Location is often one of the first considerations when placing someone in residential care – so that they can be close to friends and family – but it’s not necessarily the most important. It’s usually a combination of factors that contribute to the quality of the care provided that takes precedent over the location. This is especially true of specialist residential care and rehabilitation for adults with acquired brain injuries, learning disabilities, complex needs and behaviour that challenges – there simply aren’t the facilities available across the country to meet local needs.

The Richardson Partnership for Care is located in Northampton – we’re in the centre of the country and have good road and rail links, so easily accessible for families to visit. We welcome visits to our care homes but these are not always practical, especially if family members work full-time, have children to look after or are elderly. Or they may have a long way to travel – our service users come from all over the UK as well Ireland and Eastern Europe.

Supported home visits
We believe that family contact is very important for our service users’ well-being so we include regular supported home visits when devising each individual’s care plan. Our care support staff arrange their transport and accompany them on their journey (overseas if necessary) and often continue to support them in their family home during their stay. If it’s not practical for individuals to stay with their relatives, then we arrange accommodation for them. This provides valuable assistance to the families too, helping them to enjoy the time spent with their loved one.

Video calls
As well as phone calls, we also use online applications and video calls to help service users and their families keep in touch – this can enhance communication for people with speech and language difficulties, making them easier to understand. It also means that their families get to see them and become more involved and reassured about their care.

We also use video calls to enable family members to participate in the review process. Our service users have an external review every 12 months where their care team and case workers review their care plan and discuss their progress. The service user can choose whether or not they take part in the review, but under The Care Act 2014, reviews must be attended by a family member or advocate.

A video call enables family members to take part in a review when they may have otherwise been unable to perhaps due to other family or work commitments. They can contribute fully to all areas discussed, see and hear the review team and ask questions as well as providing their thoughts and feelings on the care package.

If the service user declines to take part in the review, they can still have a video call with their family afterwards and speak with their care manager and review coordinator about what happened in the review.

Local environment
The immediate local environment can have a greater impact on someone’s day to day wellbeing than where they are located in the country. For example, all of our homes are situated in areas within easy reach of the town centre, but with their own communities. This means that we can visit local shops, pubs, cafes and leisure facilities and benefit from the friendly and personal service that they provide. We have found that some service users with acquired brain injuries and/or complex needs, on arrival at The Richardson Partnership for Care, have not accessed local communities for years. We facilitate and actively encourage service users to access local facilities as it is an important part of their well-being, rehabilitation and progress towards independence.

Centre of excellence
Due to historical factors, Northampton has evolved to become a centre of excellence in brain injury rehabilitation. This draws neurological experts to Northampton, which means that we have a larger pool of talented and experienced professionals in the area enabling us to deliver high quality rehabilitation care and support. We work in partnership with other support services if crisis care is required, providing continuity and orientation for service users and improving outcomes.

So, although location may be a starting point when placing someone in residential care or for residential rehabilitation, geographical distances can be overcome. It’s the quality of care, well-being and outcomes for service users that should take priority. We also find that in some cases, after a period of specialist rehabilitation, service users require less intensive support and are therefore able to go and live closer to their families.