THE Care Act starts coming into force in April and Thurrock Council has been working closely with its adult social care service providers to make sure everything needed is in place in time.
On Friday, social care portfolio holder Cllr Barbara Rice and director of adult social care Roger Harris were the first to “sign the pledge”, followed by representatives from the private, voluntary and independent sector partners, all promising to follow an agreed set of standards.
These include such things as treating all service-users with dignity and being able to respond to their needs; having effective communication skills and understanding the importance of information sharing, understanding policies and procedures and having a good knowledge of services available for social care in Thurrock.
Cllr Rice said: “It’s important that this isn’t seen simply as a ‘management tool’, it needs to be embedded in the ethos of these organisations, the council and all the staff themselves.
“We all need to rise to the challenge because, as people live longer, social care services are ever-more in demand and under pressure.
“These pledges concentrate on the quality of social care – not just the quantity.”
She told delegates at Friday’s event of her vision for a motivated workforce based on compassionate care.
She said: “I want to see these pledges mirrored in the workforce, people continuing their professional development and not allowing this document to gather dust on a shelf.
“I’m a senior nurse myself and I know that for professional standards to be effective they must be accepted by everyone as part of their everyday life alongside the compassion and sense of humour that are two fundamental elements for working with recipients of social care.”
Cllr Halden added “We want our care system in Thurrock to be one where we empower those in care, because it’s their service just like a broadband provider – the customer needs to be in charge and happy.
"So we are looking at things such as making sure we explain the care options to the families because we know first-hand that many families become carers in all but name. It’s about making sure that those in care are empowered to make their decisions wherever possible and practical. Old age does not need to be barrier, many of our older citizens are an example for us all, and this charter will be our way of monitoring that the council supports them”.
