13th June 2023
Sanctuary Supported Living
Jenny Begley is a manager at Sanctuary Supported Living’s Pennefather Court in Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, a residential care home with 14 bedrooms and two single-occupancy flats providing residential care and support for 14 residents with a range of learning disabilities, physical disabilities and acquired brain injuries.
The Capacity Tracker tool was rolled out in 2019, along with the Building Better Futures programme. By supporting adults and young people across Buckinghamshire to realise their potential and get their life back on track, the Capacity Tracker has been instrumental in Pennefather Court’s ability to encourage more people to have as much choice and control as possible over how their care and support needs are met, and helping them to find safe and accessible support arrangements that best suit them.
Jenny said: "Instead of relying on county referrals, using the Capacity Tracker meant that Pennefather Court continued to provide a viable, effective service to all vulnerable clients who were in need of care.
"Our mission is to support people on their pathways for independence, knowing that people with disabilities are amongst the most overlooked when it comes to appropriate housing options, and in times when there are housing shortages, communication and information sharing is vital – getting the right information at the right time is key.
"The more clients we house, the livelier the atmosphere is at Pennefather Court"
"By joining up local services and utilising the Capacity Tracker, brokerage teams were interested in the vacancies available and calling to discuss new placements – both locally and nationally - which has facilitated better support provisions that better meet people’s needs, and the more clients we house, the livelier the atmosphere is at Pennefather Court!
“We’re continually adapting the home within a flexible market, ensuring clients remain at the forefront of service provision."
On an ongoing basis, Jenny says social workers contact her regularly to discuss the Capacity Tracker information. She is confident that the information she submits daily is used by others to review bed vacancy data, workforce insight and review outbreaks and other factors, enabling quick and effective, useful conversations between her home and the local authority.
Jenny added: "The system is quick and easy to update. It helps me and the local authority to understand the market better, so updating the tracker on a daily basis makes sense for these reasons."
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