Template for local total transformation conversations
This is a template for conversations with local citizens and stakeholders about transforming health and care. Organisations can use the template to help guide those conversations.
1. Establish shared goals
The following is a set of shared goals that you may wish to adopt.
We believe that:
The goal of health and care services is to help older, vulnerable or disabled adults who have ongoing support needs to live well and have a good life. That means living independently at home wherever possible, with opportunities to spend time with other people and to do things which are meaningful to that individual.
Current ways of supporting adults do not consistently result in everyone achieving all of their goals and living well where they want to live. People and families are not always helped enough to look after themselves and each other. And the budget for adult services has reduced significantly and will reduce again. So lots needs to change
2. Agree on what will make a difference
Evidence suggests that there are five main ways in which people who need support can be helped to live well. You may want to use these as the basis for agreement.
- Helping all people and families to stay well, connected to others, and resilient when facing health or care needs.
- Supporting people and families who need help to carry on living well at home.
- Enabling people with support needs to do enjoyable and meaningful things during the day, or look for work.
- Developing new models of care for adults and older people who need support and a home in their community.
- Equipping people to regain independence following hospital or other forms of health care.
3. Develop a joint approach
Agree how you will approach the development and delivery of work, and agree realistic parameters. You may wish to use the following as a starting point for discussion with local citizens:
For each of the key areas which we have agreed are most likely to make a difference, we will
- Describe what we do at the moment and how much it costs. We will tell you what inspectors, staff and local people say works and what they would like to change.
- We will be honest about the amount of money we are likely to have in the future
- We want to combine what is working best in this area, with what is working best in other places, so we will describe some models from here and other places which we think should get more investment and those which we think could be reduced as a result.
- We will listen to what you think, publish a report on what local people have said and then draw up a public plan informed by those views, explaining the reasons for our decisions.’
We know that there are things that only services can do (e.g. provide personal care to people who are not receiving that care from a friend or family member) and things only communities can do (e.g. being good friends and neighbours so that fewer older people are lonely). We hope that together we can design a system which makes the best use of the resources of the council, the NHS and charities, along with what people and communities want to contribute themselves. The new system will not be perfect and it will remain under pressure, but we think that, working with you, we can all make a better system than the one we would have if council and NHS leaders tried to make all the difficult decisions on their own.
Additional support
If your area would like help with constructive local conversations about transforming social care, please complete our enquiries form for a quote or more information.