Put the people who use social care first Dame Denise Platt DBE Chair, Commission for Social Care Inspection

Social care is about PEOPLE – not systems or structures

‘Our health, our care, our say’ Outcomes for people –Improved health and emotional well-being –Improved quality of life –Making a positive contribution –Choice and control –Freedom from discrimination –Economic well-being –Personal dignity

What people want What people say they want Choice Flexibility Safety Competence & courtesy Independence Consistency

How can social care transform people’s lives? –Making a positive difference –Recognising people’s individual needs –Helping people find a voice –Enabling choice and control

Listening to what people say ‘Real voices, real choices’ –Choice –Flexibility –Information –Being like other people and taking risks –Respect and being heard –Fairness and non-discrimination –Cost and value –Safety

Choice ‘[Choice] is never a simple thing. It is not just about having the right to choose what kind of care you want. It is also about having the support so that you can make a proper informed decision without pressure from family and society’

Choice should be: –Real –Comprehensive –Informed

Factors that have an impact on choice: –Family and friends –Financial pressures –Lack of information –Lack of experience of making decisions –Lack of confidence –Lack of suitable alternatives

Flexibility Choice is meaningless unless services can respond People complain about inflexible bureaucracy and preconceptions Keeping up with people’s changing needs Role of direct payments and individual budgets Seeing people as INDIVIDUALS

Information Information should be: –Readily available –Accessible –Consistent and clear –Accurate and up-to-date –Coordinated –Supported with training for staff –Flexible enough to meet individual needs –Two-way –Comprehensive and complete –Proactive

Being like other people and taking risks Taking risks is part of daily life Risks are not always ‘big’ –Experiencing choice, personal control of a situation, social interaction People need support to achieve their goals –Reaching their potential, not being put in boxes Being like other people means being recognised as unique

Respect and being heard Difference between being listened to and being HEARD ‘The best assessment form is a blank piece of paper. Tick-box assessments deny individuality.’

Fairness and non- discrimination Complaints about routine discrimination and unfairness Being treated fairly is a fundamental right

Cost and value Key issue for self-funders –Value is important for individuals as well as for councils –Power of contestability should be exercised by individuals Can affect the way people experience care –Worries about funding or eligibility criteria can make people feel insecure and not in control

Safety Media interest in abuse in care homes People have the right to live free from physical, emotional and financial abuse Recruitment checks on potential staff are too often overlooked

Listening to what children say Children want to be: –Treated as individuals –Asked and listened to –Free from bullying and abuse –Taken as seriously as adults

Children want: –Stability –Same social worker –A say in decisions about their lives

How CSCI involves people –Emphasis on experience of people who use services –Case-tracking –‘Experts by experience’ –Asking for people’s views on inspections Inspectors should be independent Inspections should be unannounced Inspection reports should be easy to understand

Challenge for commissioners People expect a change in the quality and range of services available Personalised care means ways of commissioning services must change Councils need to: –Take a strategic, long-term view –Listen to what people want –Engage with local economic development strategies to encourage local care markets –Develop more sophisticated IT systems

Above all, councils should recognise that they are responsible for the WHOLE community they serve Councils need to ensure sufficiency of provision for everyone who needs social care

Looking to the future Implementing the White Paper Achieving choice and control Development of ‘support brokerage’ –Helping people navigate the system –Helping people shape care packages –Helping ensure people’s voices are heard Potential to change the relationship between citizen and state

Putting the people who use social care first All CSCI speeches can be found by visiting