Plan to involve people more in care decisions

Swindon Borough Council has just approved a new adult services strategy

A council's new adult services strategy aims to involve people more in plans for their care.

Swindon Borough Council has a "working together plan" in the new 2024-29 strategy, which will mean people “feel heard, listened to and know how they can get involved.”

Councillor Ray Ballman - the cabinet member for adults - said they want to "ensure people are enabled to live their lives and are not considered to be service users."

She indicated than the plan - approved by the council's ruling Labour cabinet - would bring significant change.

Working together

The strategy includes better access to short-term support and maintaining independence, more opportunities to make friends and keep in touch with loved ones as well as ensuring all those supporting someone work together more.

Ms Ballman explained that the circumstances that councils are having to operate social care under "very challenging."

“Rising costs, workforce shortages and backlogs throughout the health and social care system have affected Swindon, our citizens and meant that we are having to deliver more with less."

Director of adult services, Clare Deards, said social care “when done well can be trans formative."

The strategy says the "working together plan" will treat "people as the experts in their own lives."

This is to avoid the risk of "getting it wrong and having a negative impact on people’s lives.”

The plan says users of care services “are not just people with care needs, they are people with lives."