In Partnership with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Traditionally, residential care in the UK is seen as the provision of last resort. It is often deeply unpopular and there is a great deal of concern and anxiety about the funding arrangements, which are perceived to be unfair. Over the last few years there have been a spate of housing-based models of care, variously called 'close care', 'extra care housing' or 'sheltered housing', which are claimed by their protagonists to be cheaper and more attractive to care homes of older people, based as they are on the concept of 'your own front door'.

This report provides an overview of these new forms of provision for older people which are neither residential care nor sheltered housing, and critically examines the claims that have been made about them, charting the main differences between the models. It also presents a methodology for evaluating them, and presents the findings of two innovative schemes in York, both very different from each other, but both aiming to provide an enhanced quality of life and 'independent living' for their occupants.

The report concludes that although the new schemes may not be cheaper than either residential care or intensive domiciliary care, the available evidence is that they may be more cost-effective. Occupants' accounts of living in schemes where they have their own front doors suggest they can perform a crucial preventative role.

However, the report shows that there are considerable policy obstacles to 'your own front door' becoming a reality for all older people living in communal living arrangements. It suggests a way forward for replacing traditional residential care with an arrangement whereby living costs, accommodation costs and care costs are individually charged for and the link between funding and regulation broken.

The report is written for those organisations and individuals in all three sectors - housing, social care and health - who are interested in innovative service developments for older people.

Continuous Professional Development
Professionals within the social care sector are required to undertake Continuous Professional Development (CPD). Those who use this resource will be able to gain CPD points.