We provide a range of social care services to the
residents of North Somerset, but the way we provide them is
changing.
The government is encouraging councils to look at the way they
deliver social care services to make sure that they are user
friendly and accessible to everyone.
We are developing some new services and making access to social
care easier so that you are able to get the right level support and
know where to turn for advice. Improvements to our Care
Connect service will mean that specialist information and
advice, health and social care referrals and assessments will all
be available in one place.
We are working towards offering people more choice and control
over the way they receive and organise their care support, in the
form of a personal budget.
There are four main areas that we are looking at to improve the
support that we offer.
We are working to make sure that universal
services such as education, housing, leisure and transport
are accessible and available to everyone in the community, for
example Go4Life is a
North Somerset scheme which encourages and supports people to get
healthy and active in their everyday lives.
Sometimes small problems can get bigger and people can begin to
lose their independence, which is why the government wants local
authorities to work with people on early intervention and
prevention support, for example, Carelink is a community
alarm system that is connected to a control centre through the
telephone system which means that people are able to live
independently with peace of mind that help is at hand if they need
it.
We want to increase your choice and control to
make it easier for you to access the help and support you need,
when you need it. If you have a personal budget, there are
many ways that your support needs can be met, for example some
people choose to employ personal assistants, and some people choose
to use traditional services like day care or residential
care.
Finally, we are building on the links that we have with other
organisations in the private and voluntary sector as well as
charities and our own services to make sure that the widest
possible range of support is available. The government refers
to helping local communities to become stronger as
increasing social capital.
For more information view
our Factsheet (pdf, May 10,
89K) or contact our
Care Connect
team.
The Putting
People First websitse is the on-line hub of information, news,
events and resources aimed at social care practitioners.
