Their voice needs to be heard and listened to. We have already run an engagement across the county with the consultancy Sortified. Their findings bear out the fact that people want to live independently, in their own homes supported by friends and family in their community.
We want to move to true co-production of our services. Developing more equal partnerships between people who use services, carers, and professionals, leading to the delivery of better outcomes for people who use services and carers which will build stronger communities and develop citizenship.
The key principles we want to embed are equality, diversity, inclusion, and access.
Working more closely with carers
We recognise the importance of talking to carers about what matters to them. We are reviewing our Carer's Strategy to reflect a new approach to working with carers.
Our updated Carer's Strategy will reflect our response to the things unpaid family carers and those who depend on their support have told us is important to them.
We want to strengthen our carer offer recognising the valuable contribution our carers make and recognising many people's desires to care for their loved ones.
Bringing health and social care closer together
Health and social care services have not always been as connected as they could and should be.
The White Paper: 'Integrating care building strong and effective integrated care systems across England' explains how under the Health and Care Act 2022.
From July 2022 the law will allow health and social care to work more closely together in partnerships through integrated care systems (ICS).
What do we mean by an integrated care system (ICS)?
Integrated care systems (ICSs) are partnerships that bring together providers and commissioners of NHS services across a geographical area with local authorities and other local partners. That means they can collectively plan health and care services to meet the needs of their population.
The central aim of an ICS is to join up care across different organisations and settings, connecting hospital and community-based services, physical and mental health, and health and social care. ICSs are part of a fundamental shift in the way the health and care system is organised.
Following several decades during which the emphasis was on organisational autonomy, competition and the separation of commissioners and providers, ICSs depend instead on collaboration and a focus on places and local populations as the driving forces for improvement.