Access to equipment and home adaptations

Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)

The West Sussex allocation from the DFG is £10.3m for 2024/25 which is proportionally allocated via the Better Care Fund to the county’s district and borough councils who manage and administer applications and individual grants. New referrals received and adaptations finished in 2023/24 are summarised in the table below. WSCC works in partnership with the district and borough councils through a DFG steering group including the delivery of county-wide minor adaptations and deep cleans services commissioned by WSCC as part of the DFG programme.

Minor Adaptations

WSCC commissioned a new service in 2023/24 to undertake minor adaptations supporting the DFG programme delivered by West Sussex district and borough councils. The minor adaptations programme supports smaller works of up to £2000 such as stair rails, drop-down shower seats, floor to ceiling poles, half steps & grab rails, electrical sockets, door release and automatic door entry systems. The increase from the £1,000 value stipulated in the Care Act 2014 to a £2,000 limit was introduced within the last 24 months due to the current high level of inflation. In 2023/24, 157 customers benefited from this service at a cost of £169,046.

Deep Cleans

WSCC also commission a specialist, county-wide deep clean service that supports people to live in and maintain better homes. In 2023/24, 132 customers benefited from this service at a cost of £329,709.

Community Equipment

WSCC is the lead commissioner for the Integrated Community Equipment Service in West Sussex that supports the health and social care system to support people to be independent at home via the provision of supportive equipment. Equipment includes items such as hospital beds, hoists, bathlifts, shower chairs, specialist seating, raised toilet seats, perching stools and sensory equipment.

The service was recommissioned in 2022 with a new service provider starting in April 2023. The council worked closely with the new service provider throughout 23/24 to support challenges related to service capacity, productivity and out of stock equipment leading to an increased backlog of orders. This included both strategic and operational support, frequent Touch Point meetings, data analysis and data cleansing, process review and proactive internal and external communications including initiatives to increase equipment recycling and reuse. Developments have been made to improve and return the service to a state of stability in 23/24 and 24/25 that will allow further improvements to be delivered. The council has led a programme of practice improvements alongside NHS colleagues in recent years that have helped to manage demand for community equipment whilst ensuring that more people are supported to discharge from hospital and to continue to live at home with the appropriate provision of equipment.

The service budget is circa £10m per annum, approximately 60% of the spend is via the NHS and 40% via WSCC. The number of unique customers in 2023/24 was 26,252 with 270,409 items of equipment being issued. There are approximately 2,000 practitioners who prescribe equipment across the NHS and social care.

Technology Enabled Care (TEC)

This service is commissioned by WSCC on behalf of WSCC and NHS Sussex via the Better Care Fund. Equipment provided includes pendants and alarms, GPS trackers, bed, chair and door sensors, falls alarms and epilepsy monitors. The service is commissioned in an outcomes-based way that enables the provider to utilise their expertise and market knowledge to identify the best solutions for each individual. These TEC solutions support customers and family and friend carers to optimise independence and reduce reliance on more costly, intensive, intrusive interventions. There were 2,084  new installations of technology-enabled care during 2023-24 (1,892 in 2022-23). 

The service budget is circa £1.2m per annum. There are approximately 1,500 practitioners across the NHS and social care who make referrals to the service. Both long term (Care Act eligibility applies) and short term (maximum 6 weeks of provision) referrals can be made, as well as Hospital Discharge Project referrals via the 4 acute hospitals to support timely hospital discharge. The number of unique customers in 2023/24 who were referred were: -

Short term referral - 626

Long term referral - 502

Hospital Discharge project - 956

In January 2023, WSCC developed a new TEC Hospital Discharge Project that based TEC assessors in each of the 4 main acute hospitals servicing West Sussex who receive daily referrals from hospital teams to support and advise people being discharged and to also suitable ‘take home’ equipment to support people to be independent and safe at home. The project won the Service Transformation Award in March at the International Technology Enabled Care Awards 2024 and it is also noteworthy that of the 146 customers who accessed the Project in April and May 2024 only 5 customers returned to hospital within 2 days and a further four 4 within 4 weeks post discharge.