Agenda item

The Committee considered the joint report of the Director – Governance & Organisational Development (formerly Director – Safety) (NSDC) and the Director – Newark and Sherwood Homes which sought to provide Members with a review of the operation of the Gladstone House Extra Care Scheme since it opened in April 2018.

The report set out the background to the decision to build and provide the facility and how the scheme was run.  It provided information as to the Co-Operation Agreement between the District Council and Nottinghamshire County Council (NCC) and that Newark and Sherwood Homes provided the housing management and repairs service to all the units.  Paragraph 3 of the report provided the Committee with information as to the operation; utilisation; community facilities and costs at the facility. 

The Group Manager – Strategic Commissioning (NCC) was in attendance at the meeting and advised Members as to the County’s role at the facility.  She advised that not all of the 40 units that the County had nomination rights to were occupied.  Some of the tenants initially placed at the facility had complex needs and unfortunately it had not been possible for those needs to be met.  Subsequently the placement criteria had been amended and it was now believed that an appropriate mix of tenants were in residence.  This, in turn, had led to a significant reduction in the needs that warranted assistance from the facility’s staff.  The Group Manager also confirmed that a review of costs would be undertaken following the facility having been operational for a full 12 months.  In response to a query raised about the availability of apartments used as assessment units for patients being discharged from hospital, the Group Manager confirmed that the County had 8 such units available at the facility.

A Member raised concerns about the cost of providing some of the community facilities at Gladstone House, i.e. the café and beauty therapy services, and the discrepancy between the costs originally estimated and the actual income being received for these services.  In response, the Director (NSH) advised that the costs were being kept under review. 

In considering the County Council’s number of voids Members queried what initiatives were being formulated to improve on this. The Group Manager advised that the changes already made to the placement criteria was making a positive difference in reducing the number of voids, but also that a ‘culture change’ was needed to persuade older people to consider a move to supported accommodation earlier, in preparation for when they required it, rather than waiting until a crisis arose that required their immediate rehousing. She explained that there was much evidence to demonstrate that this approach was key to helping people to sustain independent living in their own homes longer, before needing residential care.

In summing up, the Chairman commented that the Committee were fully supportive of the facility and would continue its role as a ‘critical friend’ in order to assist with its continued success. 

AGREED      (unanimously) that the information provided as part of the operational review of Gladstone House be noted.