In the second article in the ViewPoints series; Martyn Cockram looks at Personalisation in Adult Social Care……

Personalisation

The Personalisation agenda is advancing but there appears to be inconsistency in how councils are meeting targets and a lack of clear understanding amongst the public as to what it all really means.

The idea that social care is provided in a way that facilitates more choice and greater control for those who receive support is one that is generally supported by the professionals but in practice it means a huge cultural shift.

The practicalities of implementation and education are complex and there is a danger that these have been underestimated which will hamper the smooth implementation of the new system.

The aim of Personalisation is for the social care users to have control  over how money allocated to their care is spent, allowing them to hold their own budget and self direct where the money is spent. A key aspect is that the user can also have the option to carry out their own self assessment and assess their own support and care needs before deciding how to spend their budget to meet these needs.

Those councils that are delivering have strategies in place and are providing information and advice about the choices available and have engaged key partners to deliver innovative services.  However, just six months ago a survey found that four out of ten councils had missed the government’s personalisation targets.

There is no agreed model for delivery and therefore different solutions are developing. A new market place of providers is being established that delivers resource or service directories to allow users to browse for the support that they need; but where is the regulation to monitor the standards and how are the vulnerable being protected?

Good partnerships will be essential and best practice solutions need to be shared as they develop.

It is thought that a new breed of ‘brokers’ will emerge, these may be established organisations such as Age Concern for example or new operations.  The relationships between these brokers and social workers are not fully understood and social workers are feeling threatened that it could lead to job losses.

There are concerns as to how the roll-out will be affected by the era of austerity that we now find ourselves operating in and there is a danger that the public will see the changes as a move designed to save costs rather than a sea change in policy.

Improved training and a greater focus on education should help counteract this and support the introduction of what should be a fairer, smarter and more effective system of social and health care.

Martyn Cockram

For More Information about Martyn Cockram or ViewPoints please visit : http://espritnewsandviews.com/viewpoints/

Martyn Cockram, who has over 15 years experience facilitating transformational change in UK Local Government, provides Esprit News and Views with its first ViewPoint item….

Rejecting a Culture of Fear and Blame

The first instalment of Professor Eileen Munro’s review of children’s social services in England was released this month and those involved in child protection will find much to agree with in her assessments so far.

This first instalment identifies that a key question for the review is why the well-intentioned reforms of the past haven’t worked and a number of findings about how the system works have been identified and will be tested during the course of the review.

My belief is that this review is essential if we are to put children and families back at the heart of the system and strengthen the role of social workers and support them so that they understand how to do their job well.

I would like to see initiatives for attracting new people and returners into the profession and ways of recognising and rewarding their professionalism.  There should be stronger support in terms of management and business and ensuring the focus is on the practice and the child and not IT.  If more supervision, quality reviews and guidance were introduced with smaller teams we would see a marked increase in performance and morale.

Munro’s findings support this view as she has found that:

• Compliance with regulation and rules often drives professional practice more than sound judgement drawn from the professional relationship and interaction with a family.
• Social workers are frequently blamed when children are harmed.
• Serious case reviews have not fostered a learning culture which supports improved practice.

A new ethos of strength behind the front-line in social care with improved training, strong leaders, more consistency and more openness would address all of these issues.

Munro also suggests that bureaucratic solutions and target-based assessments do not necessarily lead to good decision or outcomes.  The removal of some of the assessment targets and a reduction in the current levels of recording with an emphasis on quality not quantity would address this.

The reforms that come from this review should put the child and social workers’ professional expertise and judgment at the centre of the process.  We need a culture of continuous improvement and learning not fear and blame.

Driving forward such change will not be easy but it is my view that it is essential and necessary for those children who are in need of our support.

Martyn Cockram

For More Information about Martyn Cockram or ViewPoints please visit : http://espritnewsandviews.com/viewpoints/