Issue - meetings

Sarah Farragher, presented a report  on the future of Carers’ Services which showed that Rotherham continued to have a higher rate of people with limiting long term illness than the national average of 17.6% (56,588 – 21.9% of the population).  It also revealed that Rotherham’s population was ageing faster than the national average with a 16% increase in the number of people aged over 65.  Those aged over 85 increased at over twice the rate, the profile of which impacted upon the numbers of people needing care now and potentially in the future.

Also 31,001 people in Rotherham said that they provided unpaid care to family members, friends or neighbours with either long term physical or mental ill health/disability or problems related to old age.

Given this information, the emerging demographic trends and the future legislative requirements through the Care Act 2014,  there was a need to consider ways in which the Authority could improve the ways in which it supported carers in Rotherham.  A review had been commissioned to establish the future requirements in the delivery of support to carers across the Borough.  This part of the review provided an evaluation of the ways in which carers received information:-

Carers Support Officers

-          Carers were positive about the range of information and support they received

-          Workshops delivered in local communities at health centres, community centres and recently at the Hospital

-          The number of carers attending the events had been greater than the day-to-day footfall to Carers Corner

-          Proposal to increase the sessions across all local communities

Council Website

-          Difficult to search for information relating to support to carers and need to update this part of the website

-          Proposal to rebadge it as “Carers Corner” with interactive buttons that could be clicked to access a range of information about carers support services and/or signposting to health and 3^rd sector organisations for additional information and support

-          Would help build closer working arrangements with external organisations who also undertook a support role to carers in Rotherham

Carers Corner

-          Serious decline in the number of people visiting for support during the last year

-          Due to insufficient budget to manage the Service, and the need to support the service with additional staff, this had resulted in  a detrimental impact on other services

-          3 options:-

·           Invest in current Service

·           Virtual Carers Corner

·           Relocate Carers Corner

Full details of each of the 3 options were set out in the report submitted upon which the following discussion took place:-

-          The implications of giving notice on the existing premises in July, 2014

-          Possible suitable alternative premises in the Town Centre

-           The prominence of support for carers in national and local agendas

-          Health and safety requirements for staff, resulting in staff being unable to work alone

Resolved:-  (1)  That the report be noted.

(2)  That option 3, the reconfiguration of support services delivered by the Carers Corner function, be endorsed which would maximise the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6