Short breaks Respite and unplanned crisis Care Adult Support Services

To provide two accommodation-based residential care bed-based services (one in each the borough of Westminster and one in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea) which will provide short breaks, both planned respite and unplanned crisis support for adults with a learning disability. The services are required to meet CQC registered standards and require buildings that are fully accessible.

The two properties are each required to have facilities suited with all adaptations to ensure accessibility throughout for adults with learning disability, physical disability, and complex needs. We would need any provider to have their own buildings with one in Westminster and one in Kensington and Chelsea with the minimum bed spaces below:

Kensington and Chelsea: 11 beds

Westminster: 5 beds

Along with the building-based offer, there is currently an outreach service of 100 hours per week to provide community-based respite support for carers of adults with learning disabilities; including support in the community and in their own family home.

The planned and unplanned building-based and outreach respite services are open only to residents of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. The CQC registered services are required to be fully accessible but also close to community facilities and resources. The services will offer a range of activities within the projects but also within the community. The services in borough for local residents enables the provision to retain the vital connection with family and carers and where required, the continued assessment and care and links to key stakeholders including social work teams.

As a minimum the services must:

• Have personalisation at the heart of the approach to delivering personal care and support
• Treat people who use the short breaks or unplanned service with dignity and respect.
• Enable people who use the short breaks and unplanned (crisis) service to participate in a range of activities in the community.
• Create an environment and experience that includes choice and self-determination that extends to both carers and people who use services.
• Make the greatest use of existing and available recreational facilities in the community and facilitate access and offer the maximum selection of activities available to people who use the short breaks and unplanned services.
• Promote and facilitate opportunities that enable people who use the short breaks and unplanned services to make informed choices about the activities available to them.

The unplanned (crisis) service will provide a structured care and support service that will cover a period of a 24-hour day, 365 days per year. There is a requirement for the provider to be responsive to referrals for unplanned respite at short notice; there is a requirement for emergency and urgent crisis placements:

• An 'emergency' will be understood to mean a placement is required within 24 hours
• An 'urgent' placement will be understood to mean a placement is required within seven days

The unplanned (crisis) service will provide a safe and supportive living environment in which people who have a learning disability and who present with challenging behaviour will receive care, ongoing assessment and preparing for care through the resolution of their crisis.

It is vital the provider has extensive experience of working with and supporting adults with a range of learning disabilities and physical disabilities. This will include those with non-verbal communication and behaviours that may challenge. Experience in delivering and managing crisis and urgent placements is also important along with experience of multi-disciplinary partnership working to support residents and family members robustly.