‘Tea with Tom’ – support for tenants at Flintshire Extra Care Scheme

Llys Eleanor is an £8.5 million centre that provides 50 state-of-the-art apartments for older people in Flintshire.  The Welsh Government is investing in quality housing and provided £4.3 million towards the total scheme cost with the remaining balance funded though private finance. Clwyd Alyn Housing Association manage the development.

Tom Parry explains how Extra Care Schemes work:

“Llys Eleanor offers housing for older people who require a degree of care, but who also want to retain their independence.  So basically, you get the privacy of your own home with your own front door, while having access to carers on-site 24-hours a day if you need it.  You have space, privacy and dignity, and you can come and go as you please.”

In our Programme for Government, we made a commitment to ensure that people have high-quality, warm, secure homes to live in.

These comfortable apartments are modern and well equipped with a living room, kitchen, one or two bedrooms and an en-suite bathroom.  Llys Eleanor provides accommodation for between 50 and 75 people, including couples.  The complex houses a restaurant, coffee lounge, hairdresser, library, laundry room, hobbies room, cinema, gym, conservatory, sun terrace and gardens.

Tom says:

“We provide a balanced three-course lunch for all of our tenants and we offer a choice of three different options every day.  There is also a busy schedule of 60 activities each month including things like music evenings, arts and crafts, nail painting and Tai Chi.  Nobody needs to be on their own living here, but of course they can be on their own if that’s what they want.”

“As part of my job, I have regular one-to-one meetings with every tenant in their own home about life, health, anything that’s on their mind really.  These are important because there are some things that tenants wouldn’t want to discuss in a group.  Older people can be very vulnerable and we want to do everything we can do address their worries."

“The proper name for these discussions is a ‘Customer Improvement Review’, but everyone here, calls them ‘Tea with Tom’.  I think this gives you some idea of the approach that we have here.  It is a friendly and homely setting and tenants really value the service that they get.”