Agenda item

To receive a presentation on the programme to improve services to support older people and vulnerable people in their homes.

Officers: Nicola Gregson – Head of Service, and John Salen, Project Manager.

The Board received a presentation from Nicola Gregson (Head of Commissioning: Care, Support and Accommodation).

The Council has been working with the NHS and residents of Wiltshire on a major review of the services that are available to older and vulnerable people living in the county. This is called ‘Help to live at Home’. The review aims to improve the experiences of vulnerable adults and carers who require support, whilst ensuring that the changes are sustainable in the future. Some of the points covered were:

·       There are 17,000 people in the Tidworth and Ludgershall Community Areas aged 85 or over.

• Bringing together a variety of separate services into one so that a single service is able to meet a wider range of needs.  The sort of services included are personal care in the home, housing support and other services that support people in their homes.
• Ensuring these services focus on helping people learn or re-learn skills they may have lost as a result of illness, or another event that has resulted in them losing confidence and needing some help.
• Making even better use of the wide range of community services that there are in Wiltshire.
• Making sure these services are focused on doing what people want and helping people to live independent and fulfilling lives.
• Supporting sheltered accommodation schemes.

As a result of this review –

• Services to older and vulnerable people in Wiltshire will be improved with more people able to access help to help themselves through the provision of information, advice and support from within the wider community and less people dependent upon help from the Council.
• More people will be able to remain in their own homes with an improved quality of life.
• Less people will require help for long periods of time – more people will be helped to become independent more quickly.
• People who need support will receive it at whatever time of the day or night.
• People will receive the right help, at the right time, in the right place.

Questions and comments were then taken from the room, these included:

·       How will the new services and providers be monitored? Answer: There would be a contract management team to monitor them.

·       How do you assess the need of the elderly and not so elderly, as some people exaggerate their need, when the reality is that they are not in need at all. Answer: The assessments carried out are very rigorous, as they need to establish a critical or a substantial need.

·       Would the new services be means tested? Answer: The services would be funded by the Council, but then means tested. People who fall outside the criteria could purchase the equipment independently.

The Chairman noted that some people had heard that a care home in Ludgershall called Bartlett House would close in the future and that there would be 40 new beds within the community area. He asked Nicola to confirm whether the Board would be approached to discuss the proposed changes to care facilities which affected the area. Councillor Brady agreed that this was a very sensitive issue and that there would be adequate consultation with the Area Board, the residents and the families involved.