Locality Context
Our South West Essex quadrant covers the Basildon and Brentwood Districts with a population of 264,600 people. In this area there are 156,400 adults aged 18-64; 41,000 adults aged 65-84; and 6,900 adults aged 85 and over.
South West 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 88% of the population across Basildon and Brentwood. People who are categorised ethnically as BAME account for 12% of the South West 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 matching the Primary Care Network (PCN) footprint, with 2 PCNs covered by each team, as defined by the South West Essex Basildon and Brentwood Alliance. This has allowed the teams to work closer within the local communities 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. The South West Essex Health and Wellbeing Alliance is a partnership between NHS, Local Authority, 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 West Essex.
Our Locality Director for South West Essex leads our Social Care Teams in this area. The Locality Director for South West is also the Director for Intermediate Care services and the Service Placement Team 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 West 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, 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 four quadrant areas, (each the size of a large London borough) and identifying best practice in integration.
South West Essex Adult Social Care Teams include 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, and Safeguarding activity under S42 of the Care Act 2014. All teams work within the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Human Rights Act 1998.
All teams are supportive of the identification and needs of informal 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.
The 3 South West Neighbourhood Teams each cover 2 PCNs:
i) West Basildon and Wickford;
ii) Central and East Basildon;
iii) Brentwood and Billericay.
In South West Essex teams are not aligned to postcodes, there is most likely overlap as neighbourhoods are aligned to PCNs, which are aligned to GP practices. Therefore, some practices who share the same postcodes could be in different PCNs.
Discharge to Assess
There are two Discharge to Assess Teams that work across the South West Essex area, aligned to the neighbourhood teams in the Basildon and Brentwood and Billericay footprint. The team undertake assessments with people that have left a hospital setting and are in an intermediate care service to determine their ongoing care and support needs. The team also support discharges from hospital as part of the Transfer of Care hub multi-disciplinary team. They support adults being discharged back to the South West area from Basildon University Hospital, Southend Hospital, Brentwood Community Hospital, and Queen’s and King George’s Hospitals which are out of area but where residents from Basildon and Brentwood may be admitted.
Specialism Teams:
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 and Sensory Needs 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 older 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 Hospitals in partnership with the NHS mental health provider Essex Partnership University Trust (EPUT).
South West OT hub: Each neighbourhood and focused team have at least one Occupational Therapist within the team, although the work is allocated across the Occupational Therapists in the South depending on urgency, complexity, and level of skills and experience required. Occupational Therapists works with adults and their families who have a permanent physical condition that requires support. The Occupational Therapists support and work with partners such as NELFT, SPA, ICT, District Council housing teams, and DFG teams.
The Adult Social Care workforce in South West Essex is made up of approximately 90 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 West Essex Alliance (Basildon and Brentwood).
The Purpose: We first met in October 2022 and recognised that all services across health, social care, and the voluntary sector were stretched, could work more efficiently together, and there were many common areas.
We therefore committed to:
- Reducing health Inequalities with focus on the wider determinants of health
- Developing a Live Well Strategy
- Developing Integrated Neighbourhood Teams
- Distributed Leadership
- Identifying areas where we can work together
- Stabilising Primary Care
What do we know about inequalities in Basildon and Brentwood?
- 5,402 dwellings have an energy performance certificate rating of D or below
- The deaths of 5,068 people were attributable to socioeconomic inequality between 2003 and 2018. Over 3,000 of these were in Southend
- 58,818 (15%) of people live in the 20% most deprived areas in England
- 1,440 people are homeless
- 6,872 adults (2.3%) are dependent on drugs
- 39,568 adults (18%) have a mental health condition
- 9,298 adults (3.2%) are at higher risk of alcohol related health problems
- 37,000 unpaid carers
How will we deliver with partners: We have the same common endeavour – reduce inequalities; across the Alliance Partnership we have access to a collective intelligence on a local level; together we know our community assets and can bring these to bear for the benefit of our residents; we have established localities (or neighbourhoods) which can provide the mechanism for collaboration and partnership with each other and our residents; and our population live in communities and neighbourhoods, let's meet them where they are.
Acute Hospitals
In South West Essex our social care teams work closely with our acute hospital; Basildon University Hospital. We also work closely with Southend University Hospital, as some Mid Essex residents receive treatment from there.
In addition we support adults being discharged back to the South West area from Basildon University Hospital, Southend Hospital, Brentwood Community Hospital, and Queen’s and King George’s Hospitals which are out of area but where residents from Basildon and Brentwood may be admitted.
Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust is responsible for acute hospital provision in the South West area.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT)
The Social Care Teams work closely with EPUT community mental health teams who provide 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. In South West we are supported by Basildon, Billericay and Wickford CVS, and Brentwood CVS. The local CVS’s support 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
Basildon and Brentwood councils hold the statutory housing duties in the South West area. They are an active part of the Basildon and Brentwood Alliance. There are supported living schemes for which ECC have nomination rights to support adults who need extra support alongside housing provision.
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 47 Care Quality Commission (CQC) registered care homes in South West Essex with a total of 1,844 beds. Of the 47 Care Homes, 33 are registered to support Older People with a total of 1,754 beds which represents 95% of all beds available.
As of January 2024, 77% (36) of all Adult Social Care residential based services inspected by the CQC in South West Essex had been rated as either Outstanding or Good.
Domiciliary Care
As of January 2024, there were 73 locations registered with the CQC to provide Adult Social Care community based services in South West Essex. Of the 73 Locations, 63 are registered to support Older People which represents 86% of the market in South West Essex.
As of January 2024, 74% (54) of all Adult Social Care community based services inspected by the CQC in South West Essex had been rated as either Outstanding or Good.
*The above information is taken from the CQC care directory.
Care Homes
- There are 47 care homes that provide residential care in South Essex which equates to 1,844 beds
Domiciliary Care
- There are 73 domiciliary providers located in South West Essex, 63 of which are registered to support older people
Intermediate Care
- Essex Cares Limited (ECL) deliver the core reablement services in the South-West Essex locality, based on a contract that commenced in May 2021
- Additional Reablement Capacity (ARC) is provided in South-West Essex by London Care
Independent Living Schemes
- There are three Extra Care Schemes in the South quadrant of Essex that provide housing and onsite care, these are; Dobsons House, Rayleigh; Poplar House, Basildon and Montbazon Court, Brentwood
- 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. In Poplar House there are 65 self-contained apartments of which 50 are for rental, the onsite care is delivered by the inhouse provider, Sanctuary Care. In Montbazon Court there are 16 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom self-contained apartments, the onsite care is delivered by the inhouse provider, Hales Group
Domiciliary Care
There is good supply in the South West of Essex, particularly in the more central urban areas of Basildon and Brentwood. There is occasional difficulty in the less urban areas of Wickford and Billericay, as well as the more rural areas of Brentwood such as Ingatestone and Shenfield. The majority of supply is being commissioned through the Live at Home framework, therefore suggesting that framework capacity in the districts overall is good. There is occasional dependence on historic Live at Home providers from the previous contract, which are now operating as SPOT providers in the South West.
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.
Residential Care
- Difficult to recruit and retain staff
- Rising costs in utilities impacting the financial viability of homes
- Affordable nursing placements and specialist capacity is limited
- Seasonal pressures increasing demand for care services
Intermediate Care
- 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.