{"id":35300,"date":"2013-11-19T17:01:00","date_gmt":"2013-11-19T17:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=9596595d56bd919babe0ac2c4d9cb94b"},"modified":"2013-11-19T17:01:00","modified_gmt":"2013-11-19T17:01:00","slug":"speech-county-council-network-conference-2013","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=35300","title":{"rendered":"Speech: County Council Network Conference 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Thank you to Cheshire West and Chester for hosting this year\u2019s County Council Netwwork Conference, they are a council who – along with Manchester, Essex and the Tri-boroughs – have paved the way for the groundbreaking social care fund.<\/p>\n

These pioneers have set a really high standard for what all of you here today can hope to achieve.<\/p>\n

Today I want to talk about how you can change the adult social care system and make a big difference to your communities. <\/p>\n

I want to share a story with you, which for me outlines all of the reasons why we have to take this opportunity. This is a true story that I used during the Spending Review and the budget. <\/p>\n

One evening a friend of mine came home to the news that her mother in law, Beryl, had been admitted to hospital. Beryl is 88. For a number of years Beryl has had 1 or 2 health complaints \u2013 problems with her heart were causing swollen legs and reduced mobility.
\nUnder the care of her husband Arthur, who is 87, they were generally coping quite well. However, in the hot weather we had over the summer, her legs were so swollen she couldn\u2019t move. Arthur was going to have difficulty helping her to the lavatory. So Arthur phoned the GP.<\/p>\n

Who told him to phone social services.<\/p>\n

Who told him to phone the physio. <\/p>\n

Who told him to call the local hospital.<\/p>\n

Who put him back onto the GP. <\/p>\n

This referral ping-pong meant that Beryl ended up in hospital later that day. Beryl didn\u2019t want to end up in hospital, and Arthur just needed that extra bit of support at home, someone he could rely on to help. <\/p>\n

Of course when elderly people are admitted to hospital, it can cause all sorts of additional stress and anxiety. <\/p>\n

Most frustratingly of all, with Better Care, Beryl\u2019s experience could have been very different.<\/p>\n

Beryl\u2019s story is by no means unique. Sadly, \u2018we all know someone.\u2019 Someone who has had to battle to be heard, or is bored of repeating themselves \u2013 someone who simply deserved better. <\/p>\n

Between now and 2030, our over 65s population will increase by 95%. And I am one of them.<\/p>\n

That is the size equivalent of Birmingham. <\/p>\n

We cannot stop the population from aging \u2013 but we can take control of the capacity and quality of the care they receive. When only 4 in 10 members of the public think that social care and health work well together, something has got to change. <\/p>\n

My challenge to you \u2013 is to turn this around. Start drawing up your plans now. Think with a great deal of innovation. And make sure that the experience of the patient is at the front of your mind.<\/p>\n

A good, joined-up system in practice is a GP who can offer access to physiotherapy within 48 hours \u2013 not 4 to 8 weeks.<\/p>\n

It is 24\/7 access to social care \u2013 making the transition from the hospital to home quick and easy.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a 1-hour home visit rather than 2 days on a ward. <\/p>\n

Most of all, though, it is about using common resources and common sense. <\/p>\n

Health and social care must work in partnership to be \u2018altogether better.\u2019 That\u2019s the name of Cheshire West and Chester\u2019s pilot of the social care fund which I had the opportunity to look at before the conference.<\/p>\n

With the patient at the heart of their system, Cheshire West and Chester have: <\/p>\n