Care change aims to help more live at home

HELPING more people live at home in their later years is at the centre of how Swansea Council wants to deliver social care.

The authority says it is starting to transform its adult social services as a response to what people want — and that’s not to go into a residential home.

Mark Child, Swansea Council cabinet member for wellbeing, said: “We really want to change the model of adult services.

“The model we’ve been running has been good for people, but it’s come to the end of its life: it’s not what people want anymore.

“People want to stay in their own homes as long as they can, even to die there — which is more a matter for health, but we do need to work much closer with health agencies.”

Swansea Council’s programme for change called TASS (transforming adult social services) already has examples in place.

Short-term respite care, Ty Waunarlwydd’s centre for dementia care and projects like the assessment service at Bonymaen House are at the heart of the council’s ambition to support those who want to live independently at home.

But as people are living longer, more dementia provision is needed. Soon extra accommodation will be made when Hazel Court in Sketty Park is expanded.

Mr Child added: “TASS puts people and their needs at the heart of what we do. People no longer want to move into care homes. As much as possible they’d rather live out their lives in their own homes with the support they need being provided by their local health and social services.

“That’s what the programme we’ve introduced is aiming to do with a range of community-based services that’s appropriate to individual needs. When there’s a need for respite care or specialist support like dementia care, people will be able to access them too.

“But from the work we’re doing with older people and their families today we can see that what people want, for as long as possible, is not to be uprooted from homes they may have lived in for decades and placed in a care home. What most people want is for health and social services to come to them and support them at home.”

The council has already set up projects like social opportunities clubs which aim to help older people build social networks with like-minded people in their community to improve their sense of well-being. And specialised sessions in Norton Lodge focus on empowerment.

A so-called re-ablement service at Bonymaen House has also been set up so older people who want to live independently can have a short period of residential care while their needs are assessed before they return home from something like a hospital stay. It is intended to help people regain their strength physically and mentally, while helping them regain their confidence.

Mr Child said: “The social care system is facing fundamental challenges over the coming years. Our TASS programme is about addressing these challenges and also about helping people remain independent. “TASS puts people and communities at the heart of social care and ensuring that people with disabilities, older people and carers have more choice and control over how they are supported.”

At the moment Swansea Council has no plans to outsource social care to a third party. Mr Child said he believed the council provided it well and he was looking to expand that.

Mr Child said TASS was not just about older people, but also for younger adults with physical disabilities or people with mental health issues.

He said: “‘Our flexible support service teams have helped young adults with learning disabilities gain confidence when undertaking daily living skills and engage in social events within communities. That sense of empowerment and independence is critical to the wellbeing of adults of all ages, and that is what Swansea Council’s transformation agenda is all about.”