Extra care housing and very sheltered housing are terms that are often used interchangeably to describe a type of housing, care and support that falls somewhere between traditional sheltered housing and residential care.
Extra care housing varies considerably in design and service delivery but the defining elements include:
- Living at home, not in a home.
- Having one’s own front door.
- The provision of culturally sensitive services delivered within a familiar locality.
- The provision of a 24/7 on-site domiciliary care team.
- Flexible care delivery based on individual need – that can increase or decrease according to circumstances.
- The opportunity to maintain or improve independent living skills.
- The provision of accessible buildings with smart technology that makes independent living possible for people with physical or cognitive disabilities including dementia.
- Building a real community including mixed tenures and mixed abilities, which contributes to the wider community and benefits from other services (leisure, IT, art, culture etc.).
More information about extra care housing services: