LGA calls for new approach to care

As town halls across the country face up to a potential multi-billion pound shortfall in the adult social care budget, the Local Government Association, which represents over 350 councils across England and Wales, warns a change of approach is vital.

The LGA says councils must build on relationships with health professionals and community groups to keep older people and those with physical and learning disabilities in the homes they love and communities they cherish.

It adds that Britain can’t keep pushing its older generation into nursing homes and day centres if there is to be any hope of saving its creaking care system from collapse.

The LGA has released a discussion paper to encourage this year’s National Children and Adult Services Conference to be a platform to debate transforming the adult social care system, moving the emphasis away from outdated notions of patching up the existing one.

Cllr David Rogers, chairman of the Local Government Association’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
"For years councils have been striving to help keep the elderly and disabled independent in the homes they know, where they have lived for years near friends and neighbours they cherish. Now, more than ever, this approach has to be seen as the only way forward and everyone involved in adult social care must work to make it happen.

"The extra £2 billion should be seen as a down-payment on the funding gap facing adult social care but the gap clearly remains, as do our concerns on meeting growing demand for services.

"Uncertainty still surrounds how this extra cash will be delivered, but getting bogged down in which organisations will get what and when misses the point - money alone is not the answer. It’s only by planning for the long term and making the most of local communities that we can tackle the needs of our ageing population before escalating care-costs cripple our economy.

"We need a new approach to care and support and a move away from people getting old and needing day care or moving to nursing homes. We need to embrace the skills, experience, knowledge and passion of individuals and groups, and build caring communities where people can remain independent and happy for longer before needing high-cost social care. We’re all in this together."

Key to the LGA approach is:
*A recognition adult care and support goes way beyond the Department of Health and is bigger than council social services. Care must be linked with other council services, public sector partners, voluntary and community groups and individuals.
*Councils providing complex care while supporting voluntary groups and the wider community to help on everyday care like popping round for a cup of tea or providing trips out. This will help free up stretched town hall resources while helping older people feel happy and included in society, delaying the onset of more expensive care.
*Villages, towns or cities making the most of and building on assets like social clubs, parks, church halls, baby-sitting circles, experienced carers or pub quiz teams. This will help prevent isolation, boost confidence and independence, or quickly highlight where someone needs help.
*An emphasis on offering personalised solutions, giving the individual control of their funds and how they are spent.

Cllr Rogers added:
"By taking a community approach we can help everyone play a part in supporting the old and vulnerable.

"We know people care about their neighbours and their wider community, but often they don’t know how to get involved. Councils, as democratically accountable community leaders, are best placed to coordinate and support such community action, turning the will to help into a reality where people play an active part in building caring communities.

"Our vision is a system which can both react to the care needs of everyone, while providing a constant level of support – a permanent, universal scaffold in the background keeping people independent, socially active, informed and well.

"Whatever the future of care and support, councils need to be at the heart of it. This discussion paper is just the start. We want to hear from councils about their experience and ideas and will aim to develop a more formal publication next year."