Supporting lives,
connecting communities
What we wanted to do
2 years ago Suffolk Adult Community
Services (ACS) looked at how it worked with
people. This new way of working is called
Supporting Lives, Connecting
Communities (SLCC)
People told us they wanted:
• to be active, valued members of their communities
• to live at home, and be supported to do so
• to have independence in their own home if they have a disability
• to be heard when they need help
• to make their own choices, and to be listened to
• to have a trusted source of information and advice
• their families and carers to be supported, so they can lead their own
lives too
Source: Community Conference, Kesgrave and the POPs Voice Reports
Why we needed to change
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We are all getting older, especially in Suffolk! The number of people over
65 is set to grow by 49% from now until 2025
The number of people with dementia will double by 2030
By 2031 the number of people with severe learning disabilities is set to
grow by 18% and the number of people with autism by 23%.
Demand for local mental health services is set to grow by 12% by 2030.
Many family carers look after both a child with severe disabilities as well as
older parents
All this and the council needs to save money too.
Source: SCC Cabinet Paper: ACS New Operating Model 21 February 2012
What does this mean for
services?
We need to
•
Make it easier for people to live independently of public
services.
• Build on what we have in our local communities
• Work with local people and organisations and recognise their
expertise and experience.
• Work better with other public services, like councils and health
• Make sure that what we do helps people to be in control of
their lives.
So how did we start
SLCC?
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We looked at the good work we’d done in the 5 years before and built
on that
We developed it with people who use services and with partners
The way of working was agreed in 2012
After that we tried it out in Felixstowe, Sudbury, Bury, Stowmarket
There was also a pilot with people with learning disabilities.
SLCC is based on 3 responses to the community and
to people
The 3 responses to customers
Tier 1
Help to
help
yourself…
• Firstly, we’re working to keep
as many people living
independently in the county
as possible.
• This includes preventative
work, advice and information.
• It builds on the wealth of
local, community and social
assets we have in Suffolk for
the whole population.
Tier 2
Help when
you need it:
immediate,
short-term
help…
• Secondly, we are looking
at helping those who need
extra support just for a
short period.
• This means offering swift
and appropriate support to
them to help them to regain
the independence they
want and value.
• It means sticking with
people to see that it works
Tier 3
Ongoing
support for
those who
need it…
• Thirdly, for people who need more
ongoing support for their care or
needs we will work with them to
make sure it’s what they want,
appropriate, and tailored to them
individually.
• We will work with them to find out
what would make a real positive
difference to their lives, using their
allocated funding and other
resources.
What do we want for people who
use our services?
We want it to be
• High quality -
that means advice that connects people to what's happening
in their community
• Quick – that means a rapid response in a crisis situation to get people back to
independence if possible
• Clear – this means being clear on the type and level of support that is
available for people and for carers
• About keeping independent or moving towards being independent
• Personalised – that what works for people and un understanding that people
themselves know what will work best for them
Challenges for the council
working differently in
communities
• We are used to offering standard solutions - this is the opposite of local
tailored solutions
• We can be slow and bureaucratic
•The debate can become about what we will and will not pay for
• Our procurement rules can make us unresponsive and inflexible
• Yet some of the best community solutions come from working around rules
and regulations
• Despite this we really believe we can respond to make it work
We want to:
•
Make this our way of working across Suffolk – which we are
doing now
•
keep people living independently
•
help people to take responsibility for their lives for as long as
possible – without ‘formal care’
•
Support people who need extra support but based on what
works for them, not what works for our systems
•
work in partnership to achieve this
Where are we now?
•
SLCC practice has been rolled out cross our teams and we are embedding that
learning through a continuous and proactive learning programme for our practitioners
•
Neighbourhood Networks events have been created in a number of localities to start
sharing our thinking and encourage our communities to think about how we can all
work together more creatively and effectively
•
We have signed up to the National In Control - Making It Real – Programme and
have started the process of agreeing shared actions that we need to deliver effective
personalisation for people
•
We have started the process of using the SLCC model to deliver the requirements of
the Care Act
•
We are working closely with Health to test what a Integrated neighbourhood team
would look like and how it would work to achieve better outcomes for people
•
We have commissioned a Equality Impact Assessment for the SLCC programme
which has given helpful feedback on how we can make sure that no particular groups
are negatively impacted upon by SLCC