People are being asked to give their views to shape an ambitious new plan for how care and support is provided for older and disabled people.
Nottingham City Council has created a strategy for ‘Better Lives, Better Outcomes’ for adult social care over the next five years – and is asking for feedback from the public.
The council provides adult social care to adults who need care and support, such as people with disabilities or older people who need care at home or who are no longer able to live in their own homes.
The new strategy sets out a positive approach for communities and the council to work together to ensure people are connected and supported. It looks at how loneliness and isolation in older and disable people can be avoided if communities step forward to help.
Better outcomes through better connections and support is vital as adult social care services continue to face increasing pressure due to a growing population, people living with longer periods of long-term ill-health, and funding cuts from the Government.
Nottingham faces the double impact of higher levels of deprivation meaning a greater proportion of people rely on state support, alongside lower levels of funding raised through council tax.
The new strategy focuses on helping people to stay independent wherever possible, connecting people to the wealth of informal support that is available in our city before looking to formal care services. The aim is to achieve better outcomes for people within the available resources.
People can work with the council in this new framework:
- Prevention: promoting healthy lifestyles and intervening early when wellbeing is at risk to avoid crisis and loss of independence.
- Community Connections: ensuring people can connect to the support in their neighbourhoods, ensuring no one is socially isolated and lonely.
- Independent Lives: supporting personal and community resilience to reduce dependence on council-funded support.
- Choice and Control: putting people in the driving seat, shaping solutions around the outcomes that matter for individuals.
Launching the consultation, Cllr Sam Webster, Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health, said: “Nottingham needs a sustainable social care system to help people live better lives – but we need everyone to work together to help us shape this.
“We have a bold and ambitious strategy for improving lives, based on supporting people to do what they can for themselves; helping friends and families to provide the best possible support; and providing connections to others who can help from within Nottingham’s caring communities.
“Where people do need more support, that support will promote wellness and maximise independence. For those who can pay for and arrange their own services, we will signpost them where necessary.
“Our ambitious strategy sets out how we intend to better support adults in Nottingham. At the heart is the development of a financial strategy to enable a sustainable social care system. We are calling our strategy ‘Better Lives Better Outcomes’, which reflects our ambition for Nottingham to be one of the best cities for adults in need of support to live well.”
Click here to see the Adult Social Care Strategy and feedback survey. The consultation is open until 30 September.