Locality Context
Our South East Essex quadrant covers the Rochford and Castle Point Districts with a population of 175,200 people. In this area there are 100,400 adults aged 18-64; 38,100 adults aged 65-84; and 5,500 adults aged 85 and over.
South East Essex’s demographic data shows that people who are categorised ethnically as White (i.e., White British, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish; White Gypsy or Irish Traveller; White Roma) make up 95% of the population across Rochford and Castle Point. People who are categorised ethnically as BAME account for 5% of the South East Essex population, as shown in the graph below.
Use the “ONS Map” drop down below to view an interactive map where you can see ethnicity demographics at a local authority district level.
*Population figures taken from the Projecting Older People Population Information System (POPPI) and Projecting Adult Needs and Service Information (PANSI) databases. Ethnicity demographic figures are taken from Office for National Statistics (ONS) subnational population projections by persons, males and females, by single year of age. Figures may not sum due to rounding.
In August 2021, Early Intervention and Ongoing Support teams were aligned to neighbourhoods. These aligned to the district councils within each Neighbourhood sits 2 Primary Care Networks. this has allowed the teams to work closer with the community to wrap around adults within a smaller geography.
This plan brings together ICS, Alliance, and ECC strategy in line with the Health and Care Bill (2022), which proposes to establish new statutory integrated care partnerships. South East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership between NHS, 2 Local Authorities (Southend City Council SCC and ECC), independent and voluntary sector teams, leaders and organisations with a shared focus on working collaboratively to achieve the best possible health and wellbeing outcomes for the people of South East Essex.
Locality Director
Our Locality Director for South East Essex leads our Social Care Teams in this area. The Locality Director is also the Director for Adults with Disabilities services across Essex County Council Adult Social Care.
To support our vision of reducing inequality and ensuring we focus on the wider determinants of health, the South East Essex Alliance has adopted the Live Well model to make certain our communities are supported and empowered at each stage of their life to be as well as possible.
The Integration and Partnership Locality Lead's role is to work with our operational teams and NHS and other partners to design and deliver the integration of health and social care. Each quadrant has an Integration and Partnership lead in place and the role is essential to supporting the development of relationships with key partners across the local system in our five quadrant areas, (each the size of a large London borough) and identifying best practice in integration.
South East Essex Adult Social Care Teams are staffed with Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, and Community Support Workers to deliver intervention under the Care Act 2014 and are responsible for undertaking Care Act Assessments, planned and unplanned Social Care reviews, Mental Capacity Assessments, and Safeguarding activity under S42 of the Care Act 2014.
All teams are supportive of the identification and needs of formal carers and delivering upon the Essex All Age Carers Strategy 2022-26. The strategy outlines how the county council, along with partners, will support unpaid carers of all ages undertake the invaluable contribution they make to society.
There are two neighbourhood teams and two neighbourhood aligned Discharge to Assess teams responsible for postcode areas and mirror to the district councils area. Within each area sits 2 local Primary Care Networks.
Rochford and District covering postcodes SS11, SS2, SS3, SS4, SS5
Castle Point covering postcodes SS6, SS7
Discharge to Assess Social Work Teams
There are two Discharge to Assess Teams that are aligned to the two South East Essex neighbourhoods. The teams support people in need of care and support following an acute hospital admission, many of who will receive an intermediate care service and require and assessment to determine their ongoing care and support needs.
The teams also support decision making for people's discharges from hospital as part of the Transfer of Care hub multi-disciplinary team working from Southend University Hospital in Westcliff-on-Sea.
Specialism Teams:
There are three specialism teams that work across the South Essex footprint which includes both South East Essex and South West Essex:
Learning Disabilities and Autism Team working with adults and their families who have a diagnosed learning disability and/or autism that is confirmed through psychology assessment. The team work closely with Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT) and Essex Learning Disabilities Partnership.
Physical Sensory Impairment Team working with adults and their families who have a long-term physical disability such as brain injury, stroke (under 65) and neurological condition. The team work closely with Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT).
Older Adults Mental Health Team working with adults and their families that have a diagnosed functional or organic mental health issue. The team also support the discharge planning of adults leaving Mental Health Hospital in partnership with the NHS mental health provider Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT).
South East OT Hub: is an extension of all teams. Its purpose is to ensure all adults requiring an Occupational Therapist intervention are aligned to one place, thus ensuring that no adult was left at a disadvantage due to their location and our limited number of OTs.
The Adult Social Care workforce in South East Essex is made up of approximately 60 staff. This includes Social Work and Occupational Therapy apprentices and newly qualified Social Work and Occupational Therapists. We recognise the importance of a diverse workforce to reflect the communities in which we work and we monitor the makeup of our workforce, and listen to our employees through surveys, panels, and network groups.
South East Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance
Regarding health inequalities for South East Essex key areas are: -
- Life expectancy: Castle Point has the 4th worst life expectancy at birth for both males and females
- Impact of healthy lifestyles: Castle Point has the 4th highest rate of admission episodes for alcohol related conditions for males; Castle Point has the 3rd highest prevalence of smokers; Castle Point has the 2nd highest prevalence of people with diabetes; Rochford has the 3rd highest prevalence of patients with cancer
- Mental health: Rochford has the 3rd highest diagnosis rate of dementia; Castle Point has the lowest average happiness score
Acute Hospitals
In South East Essex our social care teams work closely with our acute hospitals; Southend University Hospital in Westcliff-on-Sea. The Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust manage this hospital alongside Basildon University Hospital Basildon and Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford both of these hospitals.
Community Hospitals
In addition, we work alongside Rochford Hospital. South East Essex is part of the South and Mid Essex Trustees.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT)
The Social Care Teams work closely with EPUT community mental health teams providing support to people experiencing mental illness both as inpatients and within the community, and providing social care support to people with a range of needs and predominantly under the age of 65 years.
Essex Learning Disabilities Partnership
The Social Care Teams work closely with Essex Learning Disabilities Partnership which is provided by Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Trust and are responsible for all NHS Learning Disability community and inpatient service across Essex.
The community voluntary sector
South East Essex is supported by Castle Point Association of Voluntary Services; and Rayleigh and Rochford Voluntary Services supporting with a range of services for organisations and individuals to improve people’s quality of life and work in partnership with statutory and 3rd sector services.
Housing
Rochford District council
- Rochford District Council does not own or manage any property in the District; therefore, social housing for the District is owned and managed by a number of housing associations/registered providers.
Castle Point District Council
- Castle Point Councils Home Choice team provides management and maintenance of social housing in the area
From 1st July 2022, Clinical Commissioning Groups were abolished and their functions transferred to the Integrated Care System (ICS). They consist of two Boards - the Integrated Care Board (ICB) and Integrated Care Partnership (ICP).
Mid and South Essex ICB
The Mid and South Essex ICB is responsible for deciding how the NHS budget for Mid Essex is spent. It is also responsible for developing a plan to improve people’s health, deliver higher quality care, and ensure health services are of high quality.
Mid and South Essex ICP
The Mid and South Essex ICP is a statutory committee that brings together a broad alliance of organisations and representatives involved with improving the care, health, and wellbeing of the population. The ICP’s board includes members from the NHS, local authorities, care providers, the police, Healthwatch and the voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise (VCFSE) sector. The ICP will play a central role at system level in tackling health inequalities.
Better Care Fund
The Better Care Fund (BCF) programme supports local systems to successfully deliver the integration of health and social care in a way that supports person-centred care, sustainability, and better outcomes for people and carers.
Launched in 2015, the programme established pooled budgets between the NHS and local authorities, aiming to reduce the barriers often created by separate funding streams. The pooled budget is a combination of contributions from the following areas:
- Minimum allocation from integrated care systems (ICSs)
- Disabled facilities grant – local authority grant
- Social care funding (improved BCF) – local authority grant
- Winter pressures grant funding– local authority grant
ECC rating of the market, assessed January 2024
Residential Care
In residential services as of January 2024, there were 28 Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care homes in South East Essex with a total of 1,010 beds. Of the 28 care homes, 21 are registered to support older people with a total of 961 beds which represents 95% of all beds available.
As of January 2024, 68% (19) of all Adult Social Care residential based services inspected by the CQC in South East Essex had been rated as either Outstanding or Good.
Domiciliary Care
As of January 2024, there were 33 locations registered with the CQC to provide Adult Social Care community based services in South East Essex. Of the 33 Locations, 29 are registered to support older people which represents 88% of the market in South East Essex.
As of January 2024, 85% (23) of all Adult Social Care community based services inspected by the CQC in South East Essex had been rated as either Outstanding or Good.
*The above information is taken from the CQC care directory.
Care Homes
- There are 28 care homes that provide residential care in South East Essex which equates to 1,010 beds
Domiciliary Care
- There are 33 domiciliary providers located in South East Essex, 29 of which are registered to support older people
Intermediate Care
- Essex Cares Limited (ECL) deliver the core reablement services in the South-East Essex locality, based on a contract that commenced in May 2021. The contract is for the provision of 1,940 hours of therapy-led reablement per week throughout Rochford and Castle Point districts
- Additional Reablement Capacity (ARC) is provided in South-East Essex by Premier Care Partners. This service supports ECL when at full to capacity or are lacking capacity in specific areas. The current contract with Premier Care, which commenced in September 2022, is for 990 hours of therapy-supported reablement care per week
Independent Living Schemes
- There is Extra Care Schemes in the South quadrant of Essex that provide housing and onsite care, these are; Dobsons House, Rayleigh.
- In Dobsons House there are 28 one-bedroom and 2 two-bedroom self-contained apartments, the onsite care is delivered by the inhouse provider, Swan Care.
Domiciliary Care
In South East Essex, there is a reliance on both the Live at Home market as well as the SPOT market. There are some capacity issues which is presenting difficulty in sourcing care at times, in particular in the Castle Point district. Canvey Island is the main area in the Castle Point district which can be a challenging area for supply, mainly due to difficulties recruiting care staff in this area. There is also the Rochford district, with a particular challenge in the Hullbridge area due to packages in this location being scarce and more likely to incur additional travel time. Engagement with Live at Home providers suggests there is a focus on aiming to build in both Canvey Island and Hullbridge to support with growing capacity in these areas, with providers already moving into these areas to support with the demand for the area.
In South Essex, there has been a number of providers that have embraced the sponsorship scheme for overseas workers which will bring additional capacity to the locality. The feedback from Live at Home providers suggests that they are keen to grow and develop within their existing areas of operation, as well as branch out into other areas where the council may lack sufficient supply.
Some local challenges:
Residential Care
- Difficult to recruit and retain staff
- Rising costs in utilities impacting the financial viability of homes
- Affordable nursing placements and DE capacity
- Seasonal pressures increasing demand for care services
Intermediate Care
- A lack of capacity within all elements of the intermediate care services
- Increased operating costs (e.g. fuel) and the impact of inflation and interest rates.
- Geographical diversity, including the mix of urban and rural settings, and transport links
- Locality demographics and the availability of locality-based workforce
- Adults who are completing the service can experience delays due to the sourcing process or finding a suitable long-term service
Domiciliary Care
The Council’s framework for domiciliary care services is expiring in 2025, and re-commissioning will commence during 2024.
Residential Care
The Council's framework for older people residential and nursing care expires in 2025. The contract is refreshed annually inviting existing providers to submit revised pricing and allows for new providers to make a tender submission to join.
Intermediate Care
Through the Transformation of Intermediate Care Programme, we have been working in partnership with NHS Partners, the Provider Market and also including the voice of adults with lived experience and their families on a medium to long-term approach to reshape the intermediate care system. The aim is to bring together reablement services, bridging services, short-term care home provision, as well as NHS intermediate care services, to improve outcomes for people and ensure a joined up and integrated approach (and process) to service delivery.
Essex County Council plays an important and vital role helping to create social inclusive communities, this is not just within our own practises and policies but setting an example for other organisations and the Essex community as whole.
The Public Sector Equality Duty (the equality duty) was created under the Equality Act 2010 and came into force in 2011. It places a duty on local authorities to:
- consider how their policies and decisions affect people with protected characteristics.
- prevent discrimination and inequality.
- promote inclusion.
In Essex County Council we recognise that the workforce is representative of the communities we serve. Our vision is to enable the right environment and behaviour, so that individual and organisational equality, diversity, and inclusion is embedded in everything we do.
We will achieve our Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion vision by focussing on three strategic strands:
- Improving Diversity
- Building an Inclusive Culture
- Ensuring Equality
Across all the localities we have introduced a wide range of workstreams and programmes to support creating a great place for people to live and work in.
Below is list of some of our strategies and programmes:
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion Workforce Strategy 2023-25
- Levelling Up Strategy
- Quest programmes
- Zero Tolerance to Abuse Policy
- Care Workforce Strategy 2023-30
- Essex Disability Strategy 2023
- Meaningful Lives Matter programme
Through all these projects and plans we will look at how things are changing in different part of Essex, and how we can work more closely with our health partners and utilise new technology to bring everything together.
We want things to get better for everyone, and we want the change to be fair for all across the board.