Stepping Home

Stepping Home is a service designed to help people home from hospital or prevent admissions. Unlike other support services Stepping Home tackles all and any housing issues that place residents at risk. Working with a growing range of voluntary and statutory partners we identify and tackle hoarding, disrepair, falls risks, inadequate heating, disconnected services, loneliness, financial abuse, food and fuel poverty, income maximisation and more.

The service is built around each patient as their non-medical circumstances are unique. The Stepping Home coordinators are there for the patient journey, that step by step support that ensures trust and ongoing success. The focus is on their home and the problems, dealing with safety and security, community connections, finance and ongoing independence.

Stepping Home can ease some of the pressure on health and social care services. It delivers to all the NHS personalisation agenda but particularly reduces pressure on stretched NHS services and helps the health and care system to be more efficient.

Stepping Home covers the whole of Suffolk (excluding Waveney) and provides:

• Two project coordinators, who help identify those needing support and work with the individual and their support network to deliver bespoke housing and other support services.
• Four units of accommodation (two in Ipswich and two in Bury St Edmunds) providing a safe and secure environment for patients to stay temporarily, free of charge while their home is being fixed, cleaned, adapted or altered. As soon as patients are medically fit, they are moved to the accommodation avoiding any discharge delay, or deconditioning, whilst facilitating independence and rehabilitation.
  Take a look inside one of our Stepping Home accommodation units
• Access to a handyperson, helping with small repairs and other small jobs.
• Timely adaptations such as rails, ramps, bannisters and keysafes.

An example of what some of the service users have experienced

Mr L is a 73 year old gentleman who was referred to our service by a Complex Discharge Planning Nurse. He was unable to be discharged due to the amount of clutter in his home. In order to be brought to hospital Suffolk Fire and Rescue had to take him out of his bedroom window, as they could not enter via the front door.

Our Stepping Home Coordinator was able to meet Mr L on the hospital ward to explain the support available. Mr L subsequently agreed to be placed into our temporary accommodation while we worked with a local declutter agency, to make his home safe and practical. We also installed a keysafe, fixed his downstairs bathroom and arranged for smoke alarms to be fitted. In addition to the work on his home, Mr L also made some new friends while in our accommodation which helped him feel less isolated at home.

Testimonials

This project has had a very positive impact upon many people and is so important for the people of Suffolk - Naomi - Social Worker - Adult and Community Services

"Stepping home is always there for us for those at risk and most vulnerable in the community" John - Community Therapy Team

"I cannot recommend the service enough and would be lost without it" Caitlin, OT, Newmarket Hospital

"Stepping Home has enabled us to assess, recommend and discharge our patients with no delays, reducing therapy duplication and handover between teams" - Amy, EIT, West Suffolk Hospital

"Stepping Home has reduced our length of stay for patients" Jenni, Senior IWP, ACS, West Suffolk Hospital

"We would be totally lost without your support, knowledge, understanding and commitment" Tracy H - Aldeburgh Community Hospital

"A big thank you to you for all the work you have done at my place" Mr L - Stepping Home Patient

"I just wanted to thank you for the care you are giving my father it is comforting to know someone cares" K.B - Relative

"The evaluation has also demonstrated that the service is facilitating faster discharge and preventing admission to hospital at a time when it has never been more important to maintain capacity within our local NHS and social care system" Healthwatch Suffolk

Stepping Home is highly commended

Stepping Home Suffolk has twice been recognised to be among the best health and social care service in the UK. In 2021 Stepping Home won a "highly commended” award from the Municipal Journal (The MJ) in the category, “Delivering Better Outcomes”.

In 2022 Stepping Home Suffolk was awarded another highly commended award from the Local Government Chronicle (LGC) in the health and social care category. More details.