"What we've tried to do better this year is look at the type of services people actually need and listen to what they want." Eric Robinson, Corporate Director of Social Care and Health

Social Care and Health Celebrates Move Towards Excellence

Social Care and Health Directorate has achieved excellence in three key areas according to government inspectors.

The Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) measures how well the county is serving adults who use social care services - and what potential it has to make further improvements.

CSCI, which awards the rating every 12 months across England and Wales, paid particular praise to its programme for change and its leadership skills under the guidance of Eric Robinson and Cllr Woodward.

Making a positive contribution and economic wellbeing were also cited for their excellence. These factors have been clearly illustrated through Social Care and Health's increased use and support for volunteers, better advocacy services and the introduction of ICE visits. Improving Customer Experience visits give managers the opportunity to meet and receive feedback from those using their services, which is then used to develop better community engagement.

As the directorate continues to go through a huge period of transformation, it remains well on course to deliver its change programme and achieve an excellence rating next year.

"We have a duty to help people in their community to access the services they need," says Eric Robinson, Corporate Director of Social Care and Health.

"What we've tried to do better this year is look at the type of services people actually need and listen to what they want. Traditionally, we've always tried to match people to the services we already provide, instead of listening to the things they want and helping them choose the life they want to live."

During the last 12 months Social Care and Health has

• Secured £695,000 of Lottery funding for a Mental Health Wellbeing Programme to help seek better prevention measures
• Increased the number of people helped to live at home and maintain their independence by 10%.
• Provided more self directed support which has risen by 60%, giving a further 1,000 people greater control over their care package through direct payments.

County Councillor Susan Woodward, Cabinet Member for Healthier Communities and Older People said: "This is really good news for us given the tremendous period of change that we continue to go through. It means that the foundations are firmly in place for us to build on as we prepare to make more improvements."

The council admits it's an exciting time for social care and health, but that a lot of hard work lies ahead as its plans become a reality: "We're doing as much as we can to engage with our communities," says Eric Robinson.  "We've launched an Adult Care Panel, an E-Panel and introduced a LINks network already this year. This will enable us to work more closely with older and vulnerable adults and gives us the opportunity to directly translate their views and ideas into new services and projects."

Since March the directorate has continued to make changes at an impressive pace. It has already decommissioned 12 of its 13 former residential homes. Five Extra Care schemes have been approved and are in the advanced stages of design. Eleven further schemes have identified the partners it will work with to introduce more Extra Care facilities across Staffordshire.

The directorate has also established a Joint Commissioning Unit. Its robust approach to the commissioning process shows promising prospects - and continuing to develop this through genuine partnership working is going to be key to its overall success.

Read the CSCI Report  to find out more.

Page Last Modified: 25/11/2008 15:27:08

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