Alexandra Wellbeing House – Operational Policy
Policy Version / V 6Consultation / 2gether trust
Ratified by / Swindon Mind Trustee Board
Date Ratified / 20th March 2017
Next Review Date / March 2018
Name of originator/author / Suzanne Baxter Version 1
Carole Hedges Version 2
Carole Hedges Version 3
Carole Hedges Version 4
Carole Hedges Version 5
Donna Lovell Version 6
Scope / All Swindon Mind Staff
Replaces / Operational Policy Wellbeing House
This policy/proceedure/
Guidance has been Equality Impact Assessed (EIA) using the Trust’s agreed process, and the assessment has not identified any significant adverse impact on people with one or more protected characteristics.
Alexandra Wellbeing House – Operational Policy
Contents
The Service 1
1. Philosophy and Mission Statement 1
Our Mission Statement: 1
Recovery Statement 1
Main Features of the Service 1
2. Alexandra Wellbeing House. 2
House Rules 2
3. Referral Process 3
4. Access criteria/Eligibility 4
Those with the following will not be eligible for this service: 4
5. Service Performance and Outcome Measures 4
Record Keeping 4
Quality Assurance and Evaluation 4
The Staff 5
6. Staff Team and Their Roles 5
Staffing Structure: 5
Role of the Wellbeing House Manager 6
Role of the Wellbeing Support Worker 7
7. Expectations of Staff and Standards of Practice 8
8. Training and Development 8
9. Staff Engagement 8
The Guest 9
10. A Guests Stay 9
11. The Support Provided 9
12. The Guest Experience 11
Acknowledgements 12
Appendices 13
Appendix 1. Referral Pathways 13
Appendix 2. Complaints Policy and Procedure 15
The Service
1. Philosophy and Mission Statement
Our Mission Statement:
The Alexandra Wellbeing House strives to continuously inspire and encourage guests through their recovery, promoting wellbeing, resilience and quality of life.
Recovery Statement
The Alexandra Wellbeing House places recovery and empowerment at the heart of our service. Staff, volunteers all demonstrate the recovery principles of:
· Hope
· Partnership
· Maximising opportunities every day, in all that we do.
The Alexandra Wellbeing House is part of a non-statutory organisation which aims to provide a safe and secure environment for individuals who are experiencing acute emotional distress related to a mental health problem.
Individuals who stay at Alexandra House will be known as ‘guests’ rather than as ‘patients’, reflecting the informal nature of the service
We aim to:
· Support guests in developing wellbeing and safety plans and strategies which will help to prevent further escalation which may result in hospital admission
· Support guests on discharge from hospital to optimise a successful transition back into the community.
Alexandra House is managed by Swindon Mind, who promote a holistic ethos, whilst using a recovery orientated, solution focussed and person centred approach. Support is provided to guests for up to two weeks and will include:
· One to one support
· Practical peer support in the community.
· Group support
Wellbeing calls and one to one appointments will be provided as necessary after guests’ departure from Alexandra Wellbeing House.
Main Features of the Service
The service will be provided in an environment which is safe, recovery orientated, supportive and empowering, based on the Social Care Model. The Alexandra Wellbeing House provides:
· An opportunity to further recover after hospital admission and discharge, prior to returning home provided their own home accommodation is secure
· Support in a therapeutic environment promoting recovery and wellbeing
· Individual, person centred support which focuses on specific outcomes
· Time for reflection and space to think
· Time away from the home environment and the causes of individuals’ social/emotional/ environmental problems
· Peer Support, activity and wellbeing planning
A key aspect of the service is the use of The Five Ways to Wellbeing as a tool in developing wellbeing and safety plans. The Five Ways to Wellbeing Assessment Tool is available on request.
2. Alexandra Wellbeing House.
The accommodation comprises;
· 5 individual bedrooms
· Large Sitting Room
· Kitchen
· Dining/bistro room.
· Laundry/utility room
· Bathroom with Bath, Shower and WC, Shower Room with WC and separate WC
· Office on ground floor
· Wellbeing area
· Lounge/Keep learning room
· Large enclosed secluded garden
· Summer house/shaded area for sitting in garden
Location:
Alexandra Wellbeing House is located at 29-31 Alexandra Road, Gloucester and is accessible by public transport. It is situated in a quiet residential area within walking distance of the city centre. Off road parking is available at the back of the property for staff. Guests may be able to park subject to available spaces.
Telephone No. (01452) 245338
House Rules
In order to ensure the most positive of experiences for Guests, Alexandra House does have some key house rules. These are provided in leaflet form to all Guests.
· Abusive or violent behaviour is not acceptable
· It is not acceptable to disturb, harass or annoy other guests, volunteers, staff or visitors
· Smoking in any part of the building is prohibited
· Alcohol is not to be consumed on the premises
· Visitors between 10.00am to 5.00pm
· Each guest is responsible for their own laundry, cleaning and tidying of their rooms
· Self-catering for food and beverages as far as possible
· If more than 2 guests have cars, parking may not be guaranteed
· Each guest is responsible for their own medications and these should be kept in the safe supplied in your room
· The house rules will be regularly reviewed.
3. Referral Process
· There are two routes for referrals to the Alexandra Wellbeing House: GP referral and Clinical Teams.
· All referrals from 2gether Trust Clinical Teams and GPs must provide a current risk assessment and consent to share
· Referrals will be made using an Alexandra Wellbeing House referral form which is available from Alexandra Wellbeing House Managers or it is also available for download from http://swindonmind.org/gloucester-services/
· A Mind worker will contact the referrer within 24 hours and arrange an appointment for assessment. Should there be concerns about the referral, these will be discussed at this time. We aim for the assessment to take place no longer than 3 working days from point of contact with the referrer (dependent on all parties availability). Potential guests are accompanied by the professional who has referred them to the service (or in case of GP referrals- the referred can bring a friend/member of family for support if required).
· Unless otherwise agreed all assessments will take place at the Wellbeing House, between 12.00 midday and 2.00pm and will be carried out by two members of Mind staff.
· All decisions to accept guests into the Wellbeing House will be made as soon as possible, but not longer than 3 days after the assessment. The guest and referrer will be notified of the outcome, and if successful, arrangements made for guests’ arrival at Alexandra Wellbeing House. If it is considered that the person does not fit criteria for access or it is considered that they may be currently unsuitable for access, staff will discuss their concerns with the manager who will be responsible for the final decision.
· If the referral is unsuccessful and the referrer challenges the decision, then the Wellbeing House manager and referring team manager will try to reach an agreement. If this cannot be resolved, the final decision will be made by Swindon Mind Management team.
· Generally, guests will be offered up to a 14 day stay at the Wellbeing House, to be reviewed after the first week, however in exceptional circumstances the service may be flexible enough to be able to extend the stay after discussion with the House Manager and Care Coordinator.
· Generally, the time between visits is recommended at 3 months. However, each referral is considered with a person centred approach and there is some flexibility. There are some circumstances in which referrals may be pre-arranged, such as the Christmas and New Year period or for a time that is recognised to be a trigger for deterioration in an individual’s mental health.
· Referral Pathways are attached to this document as Appendix 1
4. Access criteria/Eligibility
In order to access this service, a guest must be:
· Registered with a GP within the Gloucestershire Clinical Commissioning Group area.
· Over the age of 18
· Able to manage their own self-care and medication
· Risk assessed to ensure the environment is safe and suitable
· Not subject to Mental Health Act (except for CTO and section 17 leave)
· Not subject to Mental Capacity Act
Those with the following will not be eligible for this service:
· Suffering from an Organic illness.
· Assessed as being actively suicidal, with plans
· Behaviour which will seriously disrupt the therapeutic process for other guests in the house
· A physical illness of sufficient seriousness as to require care in hospital
· NFA / Homeless
5. Service Performance and Outcome Measures
Record Keeping
Alexandra Wellbeing House staff will retain guests’ information which will be used for communication between members of the staff team and for other purposes as appropriate.
All staff will follow strict guidelines for maintaining confidentiality of guest information.
Information will be kept in a secure place at all times
Alexandra Wellbeing House measures levels of performance as follows:
· Guests are requested to complete a questionnaire on arrival at Alexandra Wellbeing House and when they leave
· Feedback from guests on their experience of Alexandra Wellbeing House
· Length of guests’ stay
· Goals achieved during guests stay
· Plans created for when guests leave Alexandra Wellbeing House
· Feedback obtained from guests during the follow-up period after leaving Alexandra Wellbeing House to determine levels of resilience achieved
· Feedback received will be used to inform practice and improve the service
Quality Assurance and Evaluation
The Alexandra Wellbeing House Manager takes responsibility for establishing a properly documented quality assurance system that ensures quality of service, inclusive of equality and diversity.
The Alexandra Wellbeing House Manager will provide a level of service evaluation agreed with Commissioners which will be collated on a monthly basis, to be reported on quarterly, and annually.
The Staff
6. Staff Team and Their Roles
Alexandra Wellbeing House has a staff team that work over 8 hours during weekdays and 4 hours on Saturdays and Sundays. All Guests have access to on call staff when there are no staff in the building. Separate information is provided regarding this.
Staffing Structure:
The Alexandra Wellbeing manager role is shared between Caz Hedges and Luke Jones and they are supported by two part time Wellbeing Support Workers. There are also two trained volunteers and a number of volunteers to work within the service, with specific rolesand as peer support. There are opportunies for University student placements. The staff will also be supported by the Swindon Mind CEO, the HR and Finance Manager, Maintenance Support, Office Admin Support and a Bank Worker.
Role of the Wellbeing House Manager
Key Accountabilities
Operational Delivery
1. To set up the Wellbeing House service alongside senior management according to the service delivery plan
2. To develop and keep up to date the policies and procedures for the House
3. To ensure compliance with legal and health and safety regulations
4. To manage the staffing and ensuring adequate staff support; this includes managing annual leave periods and staff sickness cover
5. To ensure accurate and detailed records are kept and to comply with data protection procedures
6. To manage a team that builds and sustains a positive, dynamic can-do culture, making the house a great place to spend time
7. Carry out regular line management sessions and annual staff appraisals supporting staff to be the best they can be in order to provide an exceptional service
8. To hold regular team meetings to maintain effective communication and awareness of progress and development within the service and in mental health services in general
9. To promote the new service liaising with appropriate agencies, and arranging time for presentations
10. To liaise with professionals about the House, guests or potential guests
11. To provide supervision, training and development for the staff, and volunteers
12. To develop and coach person centered wellbeing plans with staff and guests
13. To refer, signpost and support service users to the most appropriate services, within mental health service providers and community resources
14. To report faults and maintenance issues to the appropriate services.
15. To regular monitor risk and to update risk assessments as and when needed
16. Establish partnerships with other relevant agencies
17. To develop the service over time to incorporate workshops and sessions that support a person’s wellbeing
18. To participate in the development of a service that is welcoming, user friendly and empowering.
Monitoring and evaluation
1. Lead on the design and data collection method as applicable, capture and record data and report at agreed frequency to demonstrate service outcomes
2. To monitor and prepare monthly stats on guests and requested outcomes as needed
3. To ensure that staff complete paperwork and procedures in relation to a guests induction, stay and exit.
Marketing
1. Continually promote the service, raise awareness, promote good news stories and maintain high profile
2. Promote services to self-referrals
Financial management /Sustainability
1. To keep up to date financial documents in relation to the service and to liaise regularly with Swindon Mind Finance
2. To identify and work with other partnerships/organizations who could contribute to the sustainability and the success of the project.
Advice & Information
1. Provide up to date information and signpost to relevant agencies when appropriate
2. Provide and signpost mental health advocacy accordingly
3. To work with the service user in a holistic way offering wellbeing support
4. To support other areas of work and undertake other duties at Swindon Mind when needed
Role of the Wellbeing Support Worker
Key Accountabilities:
Operational Delivery
1. Ensure compliance with legal and health and safety regulations