Consultancy service to support the refinement and implementation of the in-house extra care scheme at Charlie Ratchford Court

Charlie Ratchford Court is currently being constructed as part of the Council's Community Investment Programme (CIP) and located on Crogsland Road in Chalk Farm. It will house 38 independent flats (32 one-bed and 6 two-bed) for up to 44 people with social care needs. A large ground floor space will include an in-house café and activity space, which can be used by tenants and the community to come together. Construction was due to complete in October 2020 with the scheme opening to tenants in January 2021, but there will be a delays to both the construction and the service development due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

In February 2020, Camden Council's Cabinet agreed for the extra care scheme at Charlie Ratchford Court to be delivered in-house. In order to improve people's resilience, health and wellbeing outcomes, help them retain independence and support them to focus on 'what matters' to them, a new model of care has been developed. The components of this innovative model have not been delivered together in a single setting in the UK or elsewhere, and do not currently feature in extra care. The key innovation is the introduction of small tenant-focused teams directly employed by the Council, who are less tied to 'time and task' than traditional extra care models, will manage their own time by mutual agreement with tenants and can work in a 'strength based' way. In-house delivery will allow the Council to 'test and learn' as the model is developed to improve outcomes for residents, which can be replicated in further schemes. It will also allow the Council to adapt the model as tenants' needs change over time.

Specifically these consultants will support the Council to:

Refine the operational model developed thus far, as outlined in the Cabinet report.

Support the implementation process, including recruitment of tenant-focused staff, staff induction, use of technology, operation of the ground floor space and informal intergenerational support to tenants.