The Integration Joint Board has approved proposals to reprovision the Night Support overnight care service provided by Adult Social Care.
Agreement was given at a meeting of the IJB held on 24 January. The proposals were also noted at the Council meeting on 25 January.
The decision to reprovision the service follows a detailed review which included two pathfinder pilots, one carried out in Tweeddale in September 2022 and one in Berwickshire during August 2023. Public consultation and engagement was also undertaken involving service users, family carers, staff, the wider Borders community and other key stakeholders.
As the second pathfinder established that overnight face to face support was still required for a small number of service users due to their level of complex care needs, which included palliative care, it was concluded that the Night Support Service would continue but could be delivered effectively by two teams, instead of the existing five.
These teams would continue to provide planned, critical overnight support to individuals with complex health needs whilst also providing a rapid response service to any Technology Enabled Care activations. Dawn (6am-noon) and twilight (6pm-midnight) shifts would be introduced along with an updated eligibility criteria for anyone looking to access the service.
The intention is that service users with complex health needs would receive a service that meets their needs in a more person-centred outcome focussed way. This, along with a transition to a rapid response approach, would allow the service to be more responsive to those who are requiring unplanned support overnight.
The introduction of dawn and twilight shifts supported by the use of Technology Enabled Care would further enable a more person-centred approach to care to be promoted. Not only do these measures provide a greater sense of choice and control for service users, they also enable improved safety by providing constant monitoring and an immediate response if urgent support is required, rather than a time-specific face to face visit.
Councillor David Parker, Executive Member for Health and Wellbeing
“The proposals that have been agreed for reprovisioning our Night Support Service are the result of an extremely robust and extensive review which has involved service users, family carers and staff at every step of the process.
“I have every confidence that anyone who is assessed as being eligible for overnight care will continue to receive the high standard of service they would expect that will also enable them to remain safely in their own homes, with support available should that be required.”
More information
Background information to the review is available as follows: