Previous Information:
November 2010
On 2 November 2010 HRRA organised a training day entitled 'Coming Out' for health and social care professionals, including operating staff and those responsible for policy and development. This was two half day sessions, totalling 38 attendees, and the purpose was to help staff understand better the needs of LGBT people. Our Vice Chair, Jackie, ran the training and was assisted by committee members, Teresa, who discussed trans issues, and Ambrose and Nadine, who also sat on the question and answer panel. Feedback suggests that the day was a great sucess.
August 2010
From: Sophie Clark, Strategic Commissioning Manager, Adult Social Care, East Sussex County Council
We want your views on the draft East Sussex Joint Commissioning Strategy 2010/2015 for adults in later life and their carers. We've called this document 'Living longer, living well'. The strategy sets out how organisations around the county plan to improve health, social care and housing support services over the next five years. The organisations involved are East Sussex County Council's Adult Social Care; NHS East Sussex Primary Care Trusts; East Sussex Hospital Trust; and Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust Partners.
Adults in later life and their carers were actively involved in the development and implementation of the original Joint Commissioning Strategy for 2007/10. Since it was launched we have regularly sought their views and, together with the views of partners and the wider community, these have informed the refresh of the strategy. The draft strategy 'Living longer, living well' is the result of that work and sets out an integrated and co-ordinated approach to the development and improvement of services with our partners. You can download the full strategy and an executive summary at:
www.eastsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/consultation/2010/laterlife
Consultation on the draft strategy has now begun and will finish on 31st August. As part of this process we would like to invite you to attend a special event (agenda here) aimed at adults in later life and their carers. The purpose of this event will be to present information about the vision and priorities in the strategy and to collect your views and comments so that we can further develop and improve the strategy. Staff from Adult Social Care, the PCTs and other key organisations will be there to answer your questions and take part in the discussions.
If you have any questions or require any further information please feel free to contact me at sophie.clark@eastsussex.gov.uk or on 01273 335292.
April 2010
This new scheme would welcome applications from LGBT people wanting to provide ‘gay friendly’ services. See details below:
SUPPORT WITH CONFIDENCE - NEW SCHEME LAUNCHING…
East Sussex Adult Social Care are working with Trading Standards to launch a new scheme to approve local providers of care and support services.
Applications are welcomed from:
- Personal Assistants (where people use their social care funding or their own money to engage people to support them)
- Cleaning and housework
- Shopping services
- Meal preparation or cooking in the home
- Meal services
- Daytime opportunities, such as leisure and recreational activities
- Community and mobility equipment and adaptation services
- Home repair & maintenance
- Gardening
- Taxi/transport services
- Pet services
To find out more about the new scheme, or to register your interest in attending the events please call Trading Standards - Support With Confidence on 01323 463440: supportwithconfidence@eastsussex.gov.uk
January 2010
Nine of us met with Claire Debenham, Service Development Manager, Equality, East Sussex Department of Adult Social Care, on 18 January at Horntye Park. Claire presented the meeting with information about the impending changes to the provision of Adult Social Care and we raised the following issues in relation to LGTB people.
· A lack of training for Adult Social Care staff can result in a serious lack of skills and understanding.
· HRRA can help Adult Social Care in relation to training, e.g. Conference being organised for 26 Feburary.
· There is a lack of visibility of LGBT issues in Adult Social Care Publications.
· There is a need for workers not to assume everyone is heterosexual and to find sensitive and supportive ways of helping LGBT people to ‘come out’ so that their particular needs can be met.
· There is a need to develop activities that LGBT users of Social Care services might want to engage in.
· Prejudice is common in older people’s forums and there is a need to tackle this.
· Although there are likely to be several thousand LGBT people in Hastings and Rother, it is difficult to identify those ‘not out’ and all LGBT people need to know that support is there.
· The new Social Care agenda should provide suitable support for LGBT people to find appropriate services. HRRA might have a role in this.
· It was suggested that there is a role for younger and entrepreneurial members of the LGBT community to develop gay friendly services: personal assistants, gardening services etc.
Claire will circulate her notes of the issues raised at the meeting to the appropriate managers in the Department and we will no doubt be having further contact with her and hopefully have some influence on how the ‘new’ Adult Social Care services can meet the needs and aspirations of LGBT people.
For more information contact Jackie.
Carers’ rights - Article from Debbie Charman
Over the past nine months Adult Social Care and the local NHS have been working on developing a strategy for carers’ services in East Sussex. We have consulted widely with carers and the general public and have now produced a final Joint Commissioning Strategy for Carers’ Services for the period 2010-2015, which was published on the ESCC website on Carers Rights Day, 4th December 2009, and we have also produced an easy-to-read booklet which gives details of how we developed our plans based on what people told us.
Follow this link to find out more: www.eastsussex.gov.uk/yourcouncil/consultation/2009/supportforcarers
One of the key actions locally is for us to raise the profile of carers and make sure that their needs are considered by health and social care staff and that they are treated as equal partners in care. We will also be concentrating on the provision of respite for carers, and support for them to be able to have a life outside of their caring role.
Please contact Debbie Charman, Strategic Commissioning Manager – Carers, on 01273-482159 (email: Debbie.charman@eastsussex.gov.uk) for more information.
16 October 2009
On 16th October HRRA ran the first of a series of workshops on LGBT issues. This one was on Older Peoples needs, The course was led by Trainer Antony Smith from Age Concern/Help the Aged England. It had a full complement of 20 people drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds; all professional people from statutory, voluntary and commercial agencies, who have the responsibility for assessing and supporting older people at home, in residential or sheltered housing. There was a waiting list to attend this course, and all those who attended gave positive feedback.
Health and Social Care
