Successful transitions at Teviot Court!

Disruption caused by having your home decorated or moving home is difficult for everyone but for those who are living with learning disabilities and/or autistic people, the disruption to daily routines can lead to uncertainty and make them feel extremely anxious.   Read on to find out how well the people we support at our Teviot Court service coped when they had to temporarily move out of their flats for building works to be completed at the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023. We are happy to report that all work is complete and the people we support have moved back home!

Teviot Court is made up of 12 flats and there are four flats per ‘pod’.    The work was carried out in phases with six of the people we support, living in pods 1 and 2, moving out to nearby Primrose Lodge first as Phase 1 works started in October last year.  This phase was complete in time for everyone in pods 1 and 2 to be in their own homes again in time for Christmas.  Phase 2 then began in the first week in January for the remaining four supported people living pod 3. 

In order to plan for a successful transition both to Primrose Lodge and then back home again, the staff ensured that the people we support were well prepared.

There were ongoing discussions about the move as it had been planned and delayed a couple of times. People we support with capacity had known for a while that work to the building was required, however those without capacity were made aware through the use of social stories and pictures of the accommodation.  Staff also supported everyone to visit Primrose Lodge prior to the move with the people we support in pod 3 enjoying a visit to their friends in pods 1 and 2 while they were living there! This helped greatly with the second transition!

Prior to the move, people we support and staff began packing!  At Teviot Court the people we support are used to a flat with their own bathroom, bedroom, living area and kitchen however, the accommodation available at Primrose Lodge provided everyone with their own bedroom only with all other areas being shared spaces!  This meant that the people we support could not take everything with them with some of their belongings being put into storage.  With staff support, everyone managed to choose the items that were most important for them to take to Primrose Lodge and they coped very well with their other belongings being stored away safely for a short period of time!

Everyone’s experience was different however, overall the move went much smoother than anticipated!   In Phase 1, the people we support enjoyed the social aspect of living at Primrose Lodge and the shared space. However, the people we support in Phase 2 did not enjoy sharing the space with others and having such little space to themselves and they were definitely more excited about returning home to their own flats!

Staff had given everyone calendars which they used as a visual timeline of their stay at Primrose Lodge and a countdown for returning home to Teviot Court. Before returning home, everyone was supported to go shopping to pick and buy new paint for their flats!  Everyone chose individual colours that look great in their new homes! A few supported people decided to go all out and buy new furniture for their flats with some enjoying day trips to the shops and others preferring to browse and shop online!

The move back home went very well in both phases. All staff and supported people helped unpack and reorganise their flats, making sure they were exactly how they wanted them to look!  Only one of the people we support found it difficult to transition back to Teviot Court because he really enjoys social, busy environments so had much preferred the shared nature of the accommodation at Primrose Lodge.  However, like everyone else, he is now happy and settled again in his own flat!

Overall it was a very successful temporary move for all involved!

Team Manager, Morgan said: -

“I would like to say that the people we support coped amazingly well with their temporary move, from the initial packing to returning home!  They enjoyed choosing their own paint and furniture etc. and are loving their newly decorated flats!  During each phase there were people we support living in the building at different times whilst works were ongoing and they all dealt very well with the extra people (builders/tradesmen etc.) being around the service.

I would like to recognise and thank the staff who worked so well to ensure anxieties of the people they supported were kept to a minimum throughout and a huge well done to everyone involved!”

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