Providing Complex Care at Home
Too often we hear these types of comments from people who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves ‘living’ in an institutional setting for far longer than expected. We want to change the way healthcare is delivered, especially focusing on complex care at home for people with complex needs. Our goal is to help more people to move into their own homes and support them to live their best lives.
We have been successfully bringing healthcare home across the UK since 2007. We know from experience that with the right home environment, the right highly trained team and the right level of clinical input from a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) we can successfully support many people with a wide range of complex needs at home.
For us, it is a great honour to be able to support some of the most at risk people in our communities: people who thought they would never move out of hospitals and other institutions. With our clinically informed framework, we have provided complex care at home to people with the most complex needs and helped them gain confidence, learn new skills, develop and maintain positive and meaningful relationships with family and in their communities.
If you’d like to see how successful we have been at bringing healthcare home, you can follow the link below to read our latest outcomes report.
Our Packages for Complex Care at Home
All the people we support have different backgrounds, life experiences and their own individual challenges to overcome. Together we will learn from your past experiences, explore what hasn’t worked before and understand what needs to be different this time. Two thirds of the people we support have successfully made the move to a home of their own from a locked rehabilitation unit or secure hospital and have not looked back.
We will create a bespoke package of support for you. Our packages of support are designed to provide complex care at home for people with specific needs, enabling people to move into their own home for good. The people we support are given the opportunity to be involved in the recruitment of their own staff team, in their care planning, in furnishing their own homes in their chosen community and so much more.
We will make sure our teams are highly trained and know how best to support you. You will also receive weekly visits from members of our specialist Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) for clinical support. As you gain new skills and become more independent, you may find that you need less support from us as time goes on.
Getting to know us
For some people, the prospect of getting to know a new team of people can be daunting. To help you gain confidence that your package with us will be a success, we build a programme of ‘in-reach’ into your package of support. Your newly recruited team will spend time with you in your current setting and really get to know you, your likes and dislikes and understand your needs and risks. This way you can start to build a relationship with your team and feel confident before you actually start receiving our support. During this period of in-reach, we will work with you to develop your care plans for complex care at home and identify your goals and future aspirations.
At this stage, you will also probably have many questions and concerns relating to your new team. You might have questions about finances, or even about the local area where you are going to live. Whatever questions or concerns you might have, your new team are on hand to offer you advice and support throughout your journey.
Your journey with Gray Healthcare
Your journey with Gray Healthcare begins as soon as contracts have been agreed. We start a process called mobilisation – this involves bringing together different members of our team to design and deliver the component parts of your bespoke package of support.
The first person you will meet is your Implementation Lead. They will be responsible for the delivery of your package of support. They project manage the entire process from start to finish and will be there to support and advise you and your family every step of the way.
As a guide we work to a 12 week timeframe. The diagram below gives you details on what happens at each stage of the process.
Weeks 1 - 4
You will meet both your Implementation Lead and Clinical Lead. As experts in co-production, they will make sure you and your family are involved in the mobilisation of your package of support.A dedicated member of our recruitment team will be responsible for recruiting your new team. They will draft the recruitment adverts and start to advertise for your new team. They will incorporate any questions you would like to be asked into the interview.
We gather all the information we need from your current provider. This may include incident data, risk assessments and information relating to legal frameworks/restrictions. This information will help us confirm the number of experienced staff we need to recruit for your team and the specialist training we will need to provide before they start supporting you.
Weeks 5 - 6
Your Clinical Lead will work with our Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) to build the clinical aspects of your package of support.
Your dedicated recruiter will plan an assessment day in your local area. They will pre-screen applicants and invite the successful candidates to the assessment day. Your Recruiter and Implementation Lead will conduct the interviews.
Your recruiter will start the onboarding of those candidates who were successful at interview. Their checks will include robust referencing covering a minimum of three years, DBS checks and health assessments.
Weeks 7 - 8
As we start to onboard, we will book your new team members onto our corporate induction programme and person-centred training sessions.
We will share with you a one-page profile of each of your new team members so you can find out a bit more about their backgrounds, their hobbies and interests. We will try and recruit team members with your interests, wherever possible. Your Clinical Lead will create your Health Action Plan, your Gray Healthcare Hospital Passport and complete other necessary clinical documentation.
We will visit your accommodation and will order essential safety and IT equipment needed for your new home.
Weeks 9 - 10
We begin to do our final checks. We can help you register with a GP, pharmacist, dentist etc in your local area and source local information that we think will be helpful to you (for example, bus timetables, taxi phone numbers, local tradespeople, utility providers etc). We will take you shopping so you can start to buy items to make your home your own. You will start to meet members of your new team – they will visit you in your current setting and at your new home so that you have an opportunity to get to know each other.
Your team will be attending their company induction and person-centred training sessions. We will make sure that your team complete all their training before they start supporting you.
Your Implementation Lead will undertake final checks of your property. We check we have records kept securely for the following as a minimum: Gas, electricity, EPC, tenancy agreements, meter readings We check that each member of your new team has completed all their training, both mandatory and person-centred. We make sure that our teams have all the necessary IT equipment they need and we order assistive technology, if required.
Weeks 11-12
You will continue to meet with your new team members in your current setting and they can take you to visit your property – you may choose to spend a couple of nights at the property before you actually move in permanently to help you adjust.
Your package of support is approved by and signed off by our Senior Executive Team. Your team rotas will be finalised.
Moving in Day!
You will meet both your Implementation Lead and Clinical Lead. As experts in co-production, they will make sure you and your family are involved in the mobilisation of your package of support.
Your Implementation and Operations Team
Meet the People We Support with Complex Care at Home
Adam’s Story
Jodie’s Story
Mark’s Story
People We Support FAQs
These are questions we are commonly asked by the people we support and/or their families.
Why should I choose Gray Healthcare to provide complex care at home?
There is no one size fits all when it comes to providing support. We are all different, with different experiences, backgrounds and challenges to overcome. That’s why at Gray Healthcare we deliver support that is genuinely person-centred. Every part of the support we provide will be tailored to you – this includes the recruitment and training of your staff team, where you choose to live and the interests you wish to pursue. Our clinically-informed support is recovery focussed and is designed to move you towards living as independently as possible through the ups and downs of daily life.
What is included in my complex care at home support package?
Because it is our aim for you to be as independent as possible, our package of support covers all the complex care at home costs relating to your staff team only. This includes any clinical support you receive from our Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) and the specialist training your staff team receive prior to working with you and throughout their employment. The training your staff team receive will be completely tailored around you and your needs.
Most of the people we support live in their own homes, often under a tenancy agreement, and are therefore responsible for covering the costs associated with running their own homes, for example, paying utility bills, buying furniture and paying for food. Your staff team can, of course, help you access benefits, support you to pay your own bills and support you with daily household chores and accessing activities in your community.
Can I ask my own questions at interviews for my staff team?
We will always try to recruit team members who share your interests and hobbies, wherever possible. Our recruitment team are always delighted to include your questions as part of the interview process.
When will I meet my staff team?
We recruit a specialist staff team for every person we support. The first people you will meet are your Implementation Lead and your Clinical Lead. They will visit you in your current setting and will answer any questions you may have at this stage. Whilst you are getting to know each other, they will shadow your existing care team. They will give you one-page profiles for each member of your new team. These profiles tell you a little bit about each person who will be supporting you, such as their background and their likes and dislikes. You will also be given a transition plan, which tells you which team member will be visiting you on which day and at what time.
Will my staff team wear an uniform?
Because our staff are working in your own home, they will wear their own clothes.
Who pays for my staff team?
For most people, the support element of your package is funded by Health Care Commissioners or by Local Authorities. If you would like to explore other options for funding your support package, please contact us on enquiries@grayhealthcare.com.
How quickly will I move into my new complex care at home support package?
Our aim is to move you into your new support package as soon as possible. We work on a 12-week pathway but inevitably delays can arise due to external factors, for example, tenancy agreements taking longer than expected. If there is a delay for any reason, your team will make sure you always know what is happening.
Can my family be involved?
Your family can be as involved as much as you like in your day-to-day activities. We enjoy having family members over to visit and spending days out with them. However, it is against our company policy to have family members as paid members of staff, as this can lead to conflict of interests.
Can I own a pet?
If your tenancy agreement allows you to have a pet, we will work with you to develop a support plan to help you care for your chosen pet. Many of the people we support have their own pets and gain a lot of pleasure from caring for them.
Providing Complex Care at Home
Most of the people we support have been referred to us directly by Integrated Care Boards (ICBs), Local Authority (LA) commissioners, social workers, care co-ordinators or case managers. However, if you get in touch with us directly and are able to tell us the name and contact details of your social worker or care co-ordinator, we can contact them and advise them that you have been in touch with us and would like to be considered for a referral to our service.
You can contact us either by telephone (0330 123 123 9) or email referrals@grayhealthcare.com.
‘To have seen people at their very worst and to see just how much they have flourished in a home setting with the right support in place is simply amazing.’
(Support Worker)