Adult Social Care
Practice Guide
Best interest decisions Where a person lacks capacity and there is no other suitable person to act on their behalf and the council believes that they must act in order to protect the moveable property of the person, the council will do so in the best interest of the person in accordance with sect…
Working with housing management Two people should be involved in entering a person’s home in order to protect moveable property at risk of loss or damage. Normally this should be the social worker or social care practitioner alongside the relevant housing officer or housing manager for council or…
Housing Matters Quick guidance on starting and ending tenancies Practitioners are also required to support adults with starting and ending a tenancy and may need to work with housing management to ensure that the adult receives the necessary support to do this. Guidance on Starting and Ending Tena…
Starting a tenancy Starting a tenancy A tenancy starts with an agreement between two parties. The prospective tenant has a decision about whether to accept a tenancy taking into account the tenancy conditions they would need to keep to. The landlord has a decision to make about whether or not to…
Ending a tenancy Tenancies ending Notifying landlords that a tenant is in hospital or residential care is important. It reduces risk (for example) that they will force entry out of concern the tenant hasn’t been seen. If a placement is expected to be permanent a decision about surrendering a tena…
Housing Matters Quick guidance on key safes for social care practitioners A key safe is a strong mechanical metal box that securely stores a spare key inside for use by an authorised visitor to enter an individual's home. Key safes can be provided for anyone requiring access to an individual's pro…
Assessment Assessment Key safes can be provided for anyone requiring access to a resident's property, when it is evidenced that it has become problematic for the individual to answer the door. Key safes should only be issued after the following options have been considered. If the individual: has…
Location of key safes Location of key safes Individuals should always be advised that the addition of a key safe MAY render their home and contents insurance invalid. If the key safe provides access to communal areas in the property this may result in ALL residences being at risk of their insuran…
Ordering a key safe Ordering a key safe Depending on the type of property, key safes can be ordered in different ways. If it is a Camden Council property , Housing Repairs will install the key safe. Email: [email protected] If it is a Housing Association property , practitioners need to email the…
Key safe codes Key safe codes The individual (or representative) is responsible for setting the code, which will be needed at the time of fitting. It is recommended that between 5-7 characters including one letter should be used. The individual should be encouraged not to use an obvious code e.g.…
Key safe codes (practitioner's responsibility) Key safe codes (practitioner's responsibility) If such an event should occur where you need to arrange the installation of a key safe and provide a third party with access you can: Create the key safe code yourself and record this on Mosaic, in the s…
Community Equipment Update Community Equipment Update Following the closure of NRS Healthcare, we are pleased to confirm that Camden Council, along with seven other boroughs, has entered a new partnership with provider Provide Care Solutions Ltd (Provide) . Together, we form the North London Equi…
Housing Matters Information on housing options available in Camden for adults with care and support needs Camden Council offers a range of housing options for adults with care and support needs. This include care homes, sheltered housing, extra care housing, hostels and supported living accommodat…
Easy Read An easy read guide on finding housing is available for residents. It includes information on supported living accommodation, sheltered housing and drop in sessions. Further easy read guidance on housing can also be found on the housing wiki page
Extra care housing Extra Care Housing What is Extra Care housing? Extra Care (EC) provides adults with support that enables them to maintain or enhance their independence in the community. EC schemes offer high‑quality, self‑contained accommodation with full tenancy rights. Each resident receives…
Referral process for Extra Care housing Referral process for Extra Care housing Eligibility Criteria Residents must: • be deemed to have Ordinary Residence in Camden as defined by the Care Act 2014 • have been assessed as having an eligible support need under the Care Act; • have capacity to inde…
Mental Health Supported Living Pathway The Mental Health Pathway is currently under review therefore will be changing in the following months. The Mental Health Pathway provides support for people who's current mental wellbeing greatly impacts their ability to stay safe, healthy and manage everyd…
Mental Health Pathway referrals Referrals for the Mental Health Pathway are through the Camden and Islington Mental Health Service and details should be recorded on Mosaic. The funding is agreed at fortnightly mental health funding panel meetings. The co-ordination of placements for named project…
Adult Pathway services (Homelessness) Adult Pathway services (Homelessness) There are a range of hostels and supported housing schemes in Camden for single homeless people with support needs. These are provided by housing associations, voluntary organisations and the Council. Together, they form…
Contact details for Extra Care Arranging visits to Extra care schemes Visits can be arranged either before or after the referral process has begun, depending on what best supports the resident to make an informed decision and to gain a clear understanding of what Extra Care offers. Staff are not…
Care and support and homelessness Care and support and homelessness The Camden Homelessness System Partnership has produced a resource pack to support Adult Social Care colleagues who work with people experiencing homelessness: Working with people who are experiencing homelessness and other multi…
Referral Guidance to Charlie Ratchford Court Viewing Arrangements General Inquiries: Members of the public are welcome to request general information about the service. An overview will be provided; please note that detailed or individualised information cannot be shared at this stage. Formal Vie…
Prison Release Guidance Prison Release Guidance The Prison Release Practice Guidance provides a structured framework for how Housing Services and Adult Social Care work together to support residents being released from prison who have care and support needs. The guidance outlines clear processes…
Housing Matters Quick guidance to Camden's Home Improvement Services for practitioners Camden Council offers home improvement services for adults with care and support needs. These services include WISH Plus and the Camden Home Improvement Service. Please be advised that this page is due to be dev…
From the 1 st November 2021, Origin’s contract for the Camden Home Improvements service has transferred to Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH). The Handyperson Service covers the whole of Camden, helping local people aged over 65, or anyone who has a disability or mental health condition. T…
Housing Matters Team Around Me: A model for multi-agency working for and with people experiencing multiple disadvantage On this tile you can find an overview of Team Around Me (TAM). TAM has been designed for people experiencing multiple disadvantage – a combination of social problems such as home…
What is Team Around Me? Team Around Me (TAM) is a model for holding case conferences or multi-agency meetings for people who have support and/or care needs, which truly puts the person at the centre of their own support. Team Around Me has been designed for people experiencing multiple disadvant…
Team Around Me is based around four key principles: Strengths based: “ The meeting started by acknowledging the client’s achievement and she was overwhelmed by how far she had come, as she generally suffers with low self-esteem. The meeting was extremely uplifting.” Meetings begin by everyone in…
The process starts with an individual experiencing multiple disadvantage or a support provider working with them identifying that it would be useful to bring together the person’s support network, in order to create a collaborative action plan and work through any challenges. A TAM meeting can be…
Calling a TAM meeting is a simple process. TAMs are designed to be used as a framework for bringing people together, any time a meeting needs to be held. Ideally, the resident will choose which professional they would like to organise the TAM. If the resident is unwell, not contactable or not wor…
TAM meetings should always follow this process: 1. Introductions and check in Everyone has the opportunity to introduce themselves, their role, and to say how they are today. 2. Strengths and positives Everyone at the meeting has the opportunity to reflect on the resident’s strengths and/or posit…
After the meeting, the professional in charge of minutes should write up clear, concise minutes from the meeting, using the TAM form, and circulate to those in attendance via email within 48 hours. For any challenges which the group were not able to make progress with – for example, because they…
More information and support The Team Around Me model was evaluated in 2022. The full report can be viewed here . If you need support to set up a TAM, would like to book training for your team or need any other information, please contact Lucy Campbell [email protected]
Connecting people to support Information on the Sensory Needs Team, making reasonable adjustments and the Big Word It is important to support residents to be able to access services within their community and this may require making reasonable adjustments. The Sensory Needs team are able to provid…
What is the Sensory Needs Service? A note on language: Over the years there have been many ways to describe people who may have sensory needs, such as those who are blind, partially sighted, or those who are D/deaf or deafened. In this Practice Guide we have used language to be in-line with the…
D/deaf and hard of hearing residents - hints and tips for home visits When visiting or communicating with a resident who is D/deaf or hard of hearing, the following tips may be helpful to ensure you communicate effectively: Make sure you have the person’s attention before you start speaking. Plac…
Sensory Needs Service - Sight Loss Generally, the service receives referrals directly from eye hospitals. The hospital eye consultant (ophthalmologist) is the person who decides whether someone’s sight loss is permanent and significant enough to meet the criteria for certification as severely si…
Blind and partially sighted – hints and tips for home visits Everyone’s sight loss is different. Some people can see nothing at all, others have lost their central vision, others their peripheral (i.e. side) vision, others have only lost vision on one side. Some people need a lot more light to h…
Blind and partially sighted - further support Beyond the Sensory Needs Team, advice and support is also available from a range of organisations found here . This list includes organisations which specialise in certain eye conditions, and those who may also have additional health conditions or dis…
Sensory Needs Service – D/deaf residents The Sensory Needs Service can support people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and have difficulty staying safe and socially independent at home. Someone's hearing loss must be permanent in order to be supported by the service. If someone is eligible, they…
Connecting people to support Quick guidance regarding Shared Lives Schemes for practitioners Shared Lives Camden is a service where adults with care needs are given the opportunity to live in the homes of people who will support them. People with care needs will share a home with a carer and in so…
What is shared lives? Shared lives is a scheme that enables adults with learning disabilities or other care and support needs that make it harder for them to live independently, to live with a carer or carer and their family. Further information can be found on Camden's Shared Lives website . The…
Who is it for and is it safe? Within Camden Adult Social Care our statement of purpose currently states that we support Adults with Learning Disabilities and Autism. The Camden scheme is currently only registered to provide a service for people with LD and Autism. However, there are plans to exte…
How carers are employed and paid Carers can come from any background and will have a passion for supporting people and their community. Carers will generally be Camden citizens with a spare room that they wish to offer. Often carers will be people with a care background, either formal or informal…
Who shared lives cannot support The Shared lives scheme is not a quick fix and is not a scheme that can be used for emergency placements, nor is it 24-hour support as carers need a good work life balance. People being considered for placement need to be able to have their needs met within a home…
Who supports the placed person Social workers and or Care managers continue to support the placed person, the shared lives team role is to support and work with carers, ensuring that they are sticking to the persons support plans and supporting the person as agreed. Reviews are held in the same w…
Referral process Staff including social workers will know the person who they think would be suitable for the shared lives scheme. However, it is good practice that before contacting the shared lives team, that you firstly consider whether the person meets the criteria. If they do, you should ta…
Money Matters Connecting people to support
Money Matters Information on the personal finance service, eligibility and the role of practitioners Within ASC it is essential that our residents receive a high quality service from the Personal Finance Service (PFS) and practitioners in relation to the management of their personal finances when…