Perth & Kinross Council - Homeless Housing Support Service Housing Support Service

Transcription

1 Perth & Kinross Council - Homeless Housing Support Service Housing Support Service Pullar House 35 Kinnoull Street Perth PH1 5GD Telephone: Type of inspection: Unannounced Inspection completed on: 30 January 2018 Service provided by: Perth & Kinross Council Service provider number: SP Care service number: CS

2 About the service This service registered with the Care Inspectorate on 1 April Perth & Kinross Council - Homeless Housing Support Service provides a service to adults experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness living in temporary accommodation and in their own homes. They provide this through Greyfriars House, a hostel providing temporary accommodation to people who do not have anywhere else to stay, and a floating housing support service. The stated aims and objectives of the service are: to prevent homelessness through the provision of person centred housing support to support households in temporary accommodation to assist and support households to settle into permanent accommodation and minimise repeat homelessness. At the time of inspection there were 24 residents staying at Greyfriars House and approximately 100 people using the floating housing support service. What people told us People using the service were very positive about the support they had received and, in particular, praised the staff team for their efforts and commitment. Some comments we received included: "The staff are really helpful and are giving me all the support I need." "Staff are very friendly, non-judgemental and very helpful. 10/10 for the way I have been treated so far." "All staff members have been great." "Greyfriars gave me shelter but it was the staff that made it feel like home. They had made what I was expecting to be a bad experience into a very pleasant stay. Very friendly, caring and professional." Self assessment We did not request a self assessment this year. We discussed and considered the service's own development and improvement plan as part of this inspection. From this inspection we graded this service as: Quality of care and support Quality of staffing Quality of management and leadership not assessed page 2 of 5

3 What the service does well We found that the service provided support that was very person led with individual needs, rights and circumstances fully respected. People were supported in a variety of ways including support to access a range of services such as health, education, employment, benefits advice and tenancy support. They also received a housing support handbook and Greyfriars House guide that were very detailed with plenty of practical information and advice. Residents and people who use the service were at the heart of decision making with regular residents meetings, a 'homeless voice' group, resident inspections of the facilities at Greyfriars House and interviewing applicants for employment. People were actively encouraged to be involved in improving the service and their views were captured using a variety of methods. A number of initiatives and projects had been set up to support people to improve their health and well-being. These included a boxing club, gym project, cooking group, walking maps and a health academy. People using the service decided how these groups were set up and how they progressed. We thought that the range of projects and the participation of people using the service in developing them were excellent. Positive experiences like these helped people regain the confidence and motivation needed to move on from the difficulties they had experienced. Throughout our inspection we found that, in both Greyfriars House and the floating housing support service, the care and support provided was very responsive and flexible. The staff team had a real pride in their work, were knowledgeable, professional and, above all, fully committed to supporting people to settle into permanent accommodation and minimise repeat homelessness. We heard about the successes people had in gaining tenancies, feeling more settled and being able to deal with challenges they had faced. The staff team was very well qualified and committed to continuous professional development. There were a wide range of additional training and development opportunities relating to the different areas of work that staff were undertaking. This resulted in development work with, for example: prisons, hospitals, schools and resettled families which showed a very forward thinking approach towards preventing homelessness. In addition, there appeared to be extremely good working relationships with a range of key partners who trust the service to make appropriate referrals and contact them in good time. One person who works in partnership with the service told us that, in their opinion, it was a "real model of good practice", and another felt that the staff team were both "approachable and caring". What the service could do better Personal plans had the information required to support the needs, wishes and choices of people using the service. However, we felt that these could be further developed to be as accessible and person led as possible. We discussed this with the management team during our inspection and are confident that they will include this suggestion in their development plan. The service provided was very wide ranging and relied on the effort and dedication of an extremely knowledgeable and flexible staff team. It would be important to continue to have similar numbers and quality of staff to maintain the excellent service. page 3 of 5

4 Requirements Number of requirements: 0 Recommendations Number of recommendations: 0 Complaints There have been no complaints upheld since the last inspection. Details of any older upheld complaints are published at Inspection and grading history Date Type Gradings 3 Mar 2016 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 16 Jul 2013 Announced (short notice) Care and support Management and leadership 15 Nov 2011 Unannounced Care and support Management and leadership 31 Mar 2009 Announced Care and support Management and leadership 4 - Good page 4 of 5

5 To find out more This inspection report is published by the Care Inspectorate. You can download this report and others from our website. Care services in Scotland cannot operate unless they are registered with the Care Inspectorate. We inspect, award grades and help services to improve. We also investigate complaints about care services and can take action when things aren't good enough. Please get in touch with us if you would like more information or have any concerns about a care service. You can also read more about our work online at Contact us Care Inspectorate Compass House 11 Riverside Drive Dundee DD1 4NY enquiries@careinspectorate.com Find us on Facebook Other languages and formats This report is available in other languages and formats on request. Tha am foillseachadh seo ri fhaighinn ann an cruthannan is cànain eile ma nithear iarrtas. page 5 of 5