Adult social care needs a 10-year plan too
In last month’s first, we updated you on Change NHS, the nationwide consultation on a 10-year plan for the health service, and encouraged you to respond. While the deadline for organisation responses has now passed, councils can still have their voices heard – see below, for how to get involved.
In its response to the consultation, the LGA has welcomed the three shifts that the Government set out in its vision for the NHS: analogue to digital; treatment to prevention; and hospitals to community.
These are the right things to do, but they are not new ambitions. We know that to truly deliver these shifts, improved collaboration between health partners, local authorities and the voluntary and community sector will be vital.
No one organisation holds the levers to bring about the changes needed to tackle health inequalities and improve the years we all spend in good health.
Tackling health inequalities must be at the core of the plan, which means the vital role of councils in addressing the wider determinants of health – through our role in housing, green spaces, youth services and the local economy – must be too.
Adult social care, public health and children’s services – planned, commissioned and provided by councils – are also all key to preventing ill health and improving overall health and wellbeing.
To meaningfully tackle the deepening inequalities we see in our communities, we need to truly embrace a shift in priorities and back this up with the necessary activity and resources. This must be place-based and build on the rich data and insight held across local services.
The LGA is also urging the Government to co-create a 10-year plan for adult social care, equivalent to the upcoming NHS long-term plan. A standalone plan that prioritises and recognises the full value of adult social care is crucial to giving the Government’s ambitions for our NHS the best chance of success.
The 10-year plan, and the services and systems it sets out, must also be person-centred – designed around the individual and the outcomes that are important to them.
We are encouraged that the engagement process is putting the voice and experience of people who use and provide services at its core. This must continue to be an expectation going forward for all who commission and deliver services, to build in real and meaningful citizen engagement and service user feedback.
Services and the frameworks that sit around them must respond to people and their needs, and not those of the organisations that deliver and commission them. Consequently, the LGA’s consultation response shines a light on some specific cohorts, given the scale of the challenges they face – including people with mental illness, children and young people, and children with special educational needs and disabilities.
The LGA will continue to share the views, and emphasise the crucial role, of local government in the NHS consultation and engagement process – so please help us by sharing your good practice examples, particularly around prevention and tackling health inequalities, by emailing [email protected].
Finally, it’s crucial that councils continue to shape the plan, so please encourage your staff and residents to share their ideas through the online platform (see also below). Let’s continue to ensure that local government’s voice is heard.
Workshop in a box
While the deadline for organisations to respond to the Change NHS consultation has passed, councils can still help residents to share their views and insights on health service reform by facilitating local workshops. These are set to run until mid-January, with 14 February the deadline for submitting feedback. The Government has provided ‘Workshop in a Box’ resources to help with this.
- Read the LGA’s response to the Change NHS consultation in full.