creating communities to be proud of
sheltered housing review FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
Will scheme officers lose their homes?
In their new roles employees will not necessarily be expected to “live in”. Current scheme officers will not have to move out of their homes but their home may not be their place of work. People employed in new positions will be able to make choices about where they live. If they want to move, we will offer them alternative accommodation suited to their needs and requirements.
If any employee is offered early retirement or is made redundant, this issue would be considered alongside their retirement or redundancy terms.
Will there still be resident wardens?
The resident warden’s role changed before Shoreline took over from the council. Currently, scheme officers live on site but are only on duty during daytime hours. Some scheme officers may chose to continue to live where they work but once they are off duty, their work is finished. People should respect their privacy and not place expectations on them just because they live near-by. Others may choose to move or new people who apply may not want to move from their current home. We need to make sure that we keep and recruit appropriate people with the right skills, knowledge and personality to do the job. Where they live should not really be an issue.
What will be different then?
Under the proposed changes, the scheme officers will be focusing on supporting individuals to remain independent and active as they get older. We will create teams so that the way support is provided will be consistent whatever scheme someone lives in. Currently it’s down to one individual but by working in a team, employees can share knowledge, skills, ideas and experience. Also, residents will get to know the team so that when one member is absent or carrying out another activity, the person who visits will be known to the residents.
Will current employees lose their jobs?
Within the new structure there are enough jobs for existing staff and employees will be slotted / ring-fenced into new positions where possible. We value the skills and experience of our staff and hope that they will be keen to be part of the new service.
The jobs are different and some people may decide they don’t want to stay. We will talk to everyone individually to ensure that people make the right choices for themselves.
What about the peripatetic officers?
There will be enough jobs for existing staff, including the “peri’s.”
What if employees don’t have the skills or knowledge for the new roles?
The first thing we will do for newly recruited staff is put on a training programme. Employees already have skills and experience but where there are gaps, we’ll help and support people to overcome them. As long as staff are willing to learn and keen to go forward, there should be no reason why they should have any difficulty.
What about employees who can’t drive, will it stop them getting one of the new jobs?
No, the teams will be based in area locations so people will be able to get from one place to another by foot if necessary. Driving will not be an essential requirement.
Surely the changes mean residents will get less of a service?
We are doing this because we believe residents will get a better service. Currently it is getting harder to recruit resident scheme officers so we have to rely on the “peripatetic” officers. This is also true when scheme officers are off sick or on holiday.
With the new service, people will still be supported but in a different way. We understand that people will worry as the changes take place but we’re certain that in the long term, we can focus support on those who most need it. In a recent survey we found that only 40% of current residents had significant support needs. People chose to live in sheltered housing (what we call Group Dwellings) for the safety, security and sense of community. They should not be obliged to accept support they don’t need. We’re then free to give the time & effort to those who really need it.
What about the 24 hour cover, will residents still be able to call staff out in an emergency?
We propose to provide an emergency 24 hour “on-call” service through a rota, but we need to make sure that this is only used for genuine emergencies. Most issues will be dealt with during normal working hours.
Some residents may not need support now but will in future. How will staff know?
All residents will get a basic level of support. Staff will call in and check things are ok. If and when people’s needs change, we will do needs assessments and agree a support plan. This might just be for a short period, for example, if someone is recovering after treatment in hospital or if they’ve suffered a recent bereavement. For others it might be a permanent change in needs, for example, the onset of a disability or deterioration in mental health such as the start of dementia. By responding to these needs, we will be able to assist people to continue to live in their own homes whereas previously they may have had to go into residential care or be kept in hospital to recover when they could have been at home.
If only 40% of residents need support, surely that means you will be making staff redundant, how will we keep the funding that we currently get to support all residents?
In recent consultation many residents said that they prefer a daily visit. We need to assess and monitor how much support people need and then eventually we propose to provide support to other people such as older people who perhaps live in their own homes. Some people are living in very difficult conditions and don’t know how to get the help they are entitled to. It will be a really exciting expansion of our service to be able to support people in these situations.
Within the new structure, there will be enough jobs for existing employees.
Without the scheme officer, surely the group activities will come to an end, who will organise trips or events?
There will still be dedicated staff to ensure that activities take place. It will be part of their role to assist to organise activities. The only difference will be that we hope to include other people in the community, such as people in the community alarmed bungalows. There are a lot of people in the community who do not get the same opportunities to participate in activities so we will make them more widely available. We also want to increase the range of activities so that people have more choice. This will be easier through having teams working together.
But when I moved into a group dwelling it was because I wanted the security of knowing a warden was on site. I’ve got used to the person who is here and I don’t want it to change.
Change is always difficult but for all of the reasons talked about, we cannot always continue to provide the service in the same way. You will get to know the teams in the same way as you get to know your existing scheme officers but you won’t rely on just one person. Over time, we hope all will agree that it is a better service. For some residents in group dwellings, the resident officer service has not been available for some time and these changes will allow us to provide a good service to those residents too.
And will anyone be able to move into group dwellings, will you fill up the empty properties with young people and “trouble-makers”?
Sheltered schemes will still be for older and retired people. There might be occasions where someone who is just under the usual age limit has need for sheltered accommodation, for example, someone with a disability. It will be based on people’s need for this type of accommodation where their life-style is suited to a sheltered community.
© Copyright 2007-2008 Shoreline Housing Partnership Ltd.
Registered Charity Number 1107876.
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