Homeshare Accommodation Scheme

Guardianship - Together for the Community

Supportmatch Homeshare and Support&Match CIC is working in partnership with NHS England, Charities and Local Authorities to provide safe and affordable accommodation to NHS staff, social care workers and mature students across the UK.

The programme, known as Guardianship - Together for the Community. aims to help tackle housing shortages for health and social care workers and to provide company for people with a spare room to rent.

Householders will be able to offer space to a fully-vetted member of staff or medical student, who in return will provide a few hours’ help around the home each week, if required, as well as companionship.

It is being overseen by Supportmatch Homeshare, an established UK firm, which has set up the non-profit Support&Match Community Interest Company to match individual homeowners with ‘guardians’.

The programme has been developed with Supportmatch Homeshare by NHS England and NHS Improvement in the South West. It involves:

• NHS organisations that commission care or provide acute, community and mental health services
• local authorities that provide social care
• Health Education England, which oversees medical students

How householders and staff are matched

• Householders interested in the programme can register by contacting Support&Match, so an initial conversation can be set up on what they could offer and how the scheme would work for them
• NHS and social care organisations may also refer householders, with their consent
• Health and care staff may put themselves forward either directly or via their employers
• Medical students may put themselves forward via Health Education England
• Staff are then DBS-checked and have references taken up
• After initial conversations, Support&Match will seek to match householders with guardians, based on their needs and preferences
• A ‘licence to occupy’ will be drawn up
• Once placed, there will be regular follow-up to ensure arrangements are working, with a one-month termination clause in case circumstances change or things don’t work out.

For further information, please email info@supportmatch.co.uk or call 0203 6336066.