The poor performance of public services is directly associated with their under-funding. Both are rightly the focus of national concern. And too many of the challenges we face now are consequences of bad decisions taken in the past. The catastrophic rise in both single and family homelessness is a clear example. Sadly, the lessons aren’t being learned.
Hughendon Lodge and The Crescent, with their respective clusters of accommodation in the community, are two of Framework’s services in Nottingham. Forming part of a pathway, they offer good quality housing with specialist support and care for 52 people with severe and enduring mental health issues.
The City Council wants to stop funding them, which means they would have to close.
Incredibly, this proposal followed shortly after the Council’s Health and Adult Care Scrutiny Committee identified a shortage of suitable supported housing as one of the Council’s ‘biggest risks’.
The costs of confusion
Such confusion of strategy and thinking carries many costs – and they aren’t just financial. Some pathway residents have been in hospital or another institution, others have experienced crisis, been homeless, or found themselves sleeping rough. All were referred to Framework by the Council as the outcome of a Care Assessment that established a clear statutory duty. It seems that others with similar needs are no longer being assessed as is required by the law.
Among the risks are further pressure on homelessness pathways, inappropriate placements in hotels or shelters that lack the capacity to meet residents’ needs, greater reliance on low quality, non-commissioned provision, and increased rates of hospital admission. Following news of the proposed closure, one person has already been held under the Mental Health Act after the uncertainty triggered a deterioration.
Working together?
We hear much about the need for statutory partners to work more closely together; it seems to be the outcome of every inquiry. Indeed, new structures have recently been established to promote the integration of housing, support and care. Yet the reality on the ground is precisely the opposite: Hughendon Lodge, The Crescent, and similar services run by Nottingham Community Housing Association, are demonstrably cost-effective; their closure will increase the burden on the public purse while delivering poorer outcomes for citizens and the communities in which they live.
There has been no consultation with Framework, its residents, the NHS or other partners involved in the care of these residents. We have seen neither an Equality Impact Assessment nor a plan for the closure process. Leaving residents in the dark has a serious negative impact on their well-being: they need to know where they are going to be placed, the care package that will accompany the move, and its timing.
Please think again
There’s a recent history of tragedy in Nottingham associated with the failure of statutory agencies to recognise and manage the risks around severe mental illness; there is also a homelessness crisis that is costing the City an enormous amount of money. The Council needs to stop and re-consider before making it worse.
Framework has always tried to work closely with its statutory partners. I remind our Council colleagues and friends of how often you’ve approached us with problems, some needing urgent resolution, and we have done our best to help. Partnership flows in two directions and we stand ready to work with you on this. At present there is no substantive dialogue – just unanswered questions and a fearful cohort of very vulnerable people. Please think again.
Please watch this item on Channel 4 News: Supported housing crisis: ‘I was in a state of absolute depravity’
