Helping people live healthy independent lives: 'Getting basics right' is key, says Calderdale Council's adult services director as social care priorities are set out

Calderdale Council’s Director of Adult Services and Wellbeing, Cath Gormally, said three key objectives for the year were ensuring people had the choice, control and support to live independent lives, could access outstanding quality, tailored, care and support and that they found access to adult social care was “fair”.

To reach these goals, care partners including the council needed to work with people, assessing their needs and helping people lead healthy lives.

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They needed to provide support, ensuring there is enough care provision, whether care homes, home care or support in the community.

The system needs to ensure people are safe, that leadership and staff are capable and compassionate, and service commissioning has to be needs-led using the best intelligence, councillors heard.

To help people lead their “largest” lives, support needed to be “the right thing, at the right time, in the right place,” said Ms Gormally.

Evidence as to whether these goals are being met will come from feedback from people’s experiences, not just from health partners, staff and leaders but also from service users and carers, in addition to observation, outcomes and performance data, members of the council’s Adults, Health and Social Care Scrutiny Board heard.

Ms Gormally said ensuring care and support which was offered was of high quality was important, with a prime focus on “getting the basics right”.

The service’s Assistant Director for Operations, Sean Cook, told the meeting the first stage was ensuring people’s independence was a great as it could be.

Simple assessment systems were called for and regular reviews of support plans should be at the centre of everything to pinpoint when people needed more support if their health was deteriorating, he said.

The directorate welcomed the proposed People At The Heart of Social Care white paper which set out a ten year vision for social care and a focus on delivering quality care and services to people, added Ms Gormally.