Adult Social Care and Community Safety Scrutiny Committee |
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Date: |
19 March 2015
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By: |
Director of Adult Social Care and Health
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Title of report: |
Strengthening Local Communities for Adult Social Care and Health
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Purpose of report: |
Members of the Scrutiny Committee are asked to consider and comment on progress to date with the Department’s aim of working more closely with communities for the benefit of older and disabled people with care and support needs
1. Financial Appraisal
1.1. A £250,000 one-off Public Health Grant was allocated during 2014/15 to fund five organisations to undertake pump-priming activity with communities. This was to enable Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) to build a stronger relationship with existing ‘Good Neighbour’ style groups, and build new ones where there are gaps. All other work carried out is part of existing roles within the Council. The £250,000 was allocated to test out and evaluate this approach to inform the building community resilience work stream going forward.
2. Background and Approach
2.1. The Council's Voluntary Sector Liaison meeting discussed the possible impact of rising demand for services due to the ageing population alongside reducing budgets. As a result of these discussions, five workshops were held in June 2013 to share information, understand the challenges and explore the possible role and contribution of local voluntary and community organisations and businesses. The workshops were held jointly with Public Health and for Adult Social Care (ASC) the specific focus was older and disabled people with care and support needs.
2.2. The workshops were held in partnership with the Councils for Voluntary Services, namely Hastings Voluntary Action, Rother Voluntary Action and 3VA, and were coterminous with the District and Borough areas. Over 150 people attended representing a mix of local voluntary and community organisations and care businesses, and statutory agencies.
2.3. The resulting report ‘Strengthening Local Communities’ (SLC) was published for comment in September 2013. Further workshops were held in November 2013 and an SLC Delivery Plan was produced covering the period January 2014 – March 2015. Copies of the report and the Delivery Plan can be found at http://www.eastsussex.gov.uk/socialcare/providers/news/careandwellbeing
2.4. A newsletter update on progress across the main areas of activity is contained in Appendix 1.
2.5. The Building Stronger Bridges pilot and Pub is the Hub are two projects within the Strengthening Local Communities work programme. These are two areas of action within the Delivery Plan which sets out eleven objectives under four themes:
3. Building Stronger Bridges (BSB) Pilot Project update
3.1. The BSB pilot has the overall aim of helping communities become more resilient in the context of increasingly ageing populations. This is achieved by pump-priming activity that helps foster the right conditions for networks of friendships and support to develop on a voluntary basis for the benefit of older and often isolated disabled people. The pilot has two objectives:
3.2. In April 2014 contracts were awarded to five partner organisations to work with ASC for an initial twelve month period by reaching into in six localities structured around the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and proposed Neighbourhood Support Team boundaries. The organisations are:
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Partner organisation |
Area covered |
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Action in Rural Sussex |
High Weald Lewes Havens (North) |
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Royal Voluntary Services |
High Weald Lewes Havens (South) |
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Eastbourne Age Concern |
Eastbourne Hailsham and Seaford (South) |
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Hailsham Trust |
Eastbourne, Hailsham and Seaford (North) |
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Rother Voluntary Action and Hastings Voluntary Action (partnership) |
Hastings and Rother (East) |
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Rother Voluntary Action and Hastings Voluntary Action (partnership) |
Hastings and Rother (West) |
3.3. The pilot specifically aims to encourage and create more mutual reciprocity in communities, in effect making it easier for people to both offer and ask for help. People will be enabled to participate in their communities, will be prevented from becoming socially isolated, and will gain opportunities for practical help and support as a result. The pilot will draw together information and learning by experience to understand barriers and challenges that might need to be overcome to do this.
3.4. As of March 2015, the Building Stronger Bridges project partners have identified 71 potential good neighbour groups, 33 of which are existing and 38 are completely new. Four new good neighbour schemes are now fully operational and are receiving enquiries from ASCH Operational teams. Partner organisations are continuing to work to develop additional schemes so that they can start visiting people in their own homes and take enquiries from ASCH teams. Each partner organisation has also developed their own toolkit for developing ‘good neighbour’ style schemes with local community input into the content and design.
3.5. More information about the Building Stronger Bridges pilot is contained in the presentation, a copy of which is contained in Appendix 2. A qualitative evaluation of the initial findings and case study material is due in late March to inform planning for the next year after April 2015.
4. Pub is the Hub Project Update
4.1. Under the theme of working with businesses in the community to widen the offer to older and disabled people with care and support needs, contact was made with the national charity Pub is the Hub (PITH) to establish potential joint areas of work. PITH is an umbrella organisation seeking to support rural pubs in diversifying their services through encouraging licensees, communities, pub owners, breweries, local authorities and the private sector to work together to match community needs with additional services which can be provided at the local pub.
4.2. Through a close working relationship with PITH, Wealden District Council (WDC), East Sussex County Council (ESCC) Library and Information Services and Adult Social Care has worked with the Brewers Arms in Herstmonceux to trial new ideas and activities within the traditional pub setting. This has included a small book loan collection service, and a weekly lunch club and that has been attended by formerly housebound villagers as well as people travelling from further afield attracted by the opportunity.
4.3. From this exercise a range of possibilities have been recognised and an information leaflet has been produced to explain to other pubs in East Sussex the benefits of this work and the support that can be made available to interested licensees. This has been circulated via WDC to pub licensees and so far has gathered interest from three other pubs. The leaflet is attached in Appendix 3. In addition to the extension of choice this presents in day time activities for people with care and support needs, there are also further avenues to explore around meals and meal deliveries with interested pubs. A short presentation gives more detail about this work, a copy of which is contained in Appendix 4.
5. The Care Act, East Sussex Better Together and Communities
5.1 In the Care Act the role of the full range of non-traditional (public sector) sources of community services and support groups and organisations is seen as seen as complementary to care and support provided by formal services. Work with communities is seen as a way of facilitating wellbeing and prevention for clients with health and social care needs and their carers. It is also seen as increasing personalisation, inclusion and lessening social isolation. This envisages a greater place-shaping role for Local Authorities with responsibility for social care. It also envisages assessment and support planning practice that ensures social care practitioners work proactively with the strengths and assets clients have (such as family, friends and local informal and formal support networks).
5.2 Equally under East Sussex Better Together[1] (ESBT) ideas are gaining traction about ways to build stronger links between the local health and social care system and the communities served, which will add value through the social capital that exists in formal and informal support networks. This is also seen as a way of achieving greater sustainability in the longer term, by working with communities to complement public services and support, to achieve more effective use of resources overall.
6 Conclusion and recommendations
6.1 New programmes of work such as ESBT and the Care Act underline the need to work differently with communities to deliver care and support. The Strengthening Local Communities work programme outlines a developmental approach to this area of work, seeking as it does to build partnerships, test out new approaches and inform future plans.
6.2 Within this, the Building Stronger Bridges pilot work and new activity such as Pub is The Hub, as well as other outcomes achieved between January 2014 and March 2015, demonstrate a clear intent to make real policy objectives. ASCH is using a’ learning through experience’ approach with community partners to strengthen existing partnerships and inform future developments to meet local needs in a way that coheres with ESBT and the Care Act.
KEITH HINKLEY
Director of Adult Social Care
Contact Officer: Vicky Smith (Head of Policy and Strategic Development)
Tel No. 01273 482036
Email: Vicky.smith@eastsussex.gov.uk
LOCAL MEMBERS
All.
BACKGROUND DOCUMENTS
None.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Strengthening Local Communities Newsletter Update
Appendix 2: Building Stronger Bridges presentation
Appendix 3: Pub is the Hub promotional leaflet
Appendix 4: Pub is the Hub presentation
[1] East Sussex Better Together is the Council and Clinical Commissioning Groups programme to help health and social care work together to ensure high quality and affordable care now and for the future - through lessening reliance on acute services, and investing more in high quality primary and community services