Extra care
public sector
Working with public sector partners to deliver bespoke home care solutions
Our partnerships in extra care schemes are supporting local authorities to transform lives. Across the country, we provide care services to extra care schemes, helping to overcome the challenges of the housing crisis, an ageing population, rising demand for critical services and an ever-widening funding gap that many local authorities are faced with.
Operating since 1986, we deliver over two million visits per week of high-quality care across the country through more than 70 contracts with local authorities/CCGs, including 18 extra care schemes nationwide from north Yorkshire to south Devon.
As experts in extra care, we have extensive experience of mobilising contracts for existing schemes, and have also advised on new-build schemes from initial inception and design through development and pre-occupancy stages. Our teams are experienced in core aspects of extra care service delivery and capitalise on its benefits, advocating the ‘wellbeing effect’ of community living and innovative building design to meet varied needs. All our teams are highly trained in delivering high-quality care to people living with a wide range of needs such as: dementia care, learning disabilities, mental health and substance abuse.
locations
nationwide
housing providers
relationships
extra care
schemes
seperate contracts with
local authorities
Our schemes
Agincare currently provides high-quality care in 18 extra care schemes, each tailored to accommodate varying community needs of those living there, with housing capacities ranging from 45 apartments to over 200 units. The care that we provide at our extra schemes has been rated ‘Good’ or above by the Care Quality Commission, and our South Gloucestershire schemes are rated Outstanding.
Among our locations, we have dedicated schemes catering specifically to people aged 55+, while other schemes embrace an intergenerational model that welcomes adults aged 18 and above, as exemplified by our two Torbay schemes.
Our approach emphasises the importance of a structured balance of people with various requirements within each scheme, supporting a mix of people with high, moderate, and low levels of support required. Our commitment extends to delivering a comprehensive range of services, addressing diverse care and support requirements, such as dementia care, as seen in specialised schemes like Brushett House in Bournemouth. Meanwhile, facilities like Gainsborough Court in Bristol cater to people with more complex situations, including learning disabilities, mental health, and substance misuse, while our Torbay schemes care for a blend of working-age and older adult residents.
Our schemes operate in various formats; some function independently like Rose Gardens in Herefordshire, while others operate at a cluster level, promoting workforce sharing and resource synergies across multiple sites, as demonstrated by our three schemes in Essex and six schemes spanning Bristol and South Gloucestershire.
Across all our schemes we uphold core elements including 24/7 onsite presence, sleep-in/waking nights, commissioned care hours, emergency response services, and meeting unplanned care needs. Moreover, we administer welfare calls, organise onsite activities either independently or in collaboration with the landlord, and in some cases, offer housing-related support services to enhance the well-being and quality of life of our residents.
Our partnerships
Collaborating with a spectrum of social and specialist landlords, we establish tailored Joint Working Protocols and Service Level Agreements for each scheme. In select instances, we engage in building-related duties too, such as Springfield’s, where we provide housing-related support services.
We realise that our NHS and local authority colleagues in the health and social care sector are under considerable pressure as demand for care provision across the UK continues to grow. Therefore, we work with local authorities and landlords in our extra care schemes to support and adapt provision during peak times, and to support wider demand.
For example, during Covid, we used spare capacity within our extra care schemes to provide short term discharge services for people coming out of hospital. This was to help ease pressure on hospitals, and get people out of hospital who didn’t need to be there but required some short-term support before returning home.
Many of our extra care contracts have been extended due to successful service delivery and working relationships, including: Gainsborough Court and Ash Lea in Bristol, Rose Gardens in Herefordshire, Trailway Court in Dorset, Brushett House in Bournemouth. Also, our Springfield schemes in South Gloucestershire, for which we have held the contracts since 2010, have been extended twice and we retained the contract when retendered.
Assistive technology and
innovation case study
In one of our South Gloucestershire schemes, a client moved in who loved reading but had rapidly deteriorating vision, which also presented a significant falls risk.
We liaised with the assistive technology provider for a Passive Infrared sensor (PIR) and falls detector which (with the Landlord’s permission) was integrated into the hardwired system at the scheme. Our team also worked strategically with the RNIB and introduced talking books using an Amazon Alexa to voice-activate them.
Community hub
We work with our landlord and local authority partners to create a ‘community hub’, utilising onsite facilities, and developing an inclusive and vibrant environment for tenants and the wider community. For example, in Springfield, we have implemented the following:
Partnership with Age UK to hold lunch clubs and coffee mornings etc
Friendship club to deliver gentle exercise classes in the lounge area
Local businesses bring pop-up shops into the scheme
Regular events for both tenants and their families/wider community
A ‘buddy up’ scheme which enabled tenants to volunteer to support a neighbour
Walk for health scheme which was delivered in partnership with the local authority
Creation of tenant led clubs e.g. gardening club
Residents’ committee to gain feedback/input from tenants
Information for commissioners
Agincare is one of the leading providers of providing high quality care in Extra Care schemes across England.
Strong relationships with local authorities, commissioning groups and housing providers are fostered by our experienced management and commercial teams, while our highly trained support workers deliver result driven supported living services.
Whatever your needs and desired outcomes, our expert teams foster a collaborative approach to ensure we work together to provide high-quality care that improves the lives of those we support.
We are continuing to develop our services through new partnerships with you. Talk to us today about your commissioning needs or to find out more.
You’re in good hands
(We)… had a Fire Audit on Monday 23rd conducted by Hereford Fire and Rescue and we received really positive feedback from them. They were particularly impressed with (Registered Manager) Jane and her team, how confident they all are with the building and what to do in the event of a fire. Jane also helped me massively, in the lead up to the audit, ensuring the procedures were sound and running tests on our internal phone system. Her support with this was invaluable.
I feel so lucky to have Jane leading the team at Agincare. All the team leaders, and care staff are amazing and I believe they give back so much because of the care, time and effort Jane puts in with them. I just wanted to share this with you so you’re aware of all the great work going on at The Rose Garden.
Isabella Hadley, Retirement Villages Service Manager at Platform Housing Group
Our partnerships
We work with local authorities and independent housing organisations across England to deliver high-quality extra care schemes that benefit and enrich the lives of those living within them. Our expert on-site care teams are on-hand 24-hours a day to ensure everyone has the option to continue living independently in their own home.
We are proud of the strong partnerships we have across the country. See our list of partners below.
Frequently asked questions
We are a family-owned care provider, trusted by families to deliver reliable, high-quality professional care services since 1986. We have a succesful track record of working with people drawing on our services, their families, health and social care professionals and public sector partners to deliver high quality, specialist care, tailored to each individual person.
Agincare also has strong relationships with many local authorities, some spanning over 30 years and has over 75 home care contracts across England.
The Care Quality Commission is the independent regulator of health and social care in England. They inspect and regulate different care services, including home care, care homes and live-in care and base their inspection on five key questions: Are they safe? Are they effective? Are they caring? Are they responsive to people’s needs? And are they well-led?
Our reports can be found on the CQC website and on our website.
Agincare’s is one the largest independent care providers nationwide. Our quality professional care services include home care, live-in care, assisted living (extra care), care and nursing homes, supported living and more.
Use our care options tool or call our expert advisors on 08082 566038 to find out the right service for you in your location.