Have Your Say on Three Year Plan to Deliver the Right Support for Reading
READING Borough Council is asking residents to help shape a vision for delivering the right health and adult social care support in Reading over the next three years.
A draft version of ‘Supporting Our Future – 2019-2022’ sets out the Council’s approach to delivering health and adult social care (including young people’s transitions) over the next three years. A key aspect underpinning this draft strategy is the commitment to ensure local partners and people help influence and shape any future service so that those who receive care have choice and control over the options available to them. A public consultation has been launched and will run until 31st March 2019. The full draft strategy can be viewed at www.reading.gov.uk/supporting-our-future If people have any queries, require additional support to complete the questionnaire or would like to receive a hard copy, they can also call 0118 937 2383 or email Lorraine.Goude@reading.gov.uk The draft strategy sets the national health and social care backdrop, gives an overview of local policy and population profiles, then outlines the Council’s health and social care priorities for the next three years, as well as setting out how these priorities will be achieved. Underpinning the strategy is an emphasis on enabling people to retain independence in their own home, by putting in place the right support at an early stage. This includes a commitment to: · Focussing on early diagnosis, intervention and prevention; · Working closely with health partners to integrate health and social care – such as joint commissioning of services; · Better use of technology and innovation; · Developing more cost effective ways to deliver social care to ensure services are sustainable in the future; · Providing a single point of access for enquiries to improve people’s experience of the health and social care system; · Working with carers to ensure they receive support and recognition they deserve; · Ensuring performance is robustly and regularly monitored, managed and evaluated.Cllr Tony Jones, Reading’s Lead Member for Adult Social Care, said:
“At its heart, ‘Supporting Our Future’ sets out our vision and commitment to support our residents when they need it. “We recently welcomed the positive review from the Care Quality Commission, which highlighted a great deal of good practice within Reading’s health and social care system. The review reinforced the drive across Reading’s health and care partners to build on the good foundations that were identified. “This three year strategy is part of bigger picture in addressing the gaps in the system and in making Reading a centre for excellence in the future. We are committed to the need for closer joint working and commissioning, and a focus on prevention and early intervention. “We want local people to tell us what they think of the priorities we’ve outlined and how we can work together – as a resident and/or a care partner - to meet these. This feedback will help us to work out a detailed plan to get us to where we need to be so that Reading residents receive excellent care and support from a sustainable local system.”Cllr Graeme Hoskin, Reading’s Lead Member for Health, Sport and Wellbeing, said:
“These are challenging times. Reduced council budgets, combined with population growth and increased demand for services, mean it is vital we target our approaches effectively and focus on early diagnosis, intervention and prevention wherever possible, helping people to prevent avoidable ill-health and disability - rather than just treating the effects of poor wellbeing. “Most of us will use the health and social care system in some form, at some point in our lives – it may directly involve us, our friends or our loved ones. It is vital for us to understand and incorporate people's views on the provision of health and social care into this strategy so that people have choice and control over the options available to them.”Ends