 and be completed by summer 2017.

Gale Lane care home slammed by Care Quality Commission

Rated as inadequate and now in “special measures”

South Park care home report

An inspection of the South Park care home took place in August.  It was the first since concerns were raised following an inspection in 2014. Then several breaches of regulations had been found. By August these had mostly been addressed but 6 more issues were discovered.

The care home has had a chequered history

The report can be read here

The report says, “The service was not safe. There were insufficient numbers of suitably qualified, skilled and experienced persons employed in the service to meet people’s needs. The registered provider had employed a number of agency staff to fill the staff vacancies, but people who used the service said they did not feel safe when these workers were on duty and we observed some unsafe care practices during our inspection”

It goes on to say, “.We found problems with the cleanliness and hygiene within the service. In particular there was a significant and unpleasant odour in three bedrooms, two sluices and a number of bathing facilities on both units”

The full report ca be downloaded from here .

The South Park facility accommodates 80 residents.

South Park has 6 months in which to make “significant improvements” and will be inspected again shortly

Another home, Haisthorpe House on Holgate Road, was also rated as inadequate by Inspectors

York Road Oakhaven older persons home plans announced

Will be replaced with an “extra care” facility.
Oakhaven site plan - clckc to enlarge

Oakhaven site plan – click to enlarge

Following a public consultation exercise, the Council is being recommended to go ahead with the conversion of the Oakhaven care home site on York Road into an “extra care” facility.

The City is gearing up to meet an expected 50% increase in the number of residents who will be aged over 75 by 2030.

This forms part of the Council’s plan to provide, by the end of 2018, 525 new units of accommodation of which 343 will serve those with high care needs including dementia.  “225 out of date care beds will be replaced”.

Another home – Grove House on Penleys Grove Street – will also be closed. That site will be sold in order to finance the improvements at other facilities for the elderly.

A report, being considered on Thursday, acknowledges that most “extra care” facilities are located on the east of the Ouse. However it fails to recognise the demand for more accommodation for elderly people on the Lowfields school site.

Instead in a separate report the Council is being asked to develop such facilities at the Burnholme school site.

Report fails to recognise the demand to establish more accommodation for elderly people on the Lowfields school site

Report fails to recognise the need for more accommodation for elderly people on the Lowfields school site, which has been left empty and derelict by the Council for over 3 years.

On Lowfields the report says, “The use of the Lowfields site for specialist accommodation with care for older people has been the subject of previous procurement which concluded that such development was unaffordable. However, we continue to examine the use of this site to meet housing, health and care objectives”.

Which means officials have made no progress on marketing the site?

The Oakhaven replacement will provide only 50 of the 525 beds needed to satisfy demand in the City

 The papers reveal that the Council will not run the replacement facility at Oakhaven.

Instead it will seek a “partner” to fund, build and operate the extra care scheme. The Council is also relying on another private sector home being constructed at the Terry’s factory site (which received planning permission last week).

It will also sell off the Windsor House home in Ascot Way.

The consultation exercise concluded, “That 97% of questionnaire respondents agreed that bigger bedrooms, en-suite facilities, wider corridors and more social space should be key features of residential care homes. Bigger bedrooms give more social space for residents to entertain visitors, they can accommodate the resident’s own furniture and bigger rooms give staff more space in which to work and support residents, particularly where bed hoists need to be used”.

Work on the Oakhaven Extra care home is expected to start in early 2017 and may be available for occupation in May 2018.

Given the Council’s shambolic record on project management, we doubt if we will see any improvements much before the end of the decade.

New ‘Poppyfields’ facility for people with Dementia opens

A new, dedicated facility for people living with Dementia has opened at one of City of York Council’s Older People’s Homes as part of the council’s plans to modernise accommodation for older people.

The new Poppyfields unit at Haxby Hall will provide care for eight older people living with Dementia. The specially designed facility provides a ‘household’ model of care for the residents, where they live together in a small group or ‘household’, and provides easy access to a large secure garden. The facility includes two ‘respite rooms’ to provide short term breaks for people living in their own homes, giving their regular carers the opportunity to have a holiday.

It’s hoped that the new unit will help meet the current need to provide additional specialist dementia support, helping people to maintain their living skills by keeping occupied with simple daily tasks, such as baking, arts and crafts, quizzes and games, as well as ‘meaningful occupations’ such as washing their dishes, all of which can reduce anxiety and agitation.
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£60,000 boost for new ‘social prescribing’ scheme just what the Doctor ordered

Social prescribingCity of York Council has teamed up with local GPs and voluntary and community groups to provide a wide range of non-medical help and support to residents.

The new initiative allows GPs to ‘prescribe’ activities such as befriending, confidence building, healthy lifestyle building or budgeting advice for the first time.

Known as ‘social prescribing’, the new scheme has been made possible thanks to £60,000 funding from the council, and will offer ways to help patients’ overall health and wellbeing.

Councillor Carol Runciman, Executive member for Adult Social Care and Health, City of York Council, said: “As a society we’re now realising that we can’t cure every problem with medication and many problems, such as depression, anxiety and weight-related problems can be treated very effectively through social prescribing. Helping people to prevent health problems from occurring or from getting worse is a key element of our long term care and support strategy. I hope this new initiative will help patients across the city.”

A new Social Prescribing Co-ordinator will be appointed shortly to co-ordinate the initiative.

Lesley Godfrey, a GP with Priory Medical Group and clinical lead of the York Integrated Care Team, said: “We’re looking forward to working with the community and voluntary sector to create and implement a social prescribing scheme. It is anticipated that this will enable the residents of City of York improved access to the support and advice that is currently already available locally, by encouraging referrals from health professionals”.

Melanie McQueen, Deputy CEO at York CVS, said: “We’re excited to work with partners to pilot this innovative approach. Social prescribing is gaining pace nationally as a holistic way to support individuals presenting to their GP with a range of needs. It offers access to non-medical support that can impact positively on individuals’ wellbeing.”

Help needed to foster severely disabled children in York

FosteringA new phase of recruiting foster carers in York is rolling out this month with an emphasis on the need for foster placements for severely disabled children.

City of York Council has vacancies for short breaks carers to help children and young people with disabilities, as part of a regular and supported package of care for them and their family.

The breaks can be anything from a few hours to a few days or up to a month, for children with a permanent and substantial impairment or illness. Carers are supported to involve the children to take part in family or local activities, make new friends and gain independence. This gives families a break from caring plus the reassurance that their child is safe and enjoying positive new experiences.

People with room in their home, hearts and schedule for these special breaks are trained, fully supported and equipped throughout. Many decide to offer short breaks after having had experience of caring for their own or other children with a disability or having had a professional role in education, social care or nursing.

These contract foster carers are paid to provide a series of short breaks during the year for up to seven different children and are allocated time off to recharge their own batteries, as part of their remuneration package.

The council’s Short Breaks team has immediate vacancies and is eager to hear from committed individuals who believe that they have the spare time, energy and commitment to offer short breaks fostering in their own home.

The council’s Fostering Team is also keen to recruit people interested in offering a caring and loving home for children who are looked after away from their families. Short time fostering – up to 12 months – and longer term fostering – until young people reach adulthood – is needed, especially for those who can care for teenagers and young people with additional needs. The remuneration, training and support is substantial.

Jo Clarke, a York foster carer and forensic psychologist, said: “I started my fostering career when my daughter was six. We provided short breaks to a six-year-old girl who had special needs and was living at home with her family. It felt amazing to be able to offer this support to the family who might otherwise have had to consider residential care for their daughter. Bizarrely sometimes the more challenging it was, the more worthwhile it felt, because you realised how much the family needed a break. It was also hugely beneficial to my daughter, who has grown up with a real understanding of disability and a much stronger appreciation of what she’s got. This was such an overwhelmingly positive experience, that we decided to take another step and now we are full time, permanent foster carers to a young man who came to us four years ago, when he was eight.  My daughter says fostering has been the best thing ever and has shaped who she has become. For me, I can’t imagine any job more rewarding.”

For an informal chat about short breaks and fostering, please contact shortbreaks@york.gov.uk or call 01904 555699 or please go to www.york.gov.uk/shortbreakfostercarer.

Glen Lodge set for care and accommodation expansion

Tenants of Glen Lodge on Sixth Avenue will be asked for their views on plans to extend existing care provision to 24/7 at this popular scheme, and to build a 27 home extension.

On 16 September, tenants have been invited to a drop-in session with council officers who will answer questions and explain the plans as part of the city’s project to improve older person’s accommodation.

With York’s population of people aged 75 and older expected to rise by 50 per cent by 2030, and with the popularity and quality of its current provision at Glen Lodge and extra care services at Auden House, these new plans are part of a city-wide scheme to modernise accommodation for older people.

The programme seeks to address the needs of York’s ageing population by making the best use of existing sheltered housing, by offering people with higher care needs the services and accommodation they need now and in the future.

The tenants will be shown plans to extend Glen Lodge’s current extra care provision from 7am-11pm to 24/7, from spring 2016. Then, the plan is to build a further 25 flats and two bungalows, whose tenants can use the extra care services as their needs change. Any inconvenience caused by the building works will be minimised as much as it can be.

The plans aim to help older people to stay independent in their own home for as long as possible while offering a choice of accommodation to meet their requirements.

Glen Lodge has been identified as a good site to extend both the care provision and the building, because there is already a scheme with good facilities and an established care provision during the day.

 

Tenants unable to make this session will be given individual briefings and more information will be shared as the project progresses to keep tenants up-to-date. People living in the wider neighbourhood will shortly be invited to their own information sessions.

Places still available for adults with learning disabilities to help shape services of the future

Places are still available for adults (aged 18 and over) with Learning Disabilities and their family and carers to give their views about their experiences of living in York, as part of plans to improve services.

People are invited to attend one of two engagement sessions on Monday 14 September at Tang Hall Community Centre from 1-3pm or at the Priory Street Centre on Monday 28 September from 11am-1pm.

The sessions, which will be run by Inclusion North – an organisation promoting the inclusion of people with learning disabilities, their families and carers – will focus on a wide range of issues including:

  • Travelling in York.
  • Leisure activities and keeping healthy.
  • Keeping safe and hate crime.
  • Growing old and planning for the future.
  • Getting a job and learning new skills.
  • Young people moving into adulthood.
  • People being placed in services outside the local area.

The sessions have been organised by the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Partnership Board, which is part of York’s Health and Wellbeing Board.
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Oakhaven old peoples home to be converted into extra care facility

Residents and staff at two of City of York Council’s Older People’s Homes – Grove House and Oakhaven – are being consulted on proposals to close the homes in early 2016, as part of plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city.

There has still not been any announcement by the Council on the future of the Lowfields site.  Residents had expected to be given a redevelopment timetable over the summer.

Oakhaven

Oakhaven

The plans seek to address the needs of York’s ageing population, making the best use of York’s existing Sheltered Housing by making it more accessible for people with higher care needs, and replacing the council’s seven out-dated Older People’s Homes, with more modern accommodation. Two Older People’s Homes – Oliver House and Fordlands – closed in 2012 as part of the programme.

The council’s Executive agreed to consult on proposals to close two more Older People’s Homes as part of the next phase of the project at their meeting on 30 July. Each of the council’s seven remaining Older People’s Homes was assessed against a number of criteria, to determine which homes should be consulted on for closure first.
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Carrfield – Teal Drive snicket improvement requested

We’ve asked the Council to tidy up the Carrfield – Teal Drive snicket.

Using the Fix My Street “app” we’ve asked that litter and weeds be removed, grass cut and that the cycle barriers are repainted

Barriers need paintng

Barriers need paintng

Grass need cutting

Grass needs cutting

Weeds and litter need removing

Weeds and litter need removing