The Healthy Housing Hub provides help to some of Derby's most vulnerable residents living in unsafe and unhealthy conditions.
To maximise impacts, we work with those residents whose home living conditions are impacting, or have the potential to impact, detrimentally on their health, specifically where they are identified as being in priority health need by Health and Care Worker direct referral.
The Client
- A 61 year old gentleman
- Living alone
- Asperger’s Syndrome
- Serious anxiety and depression
- Hadn’t washed in over a year due phobia of water
- Phobia of hospitals means he hasn’t always had the help he needs.
The Home
- Ground floor doors/windows boarded over
- Dozens of locks fitted for ‘security’
- Mr D slept on the concrete floor directly by the front door due to security fears
- Property very cluttered
The Intervention
- Replace the front door and windows with modern secure options
- New mattress so Mr D can sleep in bed
- Assess income and maximise funds
- Provide a skip and help Mr D to declutter his home at his own pace
- Link Mr D with further support services.
The Review
Client: ‘Thank you for the time and effort you have put in to help me in my very difficult circumstances...your help has kept me alive in 2018. I would have taken my life because I had no reliable help but [your] intervention saved my life...you are doing an excellent job and you are doing it right...I am extremely grateful.’
The Client
- A vulnerable 60 year old lady
- Poor mobility and frequent falls
- Heart problems
- Epilepsy and diabetes
- Alcohol dependency.
The Home
- No heating or hot water
- Boiler condemned as dangerous
- Cold home
- Water leaking through kitchen ceiling
- Risk of ceiling collapse
- Flooring trip hazards
- Property very cluttered
The Intervention
- Install Gas Central Heating
- Replace trip hazard floor tiles
- Repair leak and unstable kitchen ceiling
- Install smoke alarms
- Assess income and maximise funds
- Organise Lifeline through Care Link
- De-clutter and clean the property.
The Review
Social worker commented: "Without Healthy Housing support we would have struggled to keep Miss P safe in her home as she refused to engage with other services for support. We are aware of how challenging this lady is to work with, and appreciate the time and effort put in to working with her..."
Client: “I can live at home now with dignity ...Thank you”
The Client
Miss S lives with her 3 children, youngest 10 months old, and her partner. Family Visitor referral as the children were identified as vulnerable and Miss S was unable to purchase and install home safety equipment to reduce child safety risks within the home.
The Home
The property posed a number of child home safety risks both for the 10 month old baby and for his older brother and sisters; in particular slips, trips and falls, access to cleaning chemicals, corner collision, cord strangulation and fire risks.
The Intervention
Our handyperson service installed:
- 3 stair gates
- A non slip bath mat
- 2 set of kitchen cupboard locks
- 2 sets of corner cushions for a table
- Cord winders for 2 sets of blinds
- And referred to Fire Service for a ‘safe and well’ check.
The Review
Family visitor: “…client feels she has peace of mind now…stair gates have made a huge difference…does not have to worry if the doors are left open as her Son can’t ‘escape’ and get to the stairs or kitchen unsupervised”
Most Common Intervention Outcomes
- Personalised advice
- Falls prevention works
- Heating improvements
- Income maximisation
- Fire/electrical works
Most Common Health Conditions
- Mobility
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular
- Respiratory
- Mental health
Most Common Hazards
- Falls risk
- Cold/damp
- Fire/electrical risk
- Personal hygiene/Hoarding
Are we effective?
When Directorate of Public Health carried out evaluation of the Hub’s impacts it found that, at one year post-intervention, proportionally fewer Hub clients were in need of health and care services:
Child Home Safety Equipment programme produces very positive results
Ripplez FNPs, Derby City’s Children’s Centres, Healthy Housing Hub [incl. Handy Person Service], DASH Services and Directorate of Public Health continue to work in partnership delivery of Derby’s Child Home Safety Equipment Programme; which was developed because rates for young child attendance at the Emergency Department were of particular Public Health concern. The programme involves one to one awareness raising in the home of child home safety risks, the provision and fitting of safety equipment and further group awareness and first aid sessions at Children’s Centres.
"The programme has, so far, produced some very positive results when considering A&E admission because of an injury or ingestion for clients on the FNP caseloads. This figure now sits at 2.4%, reduced from 20% the previous year: with all of this year’s attendances being for young children of 6-12months; and zero being of babies under 6 months. This is a really pleasing trend"*
* Extract from ‘Family Nurse Partnership: Annual Report 2018-19’
Contact details, further detail and links to evidence:
Phone: 01332 640337
Twitter: @DerbyCCHHH
www.derby.gov.uk/healthyhousing
Email: healthyhousing@derby.gov.uk
Email: healthyhousing@nhs.net