A carer's life

Thirty years of caring for Lindsey

Meals out, holiday plans and shopping trips are things most people take for granted but Linda Elson can't accept any of these invitations without meticulous planning. Her first priority is her daughter Lindsey who has learning disabilities and needs constant supervision.

Linda and her husband Brian, who live in Bloxwich, recall one wonderful night out, round a friend's house, when Lindsey came along too and happily sat down with everyone.

"We'd had a lovely night and were just getting our coats when Lindsey ran past us, up the stairs and started to wreck their bathroom," said Linda.

"And I do mean wreck. She managed to remove the cistern and smash it up.

"Our friends still remember how pale I went in the split second that we realised she had got pst us. But I knew exactly what to expect as she has done the same thing at home

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Call to all carers

Thousands of carers in Walsall have been given the chance to shape a new strategy that aims to support them and make way for a number of new initiatives.

Residents of all ages who care for family or friends have been asked to share their experiences, suggestions and opinions before a new Carers’ Strategy is launched in June this year.

The council also wants to hear from carers not known to social services or existing carers’ groups in the borough.

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Nearly £1/2 million saved by Electronic Care Monitoring

Savings of over £450,000 have been made by Wolverhampton City Council with the introduction of Electronic Care Monitoring in domiciliary care, three months ahead of schedule.

Using the services of social enterprise, The Community Gateway CIC, the council has introduced the monitoring system to transform the way it manages domiciliary care, and to improve the performance of the service providers as well as the experience of service users

Electronic monitoring allows council offices to:

• safeguard clients and staff by flagging up missed visits or late arrival of carers
• charge individuals who make payments towards the cost of their care more accuratel
• ensure consistency of care
• measure accurately the care delivered to make sure it accurately reflects what is stipulated in the care plan
• establish the whereabouts of staff in an emergency
• predict needs and resources more accurately
• collaborate more closely with care providers

Community Gateway CIC was used to help Wolverhampton Council implement the system ahead of schedule by providing a detailed project plan covering all aspects of the scheme from tendering to going live.

Contact:  info@thecommunitygateway.co.uk, telephone: 0844 736 5718.

Putting technology centre stage

Technology is at the heart of an effective integrated care system, according to Walsall Council’s adult social care and inclusion director, Paul Davies.

In an interview with Community Care magazine, Mr Davies describes how the council and NHS Walsall are attempting to meet the needs of increasing numbers of people living with long term conditions, while making the best use of public resources. 

Approximately 37,000 patients in the borough have long term health complaints; nearly 3,500 of these were responsible for 4,000 emergency hospital admissions in 2009-10, at a cost of £12.9m.

Following a pilot project monitoring patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in partnership with telehealth and telecare provider Tunstall, telecare is now automatically offered as a component in every care package, and is available to everyone eligible for community care services as well as to other individuals who may benefit from a preventative service.  

Telecare users are charged £12.50 a month, with no charge for telehealth. The council and NHS have invested £2.5m in the service and aim to triple the return on this investment by 2017.

Walsall plans to redesign community care and adult social care pathways using telecare as the foundation.

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Fix for fragmented services

Members of the House of Commons Health Select Committee are calling for greater integration of health and social care services.

In a report by the cross party group of MPs earlier this month, members highlight fragmented services as failing older people, and say the key to securing better outcomes for service users as well as delivering savings for the NHS, is joined up commissioning of services.

The committee also urge government to:

• co-ordinate policy more effectively across Whitehall and regularly rebalance national spending across health, housing and care services
• replace the three overlapping but confusing frameworks that currently exist, with one outcomes framework for older people
• recognise the widening "funding gap" in social care services - between the number of people who need care and the amount of money currently in the system to deal with their rising needs
• accept the recommendations in the Dilnot report for a series of caps on care costs, and identify the level at which it thinks these caps should be set
• take steps to ensure GPs identify much earlier, and assess more clearly the needs of carers providing essential informal care to the old and vulnerable
• develop a new, integrated legal framework to support integration of health, social care and other services around the needs of the individual.

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VPN alive and well

The latest Valuing People Now in the West Midlands update report is available online and highlights a number of areas requiring further development.

Compiled by Equip4Change CIC on behalf of ADASS, analysis shows Valuing People Now is alive and in reasonable shape in the region, but its progress is variable across local areas.

The report has been distributed to all 14 Learning Disability Partnership Boards for use in shaping their improvement plans for the coming year.

Two major areas have been identified as requiring further focus:

Older people with learning disabilities and older family carers – the report contains a proposal to commission a scoping exercise that will assess current practice and make recommendations for the future. This would include consideration of more innovative ways of supporting families, including extra care housing scheme and wider community resources.

Transition for young people – a joined approach with the Association of Directors of Children’s Services is proposed, to build on information currently being gathered nationally on best practice in transition from childhood to adulthood. The West Midlands programme would include a focus on:

• increasing the number of children and young people using direct payments
• analysis of local further education and training provision leading to employment
• young people with more complex needs, with particular focus on redesigning day opportunities and short breaks.

Read report

JIP e-bulletin No 28 February 2012

The future of adult social care continues to hit the headlines with ongoing concerns about how to pay for services and how society will meet the needs of a rapidly growing aged population.

Added to the mix is the recent publication of the Health Select Committee report calling for greater integration of health and care services, and the adoption of recommendations made by the Dilnot Commission in the up and coming Health and Social Care Bill.

As the Bill makes its way through parliament, the JIP continues to act as a bridge between the NHS and local authorities.  We bring you updates on some of our projects supporting joined up services, and reports on initiatives and examples of good practice in local authorities. 

We are keen to hear about your developments and activities.  Please send your contributions for inclusion in future e-bulletins to Cathie Louis, email cathrinalouis@btinternet.com .