Helping older citizens lead a more independent life in their community
Councillor Paulette Hamilton, cabinet member for health and social care, talks about how those who need care and support should have the same opportunities as others.
I recently visited the Bournville Gardens Extra Care Village where I met some great people who are living independent and interesting lives, albeit with support on hand when they need it.
This is what I want to see across Birmingham; people living independent, fulfilled lives, with support available when they need it, feeling part of their community.
So in line with the council’s goal to support citizens to be more resilient and exercising choice and control over their lives, we have published our day opportunities strategy. Clearly the best people to help us design the new service are those who use it or are connected to it, so this will be very much citizen-led, working with service users, carers, families and service providers to find out what is working well and what could be better.
In addition to traditional activities found at day centres we want day opportunities to have elements of enablement, and education and training for those younger adults with disabilities or learning difficulties who want to work.
It is so important that people who need some care and support have the same opportunities to live an ordinary life, to be fully involved in the community alongside everyone else as equal citizens - as well as supporting people and meeting their basic needs, we must also think about their aspirations for living a fuller and healthier life.
As we all know, councils up and down the land are facing a number of challenges when it comes to supporting in supporting adults and older people. More people are living longer with more complex needs, significant numbers of young adults have disabilities or suffer from mental illness, and people have higher expectations of the public sector just as we face significantly reduced resources. Consequently, changes are needed to the type of support that is arranged and provided, and to the way services are organised and delivered.
Our strategy seeks to address potential barriers to providing the best outcomes for adults with a gradual move away from a day care model that has not changed over decades, to a range of support using community assets at a local level.
This is all part of our wider approach to improving adult social care, and with Birmingham’s over-65 population predicted to grow by 29 per cent by 2030 we need to address this now.
This blog was posted on 31 July 2018