mears care brochure

Mears Care1. Home Improvements Handyperson Services

2. Creating Dynamic Systems – Supporting Flexible Services

3. Extra Care

4. Hospital Discharge and Rapid Response Services

5. Independent Living Service

6. Reablement Homecare

7. Serving Communities

Home ImprovementsHandyperson ServicesIt can be difficult and expensive to find a reliable person to fixsmall issues around the house. With our handyperson service weoffer reliable, fully vetted and experienced people who customerscan trust to come into their homes and sort out their repairs.

WHAT TYPES OF WORK CAN THEY DO?Our handy people are versatile as well as flexible, this meansthey can deal with a wide variety of repairs and improvements.They types of work they can do include:

• Small repairs – putting up curtain rails, shelves and pictures, fixing loose carpets, repairing dripping taps or replacing broken handles.

• Installation of mobility aids - grab rails, shower seats and lever taps.

• Safety measures – fitting smoke alarms, carbon monoxide detectors and testing the alarms.

• Home security – door and window locks, door chains, anti-snap locks and door viewers.

• Energy efficiency checks – installing draught excluders, radiator heat reflectors and energy efficient light bulbs.

• General jobs - moving furniture, changing light bulbs and building flat packed furniture.

WHAT CUSTOMERS CAN EXPECT FROMOUR HANDYPERSON SERVICE?• We aim to give customers an appointment for a visit within

two weeks of their call.• We offer morning or afternoon appointments.• Our handy people are directly employed by Mears.

They carry identification and wear the Mears uniform.• Our handy people are professional, friendly and polite.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST?Customers can be reassured that there are no expensive call outfees and that our handy people will cost and complete the job inthe most economical way. They will discuss customers requirements with them and confirm the cost of the repair beforethe start. If they cannot fix it on the first visit they will arrange asuitable time with the customer when they can come back andcomplete the repair.

Our aim is to provide customers with a reliable professional service and to ensure the job is completed to their satisfaction.

To discuss the information in this leaflet, please contact: email: [email protected] web: www.mearshomecare.co.uk

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.mearshomecare.co.uk

Creating Dynamic Systems –Supporting Flexible ServicesAs one of the largest UK providers of community based care and support, we are constantly looking for new ways to ensurequality, value for money and develop our services to meet thechanging policy landscape and challenges facing health andsocial care.

We understand that the move toward more responsive, flexible services such as reablement, home from hospital and personalised services, requires dynamic systems and processes.We also know that overall productivity and the experience of our Care Workers could be improved if they have access to information and can respond to changes in real-time.

Working with our Information Technology, Operations andBusiness Development teams, we have explored new ways tomeet all of the competing demands and changes outlined above.There was a consensus that this could be achieved throughdevelopment of a dynamic IT system linked to Personal DigitalAssistants (PDAs). PDAs enable Care Workers to send instant

messages via the internet, as well as to log notes, track medication, make real-time changes to care packages, accessinformation and keep tabs on all manner of other tasks in oneeasy place, without relying on paper or having to repeatedlyphone the office.

Using this system we can ensure a more flexible service delivery,for example if upon arrival our Care Worker finds a customer isfeeling more able that day and requires less time, our staff canlog this via the PDA, immediately up-dating the system andallowing our Coordinators to redeploy the time elsewhere.Likewise, if more time is required than initially planned as thecustomer is unwell, the Care Worker can spend this additionaltime knowing that their follow-on call will be allocated to another member of staff.

In addition, PDAs greatly reduce the amount of time lost onmissed calls, for example if staff don’t know about, or miss, amessage that a client will no longer be available at a scheduledtime.

Previously the process was completed on paper and by phone:staff rotas were provided on a weekly basis in paper format, andany updates were communicated via telephone, requiring CareWorkers to update their paper timesheet. With the new MearsCare Management solution, these updates only need to be doneon our IT system, which automatically updates the Care Worker.We are finding therefore that this is also a much more environmentally friendly way to work, greatly reducing theamount of paper and printing previously required.

Our IT team are now rolling the system out across the company,however following our commitment to continuous improvement,we are also looking at how we can incorporate customer outcomes into the system so these can be monitored and reported in real time adding an extra dimension to our servicedelivery.

In order to test the effectiveness of the new system, we conducted a pilot at our Barnsley branch, which in April 2012received 12 PDAs and distributed them among its 70 CareWorkers. Within just a few months the initiative has proven to bea great success.

Sharon, an experienced Branch Manager, finds the PDAs arehelping to ensure the most efficient use of staff time. Messagescan be sent by staff out in the community to the office electronically, meaning Care Workers instantly keep the officestaff up to date and all messages are immediately filed onto theIT system.

Sharon Bell, branch manager at Barnsley:

“We started to use the PDAs at the end of April for rotas,instant messages and so on, and they’re a quick and efficient way to communicate. The staff using them saythey are fantastic, they love them. Some were sceptical at first, saying they wouldn’t be able to cope with thetechnology and they didn’t like change, but all the feedback has been really good.”




Extra Care Mears delivers the care and support element of Extra CareHousing into over 20 schemes across the country.

Extra Care Housing describes a type of specialised accommodation that provides independence and choice toadults with varying care needs and enables them to remain intheir own home. Services are provided in a purpose built,housing environment with care and support delivered to meetindividual customer needs. This type of housing can provide 24-hour care and support, meals, domestic help, leisure andrecreation facilities and a genuinely safe environment to its residents. Extra Care Housing should be able to provide mostpeople with a home for the remainder of their life, regardless ofchanges in their care needs.

Mears delivers its care and support services in a way thatheightens and maintains people’s independent living skills, supporting them to support themselves and increasing wellbeing.

Our model for extra care incorporates:

Enabling ApproachesAll of our Extra Care Housing care and support is delivered in a way that supports people to re-gain and increase theirindependent living skills. We have developed a robust induction and training programme that not only exceeds CQCrequirements; but instils the principles and ethos of reablement.During training, staff learn the importance and value of a

supportive, enabling rather than ‘doing for’ approach to careand support. Our assessment and support planning processesguide staff and customers to consider what other services, forexample Occupational Therapy and equipment, should be incorporated to support people to live independently.

OutcomesAs a matter of course, our services are designed and deliveredaround the outcomes that our customers want to achieve. We have developed an assessment and support planningprocess that ensures we work with our customers, and whereappropriate their carers and family, to define the outcomes they wish to achieve. We then work together to break theseoutcomes down into achievable goals or steps along the way,considering who and what is needed to attain each goal. Allgoals have agreed time scales and measures attached so wecan regularly review the service with customers, carers, familyand commissioners and check if things are progressing asplanned or if we need to make changes.

PersonalisationAs an organisation we have embraced personalisation and welcome the choice and control it offers our customers. Our in-house training programme, procedures and paperwork haveall changed in recent years to reflect a person centred

identify and access activities in the wider community that meettheir preferences. Our Managers build relationships with localpartners and groups whose services can be incorporated tohelp meet outcomes. Local services and providers are invitedinto the scheme to deliver services which our customers haveidentified as important to them such as hairdressing. Wherepossible, our staff open up activities to people from outside thescheme who would benefit, helping to forge greater links withthe wider community. In-line with our enablement ethos, wealways strive to support customers to manage development ofcommunity activities themselves. For example, establishing‘Tenant Events Committees’ and identifying local volunteer support groups who can work with the committee to accessfunding and other opportunities.

Integrated Service DeliveryWherever we deliver care and support in Extra Care Housingwe ensure that we develop productive partnerships with all relevant care partners. However, Mears is in the unique positionof being able to offer the full range of services from a singlepoint of access. Through our extensive range of in-house services and our strategic partnerships with large national telecare and equipment providers we are able to offer, througha single assessment and point of contact:

• Community care and support services, (including palliative care and home from hospital services).

• A handy person service undertaking small repairs, fitting minor aids such as grab rails and completing related tasks e.g. fitting curtain rails.

• Assessment and fitting of telecare/health.• Advice and access to a range of equipment including

removal and recycling.• Access to Mears 24/7, a specialist contact centre using the

most advanced telecommunications technology to provide an on-call, response service.

This unique offer provides improved outcomes and value formoney for commissioners and our customers in Extra Care.

approach. We are experienced in the use of Individual ServiceFunds as a means of delivering flexible, personalised service in Extra Care Housing without the requirement for customers or their carers and family to take on the accounting and monitoring responsibilities associated with Direct Payments. Inorder to deliver Individual Service Funds effectively we had todevelop new systems and processes that allow us to managethe funds and provide a complete breakdown of how themoney has been spent for each individual and commissioners.Benefits arising from our use of Individual Service Funds caninclude:

• Flexibility of service delivery – customers are able to choose how their service is delivered to fit with changing lifestyles or a fluctuating condition, for example during periods of decreased need customers can bank and roll-over time and services to use at a later date.

• Increased customer satisfaction.• Paying for services based on an overall Individual Service

Fund per customer, can result in cost savings to the authority in the form of reduced invoicing and transactional costs.

Access to the CommunityWe believe that care and support in Extra Care Housing shouldalways strive to build networks and links into the wider community. As part of our person centred plans we identify customers’ personal hobbies and interests and support them to




Hospital Discharge and Rapid Response ServicesMears provides home from hospital, rapid and crisis responseservices through both our home improvement and home careservices. These services have delivered a range of positive outcomes for our customers and commissioners:

• Supporting people to maintain or regain their independenceand wellbeing after illness or injury

• Improving the hospital discharge experience for service users and carers

• Promoting independence in community settings• Supporting people to avoid the need for health or social

care interventions in their lives• Reduced admissions to hospitals – giving GP’s an

alternative to hospital admission• Preventing re-admission to hospital• Reduced ambulance call outs• Preventing deterioration and therefore reducing the need for

residential or on-going care packages• Preventing premature entry into long-term institutional care

settings.

We have found that the most successful home fromhospital, rapid and crisis response services:

• Are integrated across health and social care; either jointly commissioned and delivered or underpinned by strong partnerships, joint working protocols, multi-disciplinary teams and co-location where possible

• Are accessed through a single entry point• Have a guaranteed response time• Are designed holistically to meet the needs of the person

and maximise their independence• Incorporate housing support under a single assessment

for aids, adaptions and safety alongside social and health care needs

• Utilise telecare and telehealth to promote self-management and independence.

• Are short-term but with flexibility• Have strong links with or include end-of-life services• Have an underlying philosophy of reablement• Benefit from excellent information technology to

supply sound performance management and communication amongst staff.

Many of those who access the service require end of life careand it is imperative to us that we provide the correct supportfor our staff so they can manage to work in a professionalmanner, with support when they require it.

As a provider, Mears is in a unique position to be able to offera full range of services that support hospital discharge, rapidand crisis response from a single point of access. We have anextensive range of in-house services and have developed strategic partnerships with large national telecare and equipment providers that enable us to offer the followingthrough a single assessment and point of access:

• Community care and support services, (including palliative care)

• Handy person services such as small repairs, fitting minor aids such as grab rails and completing related tasks for example fitting curtain rails

• Advice and installation of telecare and telehealth• Advice and access to a full range of equipment including

removal and recycling.

Our own in-house social care IT system has been developedto be at the cutting edge of technology in social care and allows us to equip our staff with PDA devices to facilitate real time changes to rotas and care packages as well as thecollection and transfer of real time data.

In delivering such services we typically respond to all referralswithin 24 hours - conducting an assessment of the immediaterequirements necessary to avoid hospital or residential careadmission and to facilitate discharge. We provide a maximumof two weeks intensive support during which time we workclosely with local Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs), service users,carers and community based groups and services in order tosecure an appropriate long-term care and support package orto enable customers to live independently.

All Mears Care Workers involved in the delivery of home fromhospital and rapid response services receive additional trainingin order to equip them with the required skills. For example, our care staff in one Rapid Access service receive medical training such as Stoma Care and are chosen for their emotionalmaturity and ability to deal with a rapidly changing and oftenemotionally demanding environment.




Independent Living ServiceWorking together to improveservice and lower costThere is significant evidence to support the use of telecare,

telehealth and equipment as a part of a range of measures to

support independent living.

The benefits of such services are more easily realised when they

form part of an integrated care and support plan.

We have joined forces with Tunstall, the leading provider of

telehealthcare solutions and NRS Healthcare a leading supplier

and the professionals' choice for daily living aids and services.

Through this partnership and our organisational capacity to

deliver both care and support alongside housing repairs and

maintenance, we are able to provide a solution where the

benefits of the technology are integrated with the day to day

service delivery.

Our services

Mears , Tunstall and NRS provide a holistic independent living

service which includes:

• Assessment

• Provision of telecare & telehealth equipment

• Provision of a full range of daily living aids & equipment

• Equipment installation, servicing, maintenance, storage,

distribution and demonstration centres

• Housing adaptations

• 24 Hour a day monitoring service through Mears 24/7,

a specialist contact centre using the most advanced

telecommunications technology.

• Personal care and support

• Through our Apprenticeship Scheme we can also offer

care worker apprenticeships for new employees and the

development of clear career paths for care staff, supporting

local employment initiatives.

All provided by professional, experienced staff.

7. Carers are given increased freedom and feel more

supported to get on with their own lives.

8. Added value through local staff recruitment, apprenticeships

and Mears’ programme of Corporate Social Responsibility:

engaging with our customers, we find ways of utilising our

skills and experience to carry out community-based projects

that will make a difference to the lives of the people we

work alongside. 520 projects were undertaken by Mears

staff in 2013 to help improve the communities in which

we work.

We believe the Independent Living Service is an enabler for

the re-engineering of health and social care provision whilst

creating an integrated healthcare pathway.

Our combined experience is unique and enables us to provide

a complete independent living service for home, assisted

living and specialist care environments. We also offer hospital

communication systems, response centre software systems

and monitoring.

Mears welcomes discussions around risk sharing models in the

commissioning of this Independent Living partnership service.

At no risk to commissioners, Mears will share the upfront

investment cost of telecare to support the provision of reabling

homecare linked to a payment by results model.

What are the benefits?

1. Mears and our partners have the expertise and capacity to

rapidly deliver large scale telecare, telehealth and equipment

programmes.

2. Incorporating care, support, telecare, daily living aids and

equipment, the service:

• improves service and customer satisfaction;

• promotes prevention and independence; and

• reduces care packages helping to avoid cost.

3. The service can help prevent hospital admissions and speed

up safe, sustainable discharge.

4. A service that integrates health, social care and housing.

5. A holistic approach that meets the needs of individuals

through a single point of access and single assessment

process.

6. A service that can be marketed locally to reach out to self-

funders.




Reablement Homecare Mears is actively developing reablement homecare services thatare focused on helping people to do things for themselves ratherthan a traditional approach of doing things for people.

We believe that delivering care and support in this way provides positive outcomes for:

• Those who use services, their carers and families – by building health, confidence and wellbeing and reducing the need to have health and social care intervention in their lives.

• Commissioners – by reducing or eliminating dependence on long term care services; and facilitating timely supported discharge from hospital and temporary residential stays.

• Providers – allowing providers to deliver services in new ways, increasing staff autonomy and satisfaction through movement away from task and time delivery of services.

Our Model for Reablement is simple

Reablement is the cornerstone of all care & support.Reablement should not be limited to short-term interventionsalone. Although there is a place for intensive programmes of

support to reduce or negate immediate need; all care services,whether they are delivered in people’s own homes, extra carehousing or supported living, should follow a reablement approachthat increases self-sufficiency and decreases dependency.

Reablement services should be holistic and personalised.We believe that all reablement - whether short or longer term,should be delivered as a holistic service across social care, housing, equipment, telecare and health; that dovetails with personalisation - putting people in control and responding totheir requirements as an individual.

Reablement should promote outcomes. Commissioning andevaluating services on their ability to achieve key outcomes willfocus providers on developing holistic services that achieve desiredoutcomes and will support commissioners to meet the challengesthey currently face – supporting the personalisation agenda andproviding services to those who need them, whilst reducingdemand and avoiding cost.

At Mears we have been proactive in developing our internal systems and processes to enable us to deliver reablement homecare.

Integrated Service Delivery: Wherever we deliver care andsupport we ensure that we develop productive partnerships withall relevant care partners and voluntary sector, community-basedorganisations. However, we are also in the unique position ofbeing able to offer a range of services through a single point ofaccess. Through our extensive range of in-house services and ourstrategic partnerships with other large national providers we areable to offer:

• Community, home-based care and support services• Handyperson and Home Improvement services• Assessment for and fitting of telecare/health equipment• Access to Mears 24/7, a specialist contact centre using the

most advanced telecommunications technology• Advice and access to a full range of equipment including

removal and recycling• Energy and fuel efficiency support.

This unique offer provides improved outcomes and value formoney for commissioners and a truly holistic reablement servicefor our customers.

Mears welcomes discussions around risk sharing models in thecommissioning of reablement homecare services. At no risk tocommissioners, Mears will share the upfront investment cost oftelecare to support the provision of reabling homecare linked to apayment by results model.

Outcomes: As a matter of course, all of our services are designedand delivered around the outcomes that our customers want toachieve. We have developed an assessment and support planningprocess that ensures we work with our customers – and whereappropriate their carers, family and other health and social careprofessionals – to define the outcomes they wish to achieve. Wethen work together with people to break these outcomes downinto achievable steps along the way, considering who and what isneeded to attain each step. All outcomes have agreed time scalesand measures attached so we can regularly review the servicewith customers, carers, family and commissioners and check ifthings are progressing as planned or if we need to make changes.

Responsive, Flexible Systems: We have developed our IT systems and internal processes to ensure dynamic services thatrespond in real time; robust staff communication; and sound performance management linked to outcomes. Our in-housesocial care system has been developed to be at the cutting edgeof technology in social care, allowing us to:

• equip staff with PDA devices to facilitate real time changes to rotas and care packages

• collect and transfer information in real time• monitor and record upon achievement of customer outcomes• bank time and finances to be used in a flexible manner • make rapid changes to care plans to accommodate changing

needs.




Serving CommunitiesMears has housing and care operations in every region of the UKand in every kind of community - from remote rural villages toinner cities and industrial heartlands.

We feel a strong sense of responsibility towards finding ways toimprove the long terms prospects of the people who live in thecommunities we serve. This philosophy has always been at theheart of Mears.

Over the years, we have developed four goals which are the corner stone of our practice:

Our Community Goals

• To improve the lives of people living within our communities.• To reduce prejudice and improve understanding of differences

within our diverse communities.• To provide career and skills development opportunities to

those needing them the most.• To be a positive contributor to our environment.

Each year our branches develop Serving Communities plans. Thisis done with ideas from customers and staff. We try to identifythose projects that are most aligned to the needs of the localcommunity and where we can best utilise our skills. This could be supporting schools, local environmental groups, youth clubs,facilities for the elderly or by helping local businesses and SocialEnterprises.

By engaging with our customers, we find ways of utilising ourskills and experience to carry out community-based projects that will make a difference to the lives of the people we workalongside.

We support and encourage our staff to get involved, providingtwo days each year of paid leave for staff to take part in volunteering projects in the community; and supporting branchfund-raising initiatives for projects and charities identified bylocal staff.

In 2013, 520 projects were undertaken by Mearsstaff to help improve the communities in which

we work.

Helping our local community to thrive not only increases thequality of life for residents but is also rewarding for staff who volunteer.

The effect of our community activity is remarkable with the impetus to make a difference, the company is united in this common goal.

Most of our staff live in the communities wherewe work.

Staff volunteered 64,729 hours in their communities around the UK in 2013.




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handy people

dynamic systems

experienced people

customers requirements

reliable professional

personalised services

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