A care & repair service managed by Eildon Housing Association in partnership with Scottish Borders Council (SBC) has scooped a top national award.

Designed to celebrate ‘Scottish Values’ in the broader public sector, the 2015 Scottish Public Service Awards attracted over 170 entries from across Scotland.

Borders Care & Repair service, which won the Third Sector Partnership award, was established in 2004 to deliver adaptations to properties of both older and vulnerable owner occupiers and private and housing association tenants.

The key objective of the partnership between SBC and Borders Care & Repair was to ensure the inclusion of appropriate adaptations that allowed residents to stay in their own homes as they got older and as their support needs increased. Borders Care & Repair is a unique ‘one stop shop’ for the delivery of housing adaptations for older and vulnerable residents throughout the Scottish Borders regardless of ownership or tenure.

Over the past 10 years, over £6 million have been invested by the service in the Borders region, the majority on major adaptations, followed by improvement works (damp proofing, roofworks etc.) and minor adaptations (overstep rails, banisters etc.).

Since making the successful award submission the service has subsequently completed the evaluation of a further improvement pilot programme which saw the delegation of Social Work Occupational Therapist (OT) assessment to the OTs in the Care & Repair service.

This pilot has proved to be incredibly successful and has allowed people of the Borders to self-refer directly to Care & Repair for all adaptations, which is a national first. This ground-breaking approach is attracting considerable interest across Scotland from the emerging Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Councillor Frances Renton, SBC’s executive member for social work and housing, said: “I am delighted that this excellent partnership working between the council and Eildon Housing Association has been recognised at a national level with this well deserved Award. Borders Care & Repair is a vital and well valued service which enables many Borderers to continue to live independently in their own home and remain part of their community.”

@scotborders

@EildonHousing