Pioneering service helps older people live independent lives

A SWANSEA Council care home which is pioneering ways of working to meet the demands of the future is going from strength to

Bonymaen House is extending a pilot scheme designed to help people remain supported in their own homes for longer rather than remaining in long term residential care.

The ‘Step Up-Step Down’ service at Bonymaen House was introduced to provide short term care and support for people who need a little extra help to continue living at home.

For example, this could be where people have had a period of illness or accident and need some extra support in a residential setting to assess their ongoing needs and help them recover and return to their own homes with a plan for their care.

The pilot began with two beds for people coming into Bonymaen House from hospital or their own homes in a personal crisis situation. The number of beds has now increased to 19.

Manager Jackie Matthews said: “Bonymaen House has been the care home leading the way in shaping the future model for management of care homes. Bonymaen has also streamlined the working office where social services staff work integrated with members of staff from the health service. This allows us to communicate better with each other to ensure that users of the service and their families are completely involved throughout the assessment process.

“The Step up-Step Down service has been a positive service for the many service users and their families who have benefited from their time in Bonymaen House.

“Several hundred people have come through our doors needing an assessment and while they’ve been here they’ve gathered the resilience and support to enable them to have the opportunity to return to their own homes with confidence and support.”