New Vision for Social Care
In the autumn, the Coalition Government plans to issue its new vision for social care. The Government has already said it wants to up the speed up the pace on the personalisation of services, giving people and their carers more control and purchasing power. They are keen to promote the integration of health and social care as part of the prevention agenda. But they face the most difficult financial situation in our lifetime and it would be naive to think the new vision will come with lots of extra funding. Achieving more with less is the watchword of the day, so the Government will have to balance ambition with economy.
What would you hope to see in the new vision for adult social care when it's published? Please let us know what you think, either by email or on our discussion forum.
For example:
- How do you see people in the community playing a more active role in social care in the future? Could people do more to support people in their own communities?
- How can we better use the skills and experience that people using social care and their carers have to help others in similar situations?
- Where should responsibility for protection lie? Can the state/care providers do more to support people to manage rish themselves? How might they do that?
- How can individuals and communities play a more active personal role in ensuring the older and vulnerable people are protected from abuse and harm? Where should the balance between individual responsibility and the state lie when it comes to safeguarding vulnerable adults?
- The Government is committed to transparency and openness - what information/data do you think needs to be released to the public/communities/charities etc to enable them not only to hold services to account but also to see how they might step in and take responsibility for changing services locally?
- Can you see areas of social care that are unnecessarily bureauocratic or areas where services/decisions could be devolved to a much lower level - further away from the state/local authorities?
- What are the key challenges for greater integration between NHS and Social Care and do you have any suggested solutions?
- The Government wants to see Big Society not Big Government - do you have any good examples of where local people are coming together to develop services that best meet the needs of their local communities?
- How do you think local people could play a greater role in low level prevention in the community eg. handy man schemes; befriending etc - Do you think this is realistics to ask of communities? Do you have any examples of where this is working well in practice?
- What support do care staff need to help them deliver a new Vision for Adult Social Care?
- What barriers need removing to enable voluntary sector, mutuals, co-ops etc to play a more active role in designing and delivering local social care services?
These are just some suggested questions for you to consider - but feel free to give your views on any aspect of Adult Social Care.