Adult Social Care Consultation on Proposed changes to Adult Social Care

This consultation closed on 10 December 2010. Thank you to everyone who contributed their views during this time.

A Report of key findings(pdf, 115KB) and an Equalities Impact Needs Assessment(pdf, 129KB) have now been completed.

As a result of the findings, some changes were made to the original proposals and a plan of action for implementation (MS Word, 175KB) produced.

Follow up for those affected by these changes

In autumn 2011 the council worked with Richmond LINK and local voluntary sector organisations to survey those people that were paying more for their social care as a result of the changes to the contributions policy. The full report(pdf, 385KB) details how people were impacted and sets out the council’s plan of action to help those affected by these changes.  

In April 2012 a questionnaire went to people attending Woodville or Sheen Lane day centres in order to gather views on how the merger of the day centres went in 2011 and whether issues identified through the consultation in early 2011 and the EINA produced at that time have been addressed. It also aimed to gather feedback on whether people are currently satisfied with their day centre and if the current service could be improved. The details of the survey and the results are in this report(pdf, 156KB). Overall satisfaction was high with 97% satisfied with the current service and 79% saying that the merger had gone well.

Who to contact

If you have any questions about the changes and how they will affect you please contact:

  • Regarding the Self Directed Support contributions policy contact charginghelpline@richmond.gov.uk or 020 8831 6400.
  • If you want to find out if the changes to the way you qualify for adult social care affect you email: polly.sinclair@richmond.gov.uk or phone 020 8487 5287.
  • Those affected by the changes to day centres are advised to talk to the manager at their day centre.

Background

The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames provides good quality care and support to its most vulnerable residents. However, like other councils we are facing significant reductions in public funding to support these services. At the same time we are also facing increasing demands for support. Quite simply we need to reduce spending while still providing high quality services.

Why are we consulting?

Richmond Council will have to find ways to reduce its spending on Adult Social Care. We cannot continue to spend at the current level or deliver exactly the same services.

The Council currently delivers a generous level of support and care. Some of the proposed changes set out below will bring us in line with other local authorities. We are looking at different ways in which we can save money while protecting our services for the longer term. We must also ensure that we continue to support and care for those in greatest need.

The way that we deliver support and care is also being influenced by greater flexibility and choice over how needs are met across the country. For example, the introduction of Personal Budgets and Self Directed Support has enabled people who are eligible for support to choose from more services than traditionally available and develop a more tailored approach to meet their needs. For some services, such as intensive day care, this has already contributed to an overall fall in demand.

To ensure we get these difficult decisions right and spend money where it is most needed we launched a consultation programme about the proposed changes to Adult Social Care.

Our proposals

The three key changes we are proposing around Adult Social Care are:

  • Changes to the Self Directed Support Contributions Policy (the way the Council charges for Adult Social Care), so that where people are able to afford it, they contribute more to the cost of their support.
  • Changes to the Eligibility Criteria to raise the threshold for social care services so that it covers people with ‘substantial’ and ‘critical’ needs only.
  • To close two of the Borough’s four intensive day care centres at Tangley Hall and Twickenham. A service will still be provided to people currently using these two day care centres and the two remaining day care centres at Ham and Sheen Lane will continue to provide intensive day care services to those who choose to attend from any of the existing centres.

How we consulted

A period of public consultation commenced on the 19 October 2010 and was closed on the 10 December 2010. Throughout this period users of care services, their carers, voluntary organisations and other interested residents were given the opportunity to comment on the proposals.

A questionnaire(pdf, 63KB) was provided that sets out the three proposals and asks for feedback. A total of 2077 users of social care and their carers were sent out a postal questionnaire and given the opportunity to comment on these proposals. A number of methods were employed for providing feedback including:

  • Filling in a paper questionnaire
  • Online via a web questionnaire for each proposal
  • Requesting a council officer to complete the form face-to-face in their home
  • Providing feedback over the phone
  • Writing a letter or email feedback to the consultation address
  • Writing to an MP, councillor or council staff to raise their concerns

Several public meetings were also held to discuss the proposals and allow people to provide feedback in person.