Access to social care

Introduction

Satisfaction with Social Care Services by those that use them is a key outcome.  While ‘objective’ measures of social care, such as delayed transfers of care and nursing home placements, can reflect important elements of performance, satisfaction ratings are crucial as they  take into account individuals goals and aspirations.

Personalisation in Adult Social Care is about giving people choice and control to help them to live their lives in the way they would like, for as long as possible. Personalisation supports people to do what they want to do, when they want to do it.

All teams in Bracknell Forest’s Adult Services continue to make sure that everyone who has a service paid for by the Council can have a personal budget, where this is possible. A personal budget is an amount of money which the person can spend on the support they need to live their lives.  People can choose to have the money themselves and arrange their own support or they can ask Adult Services to do this for them.

Facts, figures and trends

Satisfaction with social care is on the rise in Bracknell Forest and, in according to the latest data from 2016, was the highest among our comparator group of local authority areas (ie: those areas with similar demographics).

Satisfaction with Social Care Services (Adult Social Care Survey 2016)

The proportion of people taking advantage of direct payments is rising in Bracknell Forest, although there is a need to increase that upward trend.  Data in 2015/16 shows that the proportion of people who use services who also receive direct payments was 25.5%.  This is an increase on the previous year but still lower than the national average of 28.1%.

Proportion of people who use services who also receive direct payments 

 

Action Being Taken

As part of our Transformation Programme we are undertaking a significant change in ways of working with people accessing and receiving social care services. We have key priorities which include integration with Health Services, “culture change within Adult Social Care to move to an asset based approach to assessment and focus on prevention and re-ablement supported by outcomes based commissioning and community and market development, enhancing the skills for the workforce. Initial feedback demonstrates an embracing of the new way of working by our workforce and real outcomes for people with a need.

We are also in the process of developing a new ‘Digital Marketplace’ which will make it easier for those in receipt of Direct Payments to choose and obtain the best support to match their needs and preferences.  This marketplace will be available for residents to ‘self serve’ independently or with help from a family member friend or professional.  Aside form giving access to paid for support services, the market place will be fully linked up to information on non-paid, voluntary support and to a wide range of other local health and well-being improvement resources.

Most importantly, we will continue to work hand in hand with our residents in the design and delivery of services.  We will maintain a regular conversation via meetings, events, surveys, social media and formal consultation exercises in order to ensure we are in touch with what people need and how they want to access it.