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The services available

The Beeches has over 17 years of experience looking after people with a learning disability. We care for people with mild to profound disabilities, challenging behaviour, dual diagnosis, sensory impairment and complex physical needs. We currently provide full-time nursing and residential care in purpose built homes in Aghalee and Ballynahinch. We also run a dedicated day care services at our Aghalee site.

The Beeches Nursing Home has 35 full-time places and 1 respite bed. Places are available to all health and social service trusts in NI.

The Beeches Residential Home has 34 full-time places and provides residential and day care to persons with challenging behaviour. We do not provide for short-term stay or a respite service. 30 of the available places are retained exclusively by the Eastern Health & Social Services Board. Trust personnel from within this Board area should first contact their learning disability department to discuss referrals.

The Beeches Resource Centre provides structured day time activity and work skills training. It has 54 full-time places. There is a wide range of diversional, therapeutic and vocational activities and opportunities on offer at the centre including cookery, ICT, music, social training, and creative arts.

Availability and demand on places

All of our services are currently operating with significant waiting lists of interested parties. Please contact the manager of the service you are interested in to check availability and admission criteria.

Please note that we are unable to provide an estimate of likely waiting times.

How costs are calculated

Nursing Home 2007/08 basic fee is £634.48 per week.

Residential home costs are divided between accommodation and day care costs. 2007/08 accommodation fees start at £917.11 per week. The current day care fee is £136.63 per week.

The Beeches Resource Centre is funded by South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust. Service users from outside this trust area living at the residential or nursing home who attend the centre will incur a separate day care fee.

All additional charges relate to actual care costs and apply if the individuals need is assessed in excess of the basic weekly fee.

The referral process

Referral to each of our services are made through the appropriate trust department dealing with adult learning disability services. Persons wishing to make enquiries on behalf of a child or relative should first approach their local trust department.

Referral forms can be obtained by contacting the service you want by either phone or email.

All referrals will be acknowledged in writing. Acknowledgement should not to be interpreted as acceptance onto our interested parties list. A person will only be placed on the list after we have received a completed referral form and a Beeches representative has personally met and assessed the individual on their suitability and spoken to their primary carer.

Placement on the list is merely an acknowledgement that the individual is suitable for placement at a particular unit. Position in the list does not indicate when the person will be chosen for placement. A decision to accept a person on the list for a trial placement will be a made after seeking the views of the referring trust and all other relevant organisations and persons. Decisions will be made on a case by case basis. Lists are reviewed annually. Any major changes in need must be disclosed.

The acceptance criteria

General criteria

· Have a learning disability.
· 18 years of age or older
· May have additional needs (e.g. physical disabilities, sensory impairment).
· Need assistance with personal care.
· Require a high level of support to meet their day to day needs.

Nursing Home

· Require nursing care on a permanent basis.
· Have high dependency needs.
· Need access to care 24 hours a day.

Ballynahinch

· Challenging behaviour.
· Dual diagnosis.

Tailored and flexible packages

All our care packages are tailored to the individual requirements of the client. All placements have a three month trial. This allows the Beeches to assess the needs of the individual against the basic charge associated with the service. Individual care costs that exceed the basic charge will not be accepted for permanent placement until a fee structure commensurate with the assessment of need is agreed.

How can I find out more?

We are happy to meet with other professionals or organisations wishing to learn more about our services. Please contact the manager of the service you are interested in to discuss how we can help you. Contact details for each of our services are provided on the Contact Us page. If there is some other information that you think we should provide on this site please let us know.