Staffordshire extra care

 ExtraCare

• There are currently 27 Extra Care Schemes within Staffordshire. The total capacity of this provision is 1680 flats. There are an additional 12 schemes proposed or at various stages of development. ExtraCare Housing is based offers housing for people aged 55 and over. It gives people the opportunity to live in a home of your own with 24/7 support on hand, should they need it.

• The Council has housing contracts with 11 Extra Care schemes and contracts for on-site care with 10 schemes.

• From the 1 April 2023, the Council will be consolidating care provision within its contracted schemes to improve recruitment and retention, improve efficiency and value for money, and ensure the sustainability of services across the county. By consolidating provider delivery across commissioned Extra Care Schemes, the Council will release service delivery capacity to the homecare market.

• The personal care providers of choice within our contracted ExtraCare Housing provision are Nexxus Trading Service Limited, our Local Authority Trading Company, and Housing 21. The Council also has housing contracts with these schemes.The following Extra Care Housing schemes are not currently commissioned by the council:

• • Adlington House, Wolstanton, Newcastle-under-Lyme

  • Barton Mew, Barton-under Needwood, East Staffordshire

  • Beechwood, May Place, Newcastle-under-Lyme

  • Belong, Newcastle-under-Lyme

  • Chasewood, Hednesford, Cannock

  • Cherry Tree Court, Essington, South Staffordshire

  • Corsers Court, Perton, South Staffordshire

  • Deans Park Court, Stafford

  • Maywood, Wombourne, Wolverhampton

  • Pencric, Penkridge, Stafford

  • Standon Gardens, Tamworth

  • Vine Court Cannock

Extra care commissioning intentions as of August 2023

• With the population ageing, older people will require housing appropriate to their needs. Between 2014 and 2039 over 70% of household growth nationally will be households with people aged 60 or older. There is a significant undersupply of housing for older people: less than 1% of retirees live in housing with support, and there is a potential requirement for an additional 725,000 units of housing with support by 2025 in England; nearly half of all new homes being built.

• Staffordshire has a range of housing for older people. This includes retirement housing, age exclusive housing, Extra Care housing and assisted living, equivalent to over 9,000 units of housing with support on site.

• Extra Care capacity varies by district and borough from 430 per 100,000 people aged 65+ in East Staffordshire to 1360 per 100,000 in Newcastle-under-Lyme. Variation between districts and boroughs is expected to persist by 2027. This means that whilst capacity in the county overall may be sufficient, there will be a gap between demand and capacity in some districts and boroughs.

• Staffordshire currently has 185900 people aged 65+. This is expected to rise to 218900 by 2027. Extra Care is likely to play an increasingly important role in providing accommodation and support for older people and with a range of onsite facilities these schemes could also be used as “community hubs” for outreach into our diverse communities.

• The Council can expect to have around 484 Extra Care residents with Council funded care by 2027 if the numbers of adults with Council funded care grow proportionately with the ageing population in each district and borough and at least 3.7% are in Extra Care. This will also expose a gap between demand and capacity for Council funded residents if our requirement is to be limited to no more than 21.4% of capacity in each district and borough.

• The Council wants to ensure adequate Extra Care capacity in Staffordshire so that older people have an opportunity to live as independently as possible in their own homes. The Council also wants to ensure good quality for residents with Council funded care as well as value for money for taxpayers.

• The County Council will work with district and borough councils to review housing options for older people across the county and explore the potential to increase Extra Care and Retirement Housing capacity. This will include:

  • Assessing the need for targeted investment, especially in those districts and boroughs where the gap is expected to be largest.
  • Collaborations with housing providers and care providers to develop new schemes and/or improving existing schemes to modernise the facilities and extend their life span.
  • Evaluating the potential to repurpose Council sites currently for disposal for older peoples housing.

• The Council is keen to encourage the development of Extra Care and to make best use of the capacity that already exists. The Council will work with district and borough Councils, housing providers, care providers and residents to explore how further schemes might be developed or existing schemes improved to offer more placements for people who require Council funded care.

• The Council will want

  • Registered providers (RPs) of social housing are now the main providers of new social housing in the UK. By working in partnership with them, the Council will be able to deliver appropriate housing, care and support that address Adult Social Care needs.

  • Providers who are interested in contracting with the Council in future should register on the e-Procurement Portal Proactis in order to register their interest. Specific engagement about tender opportunities will be carried out through the Portal.

Key Market Messages

• Staffordshire in line with other councils recognises that in future it will need to implement prevention services that reduce demand for residential and nursing care and increase provision of other models of housing with care and support for older age adults. The Council wants to explore ways in which Extra Care Housing can prevent escalations to higher levels of care and support.

• The council will work with Registered Providers to increase the supply of diverse, innovative, and affordable specialist housing that delivers personalised care and support for older people.

• The council is seeking greater control of the design and delivery when social care properties are developed. We want to be able to influence property developers and highlight the most suitable locations based on local intelligence. This investment prospectus aims to facilitate and encourage a range of providers to work within the county to ensure the mix of services required to meet local needs, including the needs of those who fund their own care

• The Council is aiming to get providers thinking about developing innovative provision based on integrated health and care core and cluster models. The County Council will support developments that are in the ‘Right Location, Are Affordable, Deliver Quality Care and Support and Add Social Value’.

• The Council is keen to explore the opportunities offered by and make better use of the potential within existing schemes in Staffordshire. This includes for example the wider use of assistive technology and technology-enabled care. In addition, it includes exploring potential opportunities which we believe exist to support wider needs including respite and reablement or step-down provision, day services and potentially also dementia care (although there is a paucity of evidence of successful models supporting people with complex needs).As part of the contract arrangements, the Council is committed to meeting regularly with both contracted care providers and scheme housing providers as part of our ongoing engagement and relationship building. We will also endeavour to engage regularly with the wider care marketplace across Staffordshire digitally and through a range of ongoing events such as the Managers Quality Network Forum and Registered Managers Forum and other workshops and events organised throughout the year identified on our ‘Market Engagement Opportunities’ page.

• We would strongly recommend that providers who are interested in developing or re-developing extra care facilities in Staffordshire reference older people’s housing and care needs using Council intelligence and strategic direction and guidance provided in Local Plans.

• We are encouraging organisations to contact us to discuss how we can work with you or act as a consultee, especially if the following apply:

  • Care providers who deliver care in extra care schemes wishing to upskill their workforce to support more specialist or innovative care provision.
  • Extra care facilities keen to increase extra care capacity where there is unmet need, intention to diversify or innovate, e.g.
  • Utilise innovative assistive technology and technology-enabled care approaches to conduct well being checks, provide medication support etc.
  • Diversify their provision to meet specific needs, including dementia, respite and reablement or step-down provision, day services, people of working age with eligible physical disability and mental health adult social care needs.
  • Diversify their provision to provide outreach services etc.
  • Staffordshire extra care providers keen to seek further business support on improving how they run their business.

Principles of service provision

• Market position statement intelligence provides the evidence base supporting this programme of work.

• The Council aims to:

  • Promote a vibrant and sustainable market for the future available to older people and working age adults with disabilities which meets people’s needs which is affordable and is of the right quality.
  • Offer newly assessed individuals both choice and control in respect of where they live and increased options in respect of the types of accommodation available, including alternative options to building-based accommodation or services.
  • Support individuals in their own homes to participate fully in the same range of community options as other citizens and building on individual and community assets.
  • Make timely decisions where there is an assessed need and when individuals are unable to remain independent without significant support in the community to place citizens in building-based accommodation or services.

Marketplace Challenges

• Nationally and locally the following key pressures in the extra care market have been identified:

• Home care providers are struggling to recruit and retain an effective workforce and to sustain financial viability, particularly as unemployment in Staffordshire is currently at a significantly low level.This has led to an increased reliance on agency staff.

• Considering the recent COVID-19 pandemic, the above situation has not improved and has presented additional challenges with additional financial challenges and recruitment. The National Living Wage and auto enrolment into the workplace pension scheme introduced additional cost pressures to extra care.

• There is a lack of agreement nationally on the best tenure and care needs mix in this sector.

• Staffordshire undertakes a discretionary annual fee-review to assist in meeting rising costs, alongside the development of a comprehensive workforce strategy. Additional resources include access to the wellbeing hub and other wellbeing resources, various non-recurrent grants, and access to skills for care funding.

Further information about extra care services in Staffordshire is available in a printable PDF document upon request.