Delivering Care and Support Planning - focus on Derby City Council

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Derby City Council was one of the case studies in the recently published guide to support good person-centred care and support planning, which was part of a suite of resources commissioned by the Department of Health in partnership with the Local Government Association and Association of Directors of Adult Social Services to support those commissioning and providing care and support in implementing the Care Act 2014.

The Delivering Care and Support Planning report comes at the right time for Derby City. It reinforces our cultural shift towards making sure people remain in control of their own care and support- something that is already underway in Derby. It makes a valuable contribution to our Care Act training and development programme. What we found particularly useful is the emphasis on exploring the wishes, feelings and ambitions of each individual to encourage a broader recognition of the wider outcomes which support their wellbeing.

The reports emphasis on connecting people who need support to local assets which will help them to achieve their outcomes, confirms and strengthens the role of our Local Area Co-ordinators. This reinforces the need for adult social care staff to work closely with the Local Area Coordinators, to explore and support access to a range of formal and informal local resources

It will also encourage staff, in their conversations with people in areas not Local Area Coordinator based, to give greater consideration to resources and activities in their own communities. After all, enabling people to find support within their own communities minimises the bureaucracy involved in the purchase of expensive traditional and commissioned services. It also frees practitioners to use their valuable professional skills to support the people and situations where these are most needed.

We welcome the individual's freedom to choose who will help create their care and support plan and the different styles of planning they can pick, as well as the chance to decide how they wish to record and present their plans. This approach liberates staff from restrictive "one size fits all" administrative and IT led care planning processes and tasks. In the past, there has been a risk that bureaucratic functions associated with getting the plan drawn up, recorded, agreed and implemented were difficult for people and their families to engage with and took up unnecessary amounts of professional time.

We agree that it is useful to discuss how the plan is agreed and staff welcome the opportunity to review the way we authorise plans in order to cut delays in implementing it caused by unnecessarily bureaucratic and time consuming processes. Including Practical examples throughout the care and support plan can only serve to encourage and develop best practice.

Comments

Posted on by Melanie O'Neil

Just read your blog. Great to see that Derby City are in the forefront of work on the Care Act. I lived in Derby (now in Chesterfield) and my son is still in Derby supported by Shared Lives. I now work with people with additional needs and am just finishing my training as a regional Makaton tutor. So my question is...what of those people who have communication difficulties? They too have the right to be at the centre of their person centred planning process.


Posted on by Joanne Goodison

Southern Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group commend the developments and movement driven by Derby City Council towards supporting good person centred care. This paves the way forward towards greater intergrated working and personal health and social care budgets.

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