Social care review to focus on services responsive to people's needs
13 February 2008
CSCI’s review of access to social care, announced last month by
Government, will involve a wide range of people who use services
and will focus on a new framework for personalised services, said
the social care watchdog today.
The review, announced in January by the Department of Health,
follows on from CSCI’s report the State of Social Care in England
2006/07, which provided evidence of the poor experience of people
unable to meet local councils’ eligibility criteria. CSCI reported
on the way the national framework on eligibility is being
implemented in practice for older people and people with
disabilities.
In response to the report, Care Services Minister Ivan Lewis MP
asked CSCI to undertake the review, to be completed by 15 September
2008, which will look at national definitions of need and their
application at a local level.
At the formal public meeting of the Commission (13 February),
Chair Dame Denise Platt said:
"People using care have the right to a service that is in line
with the Government’s vision for personalised social care. This
review is a great opportunity to work out what kind of framework
should be adopted to make sure this vision is put into
practice."
Dame Denise continued:
"People should be able to rely on individualised care that is
responsive to their needs. We will be talking to a wide range of
people who use services and key stakeholders so that the
recommendations in our review are as inclusive as possible."
The terms of reference for the review are:
- in the context of the Government’s vision for adult social
care, Putting People First, to undertake a review of the criteria
for Fair Access to Care Services, their application by councils
with social services responsibilities and their impact on
people
- to make recommendations to the Care Services Minister on the
findings from the review
- to engage relevant stakeholders in the process of the
review.
CSCI will aim to engage people using services, carers and all
interested bodies in every stage of the process leading up to the
publication of the review. People using services, carers, and
stakeholder representatives including the Association of Directors
of Adult Social Services, the Local Government Association and
other key stakeholders, will be invited to provide a sounding board
that will help debate the ideas emerging from wider
consultations.
There are four key elements to the review:
- launch the review with people using services and carers
- establish the national picture
- consider the options for change
- produce the final report.
The next step will be the launch of the review with an
interactive event involving the participation of stakeholders,
including commissioners, providers, front line workers, people who
use services and carers. The event will aim to assemble the key
issues, concerns, and suggestions to inform the work, and provide a
chance to communicate how stakeholders can be involved throughout
the process of the review.
Ends
Notes for Editors
1. CSCI is the single inspectorate for adult social care in
England, responsible for regulating and inspecting social care
providers -whether in the public or independent sector - and for
assessing the performance of local councils in delivering their
personal social services functions.
2. The Commission’s primary aim is to improve social care by
putting the needs of people who use care services first.
3. The Commission is chaired by Dame Denise Platt DBE and has
five Commissioners. The Chief Inspector is Paul Snell. CSCI staff
work across seven regions in England.
4. Social care services for children are regulated and inspected
by the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and
Skills (Ofsted).
5. CSCI’s State of social care in England 2006-07 can be found
at: http://www.csci.org.uk/default.aspx?page=2349
6. The Department of Health's press release announcing the
review can be found on
the DoH's website