Worcestershire Mental Health Housing Strategy

1. Worcestershire Mental Health Housing Strategy Presentation

2. Why do we need a Housing Strategy? • Appropriate housing essential for successful holistic treatment • Respond to service user/carer needs • Social Inclusion and NSF agendas link • Opportunities provided by Supporting People initiatives • Rationalise expenditure on residential care • Reduce bed occupancy

3. Homelessness • In the Bromsgrove locality, there are five people with severe mental illness who are homeless • All of these people are known to mental health services • Local housing providers are aware of these people • AAG provides the vehicle for this communication

4. Homelessness • Each Community mental Health team are in the north of the county has as AAG • The AAG is a multi-agency forum which seeks to ensure that the housing needs of people with mental illness are met appropriately • Homeless people can come to the attention of housing providers before mental health services

5. Homelessness • Housing providers refer to the AAG where they have concerns for a homeless person’s mental health • The Housing Strategy includes the re-establishing of AAGs in the south of the County

6. Homelessness • Each CMHT has a Duty system • Housing providers are able to access the Duty systems to discuss concerns over homeless people, refer into mental health services or establish whether someone presenting as homeless is known to mental health services. • Homeless people with mental illness can present to Duty system.

7. Homelessness • Homelessness amongst the mentally ill can occur where a person has been unable to maintain a tenancy because of their illness. • The Housing Strategy seeks to work preventatively to address this by harnessing the skills of Supporting People workers in maintaining people in their homes with the skills of mental health professionals

8. What is the current status? • Inconsistent links and relationships with statutory and non-statutory housing providers • Little residential or nursing provision for the service user group in Worcestershire • Special needs provision exclusively in-house • Variable understanding of the role and value of the Supporting People initiative • No evidence to encourage operational staff and carers to abandon traditional ways of thinking

9. What should it look like? • General needs/owned accommodation • General needs/owned with Floating Support • General needs/owned with CPA & Floating Support • CPA & commissioned or specialist support in own accommodation • Transitional models of housing • Group living • Residential care with a recovery focus • Residential care • Nursing care • In patient recovery services

10. What do Supporting People have to offer? • Providers experienced in working with the service user group • Floating support – task focussed, short term • Transitional housing – several models, more support, medium term • Task focussed support to supplement work of functional teams (AO/EI/Peri-natal)

11. What are the gains? • Reduction in bed occupancy • Reduction in numbers of people in Residential/Nursing care • Reduction of resource commitment to Residential/Nursing care places • Professional staff time freed to focus on therapeutic work • Choice for service users and carers • Addresses a number of Performance agendas

12. What needs to be done? • Signing off of document • Appointment of Lead • Preparation of a specification for block provision in residential and nursing care • Presentations to all stakeholders to inform future practice and direction • Development of multi-agency strategy and action groups across County

13. What are the Risks? • Delay may lead to loss of Supporting people resources • Possible impermanency of Supporting People • Inability to attract partners for block arrangements • Multi-agency “silo” thinking • Fixed thinking of staff • Fixed thinking of service users and carers • Failure of Home Treatment initiatives