The future of adult health and social care was the theme of the second major ‘Transforming Lives’ congress event hosted jointly by South Gloucestershire Council and the NHS South Gloucestershire.
More than 120 people representing a wide range of older people, individuals with health and social care needs, care organisations, community groups, disability groups and social care practitioners came together last week to hear guest speaker Professor Jon Glasby, a government advisor on health and social care, give a thought provoking talk. He talked about how far social care services have come in the last 40 years, and about the changes which are still needed to improve the co-ordination of health and social care needs and to implement the government’s agenda called ‘Putting People First’ .
In addition, Peter Murphy, director of Community Care and Housing at South Gloucestershire Council, explained about the joint vision for transforming the way health and social care services are delivered. “The future will see a move towards enabling individuals having much greater choice and control over their lives.” Roger Pedley director of primary and community care for NHS South Gloucestershire , said, “We have already started developing ways in which people can be supported to achieve their goals of living as independently as possible.“
The Congress delegates also had the chance to comment on and influence the progress being made by South Gloucestershire Council and the NHS South Gloucestershire in the area of adult health and social care. Topics discussed included the move to give more people personal budgets so that they can make their own choices about the services they want and being more flexible and creative with the types of support they might need in future.
Hannah Carter, a Care Manager with South Gloucestershire Council, said “This has been a great opportunity for exchanging ideas about the future of community care. People’s individual needs will be at the centre of things and we can look at the bigger picture of a person’s life and tailor support to their unique needs.”
More information: Tranforming Lives in South Gloucestershire
Source: South Gloucestershire Council
