{"id":245166,"date":"2010-01-27T07:40:57","date_gmt":"2010-01-27T12:40:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/careandsupport.direct.gov.uk\/?p=2758"},"modified":"2010-01-27T07:40:57","modified_gmt":"2010-01-27T12:40:57","slug":"prevention-%e2%80%93-nottingham-smart-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/245166","title":{"rendered":"Prevention \u2013 Nottingham SMaRT Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Nottingham housing agency reinvented it\u2019s services to create SMaRT – an innovative scheme using technology and response service to help people remain independent and well.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since 2003 the Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) has provided supported housing to a wide range of people, including people with a learning disabilities, mental health needs and drug and alcohol problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2002, the NCHA asked their residents what they wanted from the service. They found that many felt that the service wasn\u2019t meeting their needs.\u00a0 They wanted access to support, but were not always happy with the way that support was provided.<\/p>\n

One of the residents said \u201cI would rather not have staff sleeping in the whole time. If I had staff there when I need them I wouldn\u2019t be able to do my own things like I am doing now. Then I know that when I move on to a flat, I can do all that for myself\u201d.<\/p>\n

Other people, who didn\u2019t have on-site support, said that scheduled visits from support workers weren\u2019t always at the times they were wanted or needed.<\/p>\n

The NCHA decided to have a rethink. How could they meet the needs of the people who used their services more efficiently?<\/p>\n

They looked at the technology often used in services for older people: remote monitoring, help at the end of the phone or the press or a button, and rapid-response call-out. They then identified how they could use them in a different setting to provide more efficient and effective support.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy couldn\u2019t this be adapted to work with a whole range of client groups?\u201d says John Bartle, Head of Housing with Care and Support at NCHA.<\/p>\n

So the SMaRT scheme was launched in November 2003. Staff no-longer sleep in the supported housing. Instead, a response centre was set up with staff on call round the clock. Residents can contact support staff by phone or via a \u2018SMaRT box\u2019 in their home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Other technology is used where needed, such as an automatic medication dispenser which allows staff to remotely keep track of whether someone is taking the medicines they need. CCTV is installed to offer protection to those who may be at risk, such as for women who have experienced domestic violence.<\/p>\n

SMaRT ensures that the right support to be there at the right time. John says \u201cwe can respond instantly by sending in our staff, and we have good relationships with the police, ambulance and fire service, out of hours NHS services so they can respond appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staff at the response centre deal with a wide range of issues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt a simple level it\u2019s people locked out of their flat\u201d says John. \u201cThey can contact us and we can talk them through what to do. It\u2019s giving people the confidence and empowering them to know what do. At the opposite end of the spectrum someone may have got to the point where they want to take their own life. Basically we\u2019re giving people a counselling session at three in the morning.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is also flexible, so the amount of support an individual receives can be tailored to the amount that they need.<\/p>\n

\u201cit\u2019s an individual response \u2013 it can be stepped up or stepped down, instantly \u2013 the whole service is designed to be a response service,\u201d John says.<\/p>\n

The ability to respond rapidly, and the staff\u2019s ability to think of creative solutions mean that they can often catch problems early. This can prevent more serious issues developing and avoid hospital admissions, intervention from the police or even a tenant losing their home. In the case of a woman who had escaped domestic violence, the service was able help at exactly the right time.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer partner had arrived at the house\u201d says John, \u201cand she was wavering with letting him in.\u00a0 She called SMaRT, where the staff had her records on file and were able to talk through the issues and how she was feeling. They talked her round and she managed to resist getting into a very dangerous situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

John emphasises he doesn\u2019t think SMaRT is a \u201cone size fits all\u201d solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the problems with the current\u00a0 commissioning process,\u201d he says. \u201cPeople prescribe how they want care delivered and order what they\u2019ve always ordered.\u00a0 We prefer to have a conversation about how we can meet the needs in different ways. People talk about thinking outside the box \u2013 if you procure inside the box, you get an answer from inside the box.\u201d<\/p>\n

Summing up how things changed as a result of the SMaRT service, John says \u201cIt has inspired people to achieve things.\u00a0 The things we have always talked about, it\u2019s actually delivering.\u00a0 People are inspired and confident to do things they never believed they could do before. It\u2019s inspired us as professionals, and then we can inspire service users to achieve fantastic things.\u00a0 But we\u2019ve only just started on a journey\u2026we\u2019ve still got a long way we can go.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Nottingham housing agency reinvented it\u2019s services to create SMaRT – an innovative scheme using technology and response service to help people remain independent and well. Since 2003 the Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) has provided supported housing to a wide range of people, including people with a learning disabilities, mental health needs and drug […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245166\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}