Short-notice care home closures: a guide for local authority commissioners
Published: September 2011
This guide helps commissioners, particularly local authority staff, to manage care home closures at short notice in situations that may be unexpected and therefore unplanned. It should also be useful to care home staff, residents and relatives. All commissioners and providers should have procedures for managing planned closures where they have more than three months' warning that the service is being shut down.
The guide covers implications for practice, examples of what others are doing and a summary of what policy and research tells us. It also includes examples of procedures, checklists and templates from various organisations around the UK.
We want to hear about your experiences and views so that this tool can be updated to make it even more practical and helpful. Please email us on info@scie.org.uk.
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Continuity of care
Ensuring that the health and wellbeing of residents in care homes are maintained throughout the process wherever that care is delivered.
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Assessment and choice
Assessing people's individual needs, preferences and aspirations and enabling them to make informed choices about their place of residence.
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Communications
Timely and well planned communication is extremely important in reducing distress and enhancing choice.
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Information sharing
Information gathering and information sharing are essential components of commissioning activity.
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Legal issues
It is important for local authorities to be very clear about the legal context within which care home closures exist.
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Capacity and resources
Dealing with care home closures has implications for staff capacity and other resources.
Produced with the support of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services