What is Residential Care?
Residential care provides group accommodation for people with relatively high care needs, who thrive in a more social environment. If receiving support in a person’s own home is insufficient for someone to cope with everyday life, they might prefer residential care. This type of housing provides people with a permanent residential facility, and access to health or medical care around the clock.
Who is Residential Care For?
Residential care is suitable for people with long-term physical conditions that require consistent support.
Residential care should be a less preferred option for children and young adults with autism, learning disabilities, or mental health conditions. The impact of living in a residential home could unintentionally place barriers on people who would otherwise thrive living more independently in the community. We believe that people should be able to live ordinary lives in their own communities.
What is a Residential Care Home?
A residential care home is a facility for people to live with others, with a shared staff team. A local authority or health board authorises care providers to offer complex care services for several people under one roof.
These services are delivered by a care team, usually made up of nurses and health care assistants or support workers.
What Does Supported Living Mean?
The purpose of supported living is to enable people with physical needs, a learning disability, autism, or mental health condition to retain their independence. Within a supported living scheme, people can access on-hand personal care and support in everyday tasks whilst keeping their own tenancy and private space.
For example, supported living services can assist people with cooking, cleaning, and budgeting, but the individual retains independence in as many areas as possible. Many people with complex needs prefer supported living because it is beneficial for their independence and self-esteem. The practitioners at Leaf Complex Care take a humanised approach to each client’s emotional well-being and help them foster fulfilling relationships with their family and friends, and this is easier to fulfil when living in people’s own communities.
What accommodation is available with Supported Living?
Supported living services provide people with housing and a tenancy of their own. The type and size of the housing may vary. Supported living often includes communal facilities for socialising, such as gardens, gyms, shared dining spaces, and sensory rooms.
The most common forms of housing in supported living services include:
- A house of your own
- One or two-bedroom flats
- Studio flats
- Shared housing for individuals with similar needs (each tenant has their own private space, such as a bedroom and an en-suite bathroom of their own)
- A bespoke, single-occupancy property tailored to the individual's requirements
Key Differences Between Supported Living and Residential Care
The key difference between supported living and residential care is a person’s level of independence and preferences for socialising. Supported living is designed to assist individuals with everyday tasks in their own homes, close to their loved ones. It enables them to remain in control of some aspects of their life (such as earning money and paying bills). On the other hand, residential care offers 24-hour medical care in specialised facilities, some of which might be far from home.
The Right Accommodation in Health and Social Care
Everyone deserves a safe, comfortable home where all their requirements are met. Society often fails to accommodate individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and physical impairments, and that’s where supported living services can help.
Supported living services in people’s own homes is designed to remove potential social barriers imposed on people with support needs. Dedicated and compassionate support workers work with people to embrace their identity and lead a fulfilling, dignified life within their community.
Personalised support at home gives individuals a great balance between receiving professional support tailored to their wishes and retaining a sense of self-reliance. In such circumstances, individuals with disabilities are enabled to reach their full potential and maximise their quality of life.
Why We Are Strong Supporters of Care at Home?
The story of Leaf Complex Care’s vision is to reshape the concept of complex care in a way that centres the individual and their independence in all aspects of life.
Institutionalisation in residential homes can be isolating for children and adults with learning disabilities and mental health conditions. Thus, our team offers tailored support for individuals with support needs within their own homes.
Our support workers take a personalised approach to each client’s developmental pathway. The Leaf team model strengthens individuals’ relationships with close relatives, friends, and other local community members on a similar journey.
Staying Close to Your Family and Within Your Community with Supported Living
Familial love and integration in a local community play a crucial role in maintaining a healthy lifestyle for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs. Our support workers prioritise helping individuals lead fulfilling lives close to their loved ones.
Clients have regular access to help with everyday tasks in their own homes, tailored social activities, and an active role in their local communities. All these factors lead to improvement in people’s mental health and self-esteem.
Why choose Leaf Complex Care as your care provider
At Leaf Complex Care, our mission is to create safe and helpful spaces for people with support needs. For our specialist team, the life-changing impact we leave on vulnerable individuals and their families is of utmost importance. We tend to each client’s wishes and value every form of feedback.
We currently offer support for individuals with a wide range of needs within 50 miles of our offices in Bristol, Slough, and Birmingham. Contact Leaf Complex Care by phone or via email to receive the best care for yourself or a loved one.
