George Beal House Short Breaks Service - Transitions Guide

Introduction:

It is a big change moving from children’s services to adult’s, but it is also a very exciting time when young adults can make new friends, widen their social opportunities and broaden and develop new independence skills.

This transition can be scary but there is lots of support available to help prepare young adults including this guide. Every young adult’s preparation to move into adulthood will be different as every individual is different.

Therefore, this guide has been written to provide information about the transitions from children’s to adult’s respite and we hope that It will answer questions you may have and address common concerns and anxieties.

Contact details for George Beal House can be found at the end of this guide so please contact us if you have any further questions or wish to discuss anything further that is included in this guide.

 

Contact details:

 

George Beal House

Off Williamson Road

Kempston

Beds

MK42 7HL

 

01234 718226

Registered Manager: Sheena Blake

Sheena.blake@bedford.gov.uk

Overview of George Beal House:

George Beal House is a purpose built bungalow in Kempston, Bedfordshire. It is situated off of the main road. George Beal House is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide short breaks for adults over 18 years old although we can support those who are nearing their 18^th birthday as part of the transition process. The purpose of respite is to give families and carers a chance to have a break so they can feel refreshed and able to continue their caring role.  In the word’s of one family member: - “They really like it at George Beal, as they say in their words it give’s their house a break”

We can support up to 12 people at once, and the bungalow comprises of three inter-linked units which all have their own kitchenette, dining room and lounge area. George Beal House is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and aims to provide person centred care for those with a diagnosed learning and profound/complex needs.

The staff team are led by a registered manager who has been in post for a number of years and is supported by a management team and further team of residential workers and care assistants. The team is supported by a domestic worker and an administrator too.

One family said “Staff are extremely experienced in care and have a wide range of disabilities/needs to deal with – yet they are all happy and obviously care a great deal about the welfare of the clients – thank you”.  Another family added: “They are always very welcoming and supportive to the family – thank you”

The service users also really enjoy staying: “I like coming to George Beal because It’s relaxed here and I would like to come again”. Another said “I like staying here, the people are nice – I don’t want to leave!”

 

Facilities:

George Beal House is a single storey building and has 12 bedrooms all of which are single occupancy. These bedrooms are spread across three interlinked bungalows. The room allocation is as follows: 4 bedrooms in one bungalow, 6 in another and 2 in the remaining bungalow. There are no stairs within the property.

We have overhead tracking hoists in our bedrooms and all of our beds are profiling beds which are fully adjustable. Each bungalow has its own toilet and washing facilities. We have three shower areas and one hydro-bath which is accessible via a bathing chair. Each bathroom also has overhead tracking and we have two shower trolleys and one shower chair for use if required.

All areas of George Beal House are accessible to wheelchair users and service users are free to access all areas of the service except for specific designated areas such as the laundry room and garage due to health and safety reasons.

In addition to smaller lounges in each bungalow, there is also a main lounge where service users can socialise which is where the games consoles are situated. Each bungalow has its own kitchenette where staff support with the preparation of meals. We encourage service users to participate in meal preparation wherever possible. We always ensure that individual dietary needs are catered for and staff are fully food hygiene trained.

We have a designated sensory room which has a light tunnel, bubble tube, vibrations mat and a variety of other sensory items. This room also has overhead tracking and is a great place for service users to relax and listen to music and be involved in a sensory experience.

 

Bedrooms:

All the bedrooms at George Beal House are decorated in neutral colours. This is due to the wide range of tastes our service users have! However, we have a variety of different canvas’s which service users can choose to hang in their rooms during their stay. The canvas’s have themes such as: Disney, Marvel characters, football, flowers, animals, beach scenes and a whole host of other themes. If there is a specific theme a service user would like and we don’t have it, then we will look at purchasing this.

Each bedroom has a bed, wardrobe, bedside cabinet, lamp, television, sink and chest of drawers in it. Service users are able to bring in any personal items they would like during their stay such as: small electronic devices, cuddly toys, activity equipment, games consoles and specific sensory equipment. Service users choose a picture to have on their bedroom door if they wish too. One family said: “It’s like a home from home – very friendly and supportive”

All bedrooms have a door alarm on them. This is to alert us when a service user leaves their room for their own safety. In addition, we also have sensor mats which can be used to alert us to when a service user has an epileptic seizure or has got up from their bed. We also have a monitoring system too which is used on an individual need’s assessed basis taking into a service user’s capacity to be able to use this equipment or when a service user lacks capacity, a best interest’s decision will be made. This monitoring system enables us to hear if the service user is calling out for help or needs support. It also enables us to be alerted when a service user leaves their bedroom so we can go to them to make sure they are ok and do not need assistance.

 

Activities and outdoor space:

Usually service users will access their usual day opportunities weekdays whilst they are in respite such as attending education facilities or day services. In the evenings and at weekends we support with a wide range of in-house and community activities.

For in house activities we have a sensory room, lots of arts and craft materials, CDs, DVDs, board games and jigsaws, baking equipment and lots of other activities. We also have an Xbox and Wii games console and a karaoke machine.  One service said: “I love going out to the cinema and chatting with staff” Another said: “I like all the arts and crafts stuff they have – its great!”

In terms of community activities, we support with trips into town to the cinema, to go shopping, to go out to local cafes and restaurants, to parks and local green spaces and to attend local events such as the River Festival and Kite Festival. We also arrange trips such as to the theatre, discos and to further afield.

Service users are very welcome to also bring in any specific activity equipment they wish to use during their stay.

Please note that all activities must be paid for by the service user.

We have a large enclosed garden which is for the use of all service users. In the garden we have patio furniture and garden games for service users to use. The garden is mainly accessible to wheelchair users.  

 

 

Referrals and transitions:

We will usually receive a referral for accessing the service once a service user has had their 17^th birthday. At this point, we will invite the service user and their family to come and look round the service.

If they wish to proceed we will then begin the assessment process which involves gathering information about the service user’s needs. We will do this by speaking to the service user, their main carer and anyone else who is involved in their care such as occupational therapists, education facilities and children’s respite services if they have accessed these.

We will then make a decision whether we can meet the service user’s needs or not. If we feel we can then we will begin a transition process which will involve shorter ‘tea visits’ and an overnight.

Each transition is tailored to the needs of the individual. One family said: “The transition was at his pace and it was great that he got to visit and meet everyone and get to know the building – it really helped a lot”.

Some people may only need a couple of tea visits, one overnight then they can proceed to receiving their allocated respite provision. However, for some many more visits will be required. We will review the transition regularly to see how it is going and see whether we need to make any amendments to the package of care being provided. We are able to facilitate tea visits before an individual’s 18^th birthday to ensure a smooth transition between children’s and adults services.

Further feedback from a family who has a son who recently transitioned from children’s to adult services said: “We are impressed with every aspect of support they are good at understanding service user’s individual needs and nothing is too much trouble”

 

 

 

 

 

Legislation including the Mental Capacity Act:

Legislation in children’s and adult’s services have many similarities, but there are also some big differences too. This can be very overwhelming, especially that the young person is no longer a ‘child’ but is now an ‘adult’.

One of the main differences is the Mental Capacity Act. Whereas, when a young person is under 16 parents and guardians are able to provide consent for the young person, when they reach 16 they are able to make their own (sometimes unwise!) decisions. This can be a very daunting concept as there are fears that the person is still very vulnerable.

The Mental Capacity Act ensures that an assessment is carried out to see if the person has the capacity to understand the decision in question. If it is felt that they lack capacity, then a best interest’s decisions involving their family and professionals is made. Each assessment is decision and time specific so it is possible for a person to lose/gain capacity at a later date.

The Mental Capacity Act ensures individuals are supported to make informed decisions and that if they lack capacity decisions are made fully in their best interests.

Another piece of crucial legislation is the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards which ensures that if restrictions are put in place for an individual – such as them being unable to leave the service unaccompanied, then these decisions are fully within their best interests and only enforced if the individual lacks capacity.

This legislation may seem very overwhelming, but please speak to us or your care manager if you have any questions and we can explain or signpost you towards information sources to ensure you understand.