Mental
Health Community Services
(On The Up)
A dynamic service that has evolved with clients for clients
On the Up provides support to people with mental health needs living in their own homes or who wish to become tenants in Aspects and Milestones property or property owned by other agencies.
We are accredited providers of home care for Bristol and South Gloucestershire Social Services and we are a registered Domiciliary Care Agency with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. We also provide services funded through the Supporting People Grant.
User involvement is fundamental to mental health work. We focus on self empowerment and have a committed programme of user evaluation and user focus groups to help shape policies and standards of care.
How the Service Works
Referrals are accepted from any location or profession and we also welcome self referrals. Upon application, we complete an in depth needs assessment with prospective clients to ensure an appropriate level of support. Our support service is user-led. Following assessment, service users develop an individual Support Plan to reflect their own unique needs and goals. On The Up workers provide ongoing support as needed, and review this plan regularly with service users to keep it up to date. There is no time limit to the services we provide, but services are dependent on the person’s method of funding.
Hours of Operation
We provide support services seven days a week including evening support. We also operate an out of hours on-call service for both staff and clients.
Support Provided
Individual support packages include the following:
- Support with daily living skills.
- Advice and support with tenancy related issues.
- Assessing appropriate benefits.
- Support with managing finances.
- Employment and education advice.
- Advocacy with health professionals.
- Liaison with other agencies.
- Social and emotional support.
- Resettlement advice.
Supported Housing
We have two larger properties that consist of several self contained bedsits and flats with additional communal facilities. Both schemes provide support from a dedicated staff team who are based on the premises.
Supported Living
Similar to our Floating Support service, our Supported Living Schemes offer support to people living in properties that are owned by Aspects and Milestones Trust. Our properties can accommodate couples or individuals and consist of flats and shared houses.
Floating Support
Our Floating Support services helps people who have enduring mental health needs to live satisfying lives in their own accommodation. The type of support we provide reflects the unique needs and goals of each individual service user. This could include support to maintain a tenancy, return to work, education or training, or could be more specific to include personal care needs.
As its name suggests, floating support can move with a person. Therefore On The Up can support individuals before, during and after a change of residence.
Supported Employment
People with mental health needs have had little opportunity to develop the confidence to return to work in order to regain their financialindependence . The ‘Workmates’ project aims to support people to develop the necessary skills and confidence in order to prepare them to enter the job market:
Employment Services provides support to individuals with mental health needs to access a range of employment opportunities, with a focuson paid employment. As well as pre-employment preparation in the form of Vocational Profiling the service provides specially trained Job Coach staff that can:
- Support an individual to learn the requirements of their job.
- Work onsite with a person at their place of work, withdrawing over an agreed timescale, to allow the person to work independently.
- Implement strategies that support a person to work to the required standard.
- Problem solve.
- Support individuals who need extra support to stay in work.
- Support a person to develop new skills through employer led training.
- Advise on transport to and from work.
- Promote effective communication between employer and employee.
- Promote a positive image of people with mental health needs as valued employees.
Job Coach staff are specially training in systematic instruction and are experienced at providing support to people in this area.
Employment Services works alongside local and national employers as well as in partnership with other organisations to provide employment opportunities and support of the highest levels to its customers.
For more information or an application form please contact On The Up on 0117 970 9368, fax on 0117 970 9301 or email to ontheup@aspectsandmilestones.org.uk.
Milestones Outreach Dementia Services (MODS)
We provide individual ‘packages’ of care that enable a person with Dementia to remain at home for longer. This is achieved by a flexible approach to home care. Our approach is person centred. We consider the need for emotional support, stimulation, carer support, environment and all other aspects that contribute to well being rather than just focusing on personal care.
After a full assessment, a package of care will be drawn up with the client. Their personal needs and preferences are of prime importance. Areas of flexibility will be highlighted and the full ‘package’ would be more than a task based time limited approach. For example, we would avoid increasing a persons agitation by insisting a task is done on a particular day.
Our emphasis is on maintaining a persons’ individuality and their right to personal choice in the context of a balanced approach to risk. We aim to increase the dignity and independence felt by the individual, ensuring that we respect their wishes. When a person is referred to us we complete a history and needs assessment.
All the support that we offer is person-led, reviewed regularly, and adjusted accordingly – this could mean increase or decrease in the support offered if it is felt that this is beneficial to the person’s independence. Each individual will have a primary MODS carer and two associate carers, ensuring continuity of care. The regular care worker will get to know and understand the person with dementia and will be better equipped to interpret any different or unusual behaviour. Staff will be managed in small teams under the guidance of a Registered Nurse, with in depth knowledge of dementia.
Packages of care are individually based and can include some or all of the following:-
- Assistance with dressing, undressing, bathing, washing, shaving and oral hygiene.
- Personal care.
- Medication requirements.
- Toileting and continence requirements.
- Assistance of moving and mobilising.
- Assisting with eating.
- Support and/or assisting with cooking.
- Shopping, outings, visits to the GP, etc.
- Social activities – ranging from reminiscing to outings to the cinema or help with a hobby.
- Ongoing assessments.
- Hospital to home – full nursing care available.
- Intensive home-based dementia rehabilitation package, providing 24 hour care if required.
MODS Nursing Agency
Our service is designed to enable people to live fulfilled lives in their own homes. This may mean the provision of pre-planned nursing interventions or an increase in the trained nurse input into care planning and support ‘packages’. We also provide 24 hour nursing care when a service user becomes frail, or in the main carers absence. We can provide a hospital to home ‘package’ of support.
All care provision will include ongoing assessment which aims to highlight increased need or risk so that additional support can be planned early, reducing the likelihood of crisis situations. Ongoing assessment focuses on the strengths and abilities a person has, not purely their direct needs. This is essential when reducing an intensive ‘package’ of care after a hospital discharge. We also ensure that staff are aware of, and reinforce, the abilities a person has that assist them in remaining independent.
Costs
Milestones is part of a not-for-profit charitable trust. We seek to only cover the actual cost of the service, which is predominantly staff salary and travel expense. The flexible nature of this service, the tailored package, Registered Nurse input and ongoing assessment, does result in additional costs.
Our usual minimum visit is one hour, this enables people with dementia to benefit from our service. Additional shorter visits can be negotiated if appropriate, provided they are part of a larger package of care.
Contact Us Directly
We welcome suggestions and comments from all potential purchasers of care and their carers. Please tell us your needs and we will see if we can meet it. If you would like any further information in connection with the above services, please feel free to contact us.
Milestones Outreach Dementia Services (MODS)
Aspects and Milestones Trust
Unit 10, Eclipse Office Park
High Street
Staple Hill
Bristol
BS16 5EL
(Temporary address from September 2007-April 2008)
Tel: 0117 958 1510
Fax: 0117 9709301