Home of choice

When it comes to choosing residential care or sheltered housing,
would-be residents and their relatives can be faced with a
bewildering task in finding out what is available locally. Often it
is more a matter of luck than judgement if they come up with a
place which really suits their needs.

In Tameside, Greater Manchester, an innovative service provided
by the local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) is taking the element of
chance out of choosing care services. The CAB has established a
one-stop-shop known as “ChoicE” where older people and vulnerable
adults and their relatives can come to find out about the range of
providers in the area and which ones have vacancies.

Annette Goodfellow, bureau manager says: “Marketing literature
never tells you everything you need to know, like whether you can
smoke, or take your pet with you or if you can bring some of your
own furniture. We ask the questions that people should ask, but
often don’t because they don’t know what to ask.”

Local care providers complete a detailed questionnaire about
their services, the results of which are collated by the CAB and
presented in a user-friendly format. Providers fax in details of
bed spaces every Friday and Tameside social care and health
department also provides a list of vacancies based on their own
research.

“People can sit down, have a cup of coffee and compare one care
home or sheltered housing unit with another,” says Goodfellow.
“When they’ve narrowed down the range they can look at available
inspection reports and read about them, warts and all.”

ChoicE was set up eight years ago as a joint project between the
CAB, local authority and one of the larger independent care
providers in the area. At first, the service was partly funded by
providers but now the full cost of £43,000 a year is met
through a local authority contract.

Service supervisor Nigel Morgan explains that social workers
refer people to ChoicE at care planning meetings. “The service is
available for anyone to come in and use,” he says. “There’s a
member of staff available who speaks Gujarati and Urdu. Staff can
guide people through our system and select homes to look at from
the map of the area, but we are clear that our role is to offer
impartial information not advice.”

Tameside CAB also provides an advocacy service for older people
placed in residential or nursing care by the local authority. The
idea is to provide an independent voice for the client so their
views are properly represented at six-week and annual reviews.

An advocate visits the resident before a review and goes through
a checklist covering everything from dentistry and podiatry to
whether they are taken out on visits and are able to practice their
religion. Vicky Lowe, CAB advocate, says that people suffering from
dementia often respond better to a conversation about issues rather
than to direct questions. “I might ask someone if they are put into
their wheelchair gently and whether they are consulted about where
they would like to go on trips.”

Lowe adds: “You have to be clear with residents about why you
are there and that you are independent. It’s confidential so if
there is anything they are not happy with it’s their decision
whether action is taken on their behalf. But if everyone complains
about the food we would take it up as a group issue.”

Goodfellow believes the service provides a crucial independent
voice for vulnerable adults. “There is someone they can turn to if
they are not happy. Everyone can express a view and we put that to
the professionals at the review.”

The advocacy has been instrumental in improving services for all
residential and nursing care home residents in the area despite
being under contract to represent only Tameside-funded clients.
Morgan says: “We highlight issues affecting a number of residents,
such as people being discharged from hospital with MRSA or pressure
sores or problems with getting a dentist.”

He describes how he lobbied successfully to improve dentistry
services. “I wrote to local MPs and to health minister Rosie
Winterton who then contacted the primary care trust. We can raise
an issue and get through to the right people.”

Lessons Learned

• Without a one-stop outlet, people looking for residential care
  or other care services have to go round each provider individually.
  Says Goodfellow: “There is generally only a short window between a
  person getting funding from a local authority and being admitted.
  Our service enables people to make comparisons based  on
  independent information and  find out about current vacancies,  all
  under one roof.”
• As well as representing the views of individual residents, the
  advocacy service provides feedback to the council about
  shortcomings in the care services they are paying for. “We report
  back to social care and health on the issues we uncover and that
  helps improve care for vulnerable adults,” says Morgan.