'Changing Lives'- Vision for Adult Social Care and Health

Young man working, three elders talking and wheelchair football images

View the consultation booklet on the future of care services. This consultation is for care home residents and their families.

Independence, Inclusion and Well-being

The County Council is committed to reshaping and improving services as part of its 'Staffordshire 2012' programme. 'Changing Lives' is the change programme which aims to improve services for older people and people with disabilities. The Changing Lives vision is to promote independence, inclusion and well-being for older or disabled residents, by enabling them to

have more control over their lives,
live safe, healthy and fulfilled lives,
have an active role in a stronger and prosperous community, and
access the support they need in order to be as independent as they choose.

There are three main drivers to change in this area. First and most important is what older people and people with disabilities have said about how they want to live and about the support they need. Second is the Government's White Paper 'Our Health, Our Care, Our Say' which sets out requirements for community based services that help people remain in their own home. The third and final driver is the predicted increase in the number of older people who will require support, and the financial pressures this will bring.

'Independence, inclusion and well-being' are the main themes of the Changing Lives programme. We aim to ensure that people needing help to care for themselves, or for others, will have much more control over their lives than they do at present. There will be a fundamental move away from the current limited range of services to a menu of services offering a greater focus on prevention, rehabilitation and support, to promote each individual's independence. The Changing Lives programme will take around six years to be fully implemented.

PDF Download Icon Changing Lives Vision

Where are we now?

The Changing Lives Vision was approved by the County Council's Cabinet at its meeting on 16 May 2006.

The Changing Lives programme envisages a movement from the current service model offering a limited range of services to a model offering a greater variety of services and focus on rehabilitation and enabling. Wherever possible, older people and people with disabilities will live "in an ordinary house in an ordinary street". They will use the same services that everyone else uses, with whatever support they need to enable them to do that.

This approach requires the reprovision of residential care homes and day centres operated by the County Council. These will be replaced by a range of new and expanded services such as direct payments, rehabilitation, various therapies, adult placement, flexible respite care, intermediate care, day and night time care and support, and preventative services.

Change is essential, but, at the same time, we must safeguard existing service users and their families, and ensure that they are happy with any change which directly affects them. We must also take account of the views of local people about the range and type of services provided in their communities.

On 19 July 2006, Cabinet approved a programme of work to begin to reshape services for the future. The Directorate's Area Managers started work on options for services for older people in each district or borough council area.

Extensive consultation was undertaken on the Changing Lives vision and programme with the Directorate's managers and staff, beginning in autumn 2005 and continuing as the programme developed. In addition, partners in the health service, district and borough councils, and the independent social care sector were involved.

Consultation with service users and carers in those residential care homes and day centres that had already been approved for closure, or that were at risk of closure (as set out in the report to Cabinet on 19 July), took place during 2006, both before July and subsequently.

Consultation with people with learning disabilities and their carers has been extensive. Two rounds of meetings were held in 2006 across the county to discuss draft proposals for the future of learning disability services and then to receive the final report. The Learning Disability Partnership Board was strengthened and was augmented by locality boards and local carers' groups in each district.

On 17 January 2007, Cabinet approved a one-off revenue investment of £18.5 million, plus £3 million capital, in adult social care, spread over three years, 2007-10. The purpose of this investment is to modernise adult social care services and implement the Changing Lives programme, along the lines set out in the report of 16 May 2006.

On 7 February 2007, Cabinet received a report setting out in detail how the first tranche of new money will be invested.

More information can be found from these reports and documents:

Report to Cabinet, 16 May 2006: Changing Lives: Improving Social Care for Adults in Staffordshire

Minutes of Cabinet Meeting of 16 May 2006

Report to Cabinet, 19 July 2006: In-house Residential and Day Care Services for Older and Disabled People

Minutes of Cabinet Meeting of 19 July 2006

Report to Cabinet, 17 January 2007: Medium-Term Financial Strategy

Report to Cabinet, 7 February 2007: Medium Term Financial Strategy

Minutes of Cabinet Meetings

How We Are Changing Lives (PDF, 400k) - 20 pages of examples of how Changing Lives is already making a difference (updated January 2007)

PDF Download Icon Changing Lives - Diversity (PDF, 300K)

For more information

You can also contact Samantha Turner, Head of Communications and Complaints for more information. Email: samantha.turner@staffordshire.gov.uk or telephone (01785) 277002.

Last Modified: 09/08/2007 13:48:01
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