Helping people remain in their homes for longer

AN EXTRA £19.25 million has been allocated to health and social care services in Staffordshire to help people remain in their homes and communities for longer.

This is on top of the £123 million Better Care Fund (BCF) in Staffordshire, which is used by the county council and local NHS to help people needing health and social care.

A report to Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet shows how the local authority and NHS have been working closely together, using the

BCF to improve the lives of older people and those with disabilities.

A large part of this has been supporting county council and local clinical commissioning groups (CCGS) to continue their Home First Service, which helps people returning home from hospital to get back on their feet and maintain their independence.

The fund has also been used to support the home care market by recruiting and retaining carers, as well as giving more support to care homes to increase the quality of their care.

The Better Care Fund (BCF) was introduced in 2013, to support integration of health and adult social care. It requires CCGS and Local Authorities to agree a joint plan for improving the lives of older people and people with disabilities, using shared budgets to fund services.

Julia Jessel, Staffordshire County Council cabinet member for health and care, said: “Health and social care go hand-in-hand so it makes sense for us to work as close together as possible to improve the lives of Staffordshire people. By pooling our resources, we can provide integrated health and social care that allows people to stay in their homes for as long as possible.

“We have made great progress in the last few years, for example strengthening our Home-first reablement services to support people to return home from hospital. We will continue to use the Better Care Fund to improve and integrate services for our residents and to support some of the most vulnerable people in our county.”