Young volunteers deck the halls at Glen Lodge

An award-winning partnership between youth homeless charity SASH and the council have helped older residents deck the halls at Glen Lodge.

Glen Lodge

The Enable team was at the council-run Heworth independent living scheme on 28 November, when they provided and hung the Christmas decorations. This is the third session which Enable has completed at Glen Lodge this year: in the spring they redecorated a tenant’s flat and gave an area of the communal garden a makeover in the summer.

While carrying out the garden project the older tenants told the young volunteers how much they all loved Christmas, but getting the decorations up was a massive task. Following this the young people asked if they could help, Christmas decorations were sourced by the council and the team trimmed Christmas trees, played seasonal music and got into the festive mood with residents and staff.

This month’s makeover is the latest of 27 different projects carried out by the Enable team which consists of young people and colleagues from the youth homeless charity SASH, and City of York Council housing experts. The scheme was developed to improve the lives of younger and older people in York and in 2018 it won the Best Community Project at the York Community Pride Awards.

Over the past five years, young volunteers have given their time to help older people in York who struggle with jobs around the home and garden. In return they have learned new skills which will come in handy when they live in a place of their own.

Gary Hogg, SASH active project coordinator, said: “Enable’s projects have made a real and lasting difference to the lives of older people in York. The young people have made friends, spend time with older people, learned new skills and, perhaps most importantly, have seen first-hand just how much difference they can make to the lives of others.

“With this project, not only have they got Glen Lodge looking a treat for the festive season, but they’ve shared mince pies and some Christmas cheer with the tenants.”

Tom Brittain, assistant director of housing and community safety at City of York Council, said: “Our Enable project aims to give younger people a meaningful experience with home maintenance to help ensure that any tenancy they take on is a lasting success.

“We also want older people to benefit from their skills and enjoy their company. Thank you to everyone involved.”

Bungalows completed at York Glen Lodge extension

Work to extend a City of York Council sheltered accommodation scheme is progressing well with a ‘topping out’ ceremony for the two bungalows which residents will move into later this summer.

Glen Lodge Housing with Extra Care Scheme is being extended as part of the council’s plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city with 25 new flats and two new bungalows being built.  Accommodation is being designed specifically for the needs of people with dementia.

As well as the proposed extension, the council has already invested in providing the help and support available to residents – known as ‘extra care’ – so it is available to residents 24 hrs a day, seven days a week. This enables even more people with higher care and support needs to live at Glen Lodge.

Whilst the bungalows are being ‘topped out’ work on the 25 flats is progressing well, the main building is at second floor level and first fit electrics are going into the lower floors.  As part of the works the entrance to the existing building will be re-vamped, allowing easier access for friends, relatives and the wider community to enjoy the facilities at Glen Lodge. Planning consent was recently given for the entrance changes and work will take place in the early summer.

Glen Lodge is seeing £4 million of investment to increase and further improve care services for older people. The work is part of the Older People’s Accommodation Programme which aims to give older people more choice and control about the care and support they receive.
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£4m project to provide more extra care at Glen Lodge gets underway

Work to extend a City of York Council sheltered accommodation scheme is starting to deliver a £4 million investment to increase and further improve care services for older people.

llr runciman and apprentice danny langdon at glen lodge webGlen Lodge Housing with Extra Care Scheme is being extended as part of the council’s plans to modernise accommodation for older people in the city with 25 new flats and two new bungalows being built.

As well as the proposed extension, the council is also working to extend the existing help and support available to residents – known as ‘extra care’ – so it is available 24 hrs a day, seven days a week. This will enable even more people with higher care and support needs to live at Glen Lodge.

The work is part of the Older People’s Accommodation Programme which aims to give older people more choice and control about the care and support they receive.

Local contractor William Birch is carrying out the works and will have a number of apprentices working on the project. Danny Langdon, David Hayes and Chris Horsley, all at various stages of their bricklaying apprenticeships with York College, are working under their mentor, Steve Bailey, a highly-skilled bricklayer. They will initially be working on the new bungalows and will then move on to the main building. (more…)

Work on new purpose-built accommodation for older people starts

Work to extend a popular Sheltered Housing Scheme with Extra Care Facilities has started.

PAY--Glen-Lodge-nursing-home-in-York-where-Pamela-Hudson-75-was-allegedly-bitten-by-a-ratThe initiative will see 25 one-bed apartments and two bungalows added to the existing site at City of York Council’s in-demand Glen Lodge facility. The project is 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.

The Glen Lodge extension has been designed to provide ‘dementia ready’ accommodation, allowing people with dementia to continue to live independently in their own home, safely and sociably. The apartments and bungalows will be built alongside communal lounges, a landscaped garden and other facilities.

The £4.1m scheme is supported by a £850,500 grant from the Homes & Communities Agency.

The extension is the second phase of improvement work at Glen Lodge, which saw the help and support available to residents – known as ‘extra care’ – become available 24 hours a day, seven days a week earlier this year, making it easier for people with higher care and support needs to live at Glen Lodge.

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.
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Round the clock care available at York council Extra Care Scheme

 Tenants at City of York Council’s Sheltered Housing with Extra Care Scheme, Glen Lodge, will be able to access round-the-clock care and support from this month.

PAY--Glen-Lodge-nursing-home-in-York-where-Pamela-Hudson-75-was-allegedly-bitten-by-a-rat

The new scheme will see Glen Lodge’s current extra care provision extended from 7am-11pm, to 24 hours, seven days a week.

With the number of people in York  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.

A planning application has also been submitted to build a further 25 flats and two bungalows on the Glen Lodge site, whose tenants can use the extra care services as their needs change. The application will be considered by the Area Planning Sub Committee on 4 February.

A number of staff from Grove House and Oakhaven – the two council residential care homes which are due to close this spring as part of plans to modernise care and support for older people as part of r the Older People’s Accommodation Programme – will help to deliver the extended care and support at Glen Lodge.

Residents are still awaiting the results of the independent inquiry into the alleged “rat biting” incident at Glen Lodge  (more…)

Council ducking Glen Lodge concerns?

PAY--Glen-Lodge-nursing-home-in-York-where-Pamela-Hudson-75-was-allegedly-bitten-by-a-ratYesterday evenings Health Committee meeting failed to provide reassurances for those concerned by the alleged “rat bite” incident at Glen Lodge.

It emerged that members of the committee had already been sent a report on the incident, but this has not been made public. 

The Department of Health has asked for an independent review of the case and the Council has promised to cooperate with that review.

It is to be hoped that report at least will be open and transparent.

One of the problems with adopting a defensive and opaque approach to issues like these is that exaggeration (or complacency) may creep into both the media and the comments of Councillors. One speaker at yesterday’s meeting not only presumed the scale of the incident, but also the causes and the remedy.

So facts may already to have become the victim of the Councils secretive approach.

The matter will be reported back to the committee at some stage next year.

Rat attack in York – Inquiry ordered by government

PAY--Glen-Lodge-nursing-home-in-York-where-Pamela-Hudson-75-was-allegedly-bitten-by-a-ratFollowing our story on Tuesday, the Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has now ordered an investigation.

We had asked for the matter to be reported to the Councils Health Scrutiny Committee which is meeting on Tuesday, but the Council has not yet confirmed that the issue will be added to that agenda.

Patricia Hudson, 75, suffered injuries to her face, body and arms caused, her family believes, by a rodent at the council-run home Glen Lodge, in York.

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.

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.