Issue - meetings

-        Professor Graeme Betts, Interim Director of Adult Care and Housing, to report

Professor Graeme Betts, Interim Director of Adult Services, gave a presentation on the Vision and Strategy for Adult Social Care in Rotherham.

Adult Social Care

-          Provision of Social Care for adults had undergone enormous change over the past generation with the pace of change accelerating over recent years as the demand for more personalised services continued to grow and traditional models of care seem to be outdated

-          The approach was increasingly based on an asset model i.e. identifying with the person what they could do, what they had, who they knew and which community groups they were linked into, what their family and friends could do as carers and what the wider communities could offer

-           Improving the help and support for individuals who needed it at any specific time benefited the whole community as they were likely to be family and friends of people requiring support or who may come to need it

-          The changes had been reinforced by the introduction of the Care Act.  There had been an increasing development of care based on a personalised model with people enabled to live in their own homes and to access services, facilities and buildings as part of the wider community

-          The role of Adult Social Care had accordingly had to change and develop a strong partnership and influencing role.

Vision

-          The ambition in Rotherham was that adults with disabilities, older people and their carers were supported to be independent and resilient with the desired outcomes, that they lived good quality lives and their health and wellbeing was maximised

-          It was essential to recognise that during the course of someone’s live there may be times when they required support and care and health services needed to be prepared to intervene on those occasions

-          The aim should be to intervene appropriately to provide minimal support to enable the client to maintain their independence.

Strategy

-          In order to achieve the vision it was fundamental that a network of support be created including Council services, health services, private and third sector services and voluntary, community and faith groups, as well as friends, family and neighbours

-          Must recognise that the network of community resources needed development and investment and best delivered through a partnership with the third sector

-          Need to ensure that there was a “front door” which listened and addressed what people were requesting in a way which would support them to take control of the situation for themselves e.g. provision of information/advice, equipment or undertaking of a self-assessment

-          Aim of assessment to support the client to develop a solution which maximised them taking control and minimised interventions from the formal care sector

-          Focus on building prevention, rehabilitation and enablement throughout the system as well as one-off interventions such as telecare to give people back control and independence

-          Develop alternatives to traditional services e.g. promotion of Shared Lives, supported living, extracare schemes, homes suitable for older people, key ring schemes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39