Riversmead invests £7.5 million to provide older residents with flexicare homes

Published by Ross Macmillan for Network Housing Group Limited in Housing and also in Communities

Riversmead Housing Association has invested £7.5 million to transform Bircherley Court in Hertford into a new flexicare housing complex for older people.

Flexicare is a housing option providing on site care 24 hours a day in your own home. The level of care and support a resident receives can change as their needs do, from regular care and help with daily tasks like washing to occasional assistance only when it is needed. Flexicare gives older people the reassurance to continue to live independently in their own home.

Located in the town centre, Bircherley Court has been developed with the needs of the older person in mind. Each floor level is colour coordinated to aid orientation. The 70 one and two bed flats have hallways and rooms large enough to accommodate wheelchairs and other walking aids. Kitchens have low level worktops and appliances and bathrooms are equipped with level access showers for ease of use. Each home has an alarm which is monitored and responded to 24 hours a day, 365 days year by the on site care team.

Joyce Hawes, who moved into Bircherley Court in May, has experienced first hand the flexibility flexicare can offer older people.

Before she was hospitalised for six months, Joyce lived in a bungalow in Bengeo that had stairs going up to the front door. Bed ridden and unable to walk, it was not practical for Joyce to move back to her bungalow.

Joyce’s niece was aware of the benefits of flexicare housing and submitted an application form to the Housing Options team at East Herts Council. After moving into Bircherley Court, Joyce began to have visits from a carer four times a day. Following rehabilitation, Joyce’s carer now only has to visit twice a day.

“I’m very happy in my new home” said Joyce, “being located in Hertford town centre is great – I can watch the world go by from the window of my lovely flat. The carers have been fantastic and nothing is ever too much trouble for them.”

 Annie Vaughan, Riversmead’s Flexicare Manager at Bircherley Court, said: “In the short time Joyce has been here with us at Bircherley Court, I have noticed a dramatic improvement - she is a completely different person now. Her case is an example of the flexibility of flexicare, where the level of care and support received can change to suit an individual’s needs.”

Jackie Trundell, Riversmead’s Neighbourhood Services Manager, said: “Working with residents, we have transformed Bircherley Court into a state-of-the-art living complex for older people, enabling residents to access care and support when they need it.

“Flexicare would suit older people who are struggling to cope in their current home, have changing care needs or who require care but want to remain independent. By providing flexicare as a housing option we are offering residents a home for life.”

For more information about flexicare housing and Bircherley Court please contact Riversmead on 01992 514 514 or visit www.riversmead.org.uk

*Please note the lady in the photograph is not Joyce Hawes. This image is a representation of flexicare.

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