You might have seen that the Department of Health is asking for
people's views as it looks to develop a new White Paper on social
care next spring. There are a number of areas it wants views about
including personalisation.
Here at In Control we are thinking about what we want to say to
the government about this. We know there is an awful lot of bad
delivery of personalisation out there - we get many people
contacting us every week with depressing, sometimes outrageous
stories. I predict that most of the responses that the government
gets will tell them what isn't working. Many of these responses
will come from people quite rightly demanding the promise of
personalisation be delivered for them or those they care about.
People will tell of daft bureaucracy, of unhelpful restrictions.
Others will talk about forms of personal budget that feel fake -
where they aren't really able to self-direct. Some people will
perhaps understandably in these times mix up personalisation itself
with budget cuts and bad delivery and damn it. Some responses will
come from people who are opposed to or sceptical about
personalisation in the first place. They'll take the opportunity to
say it was a stupid government led idea in the first place,
ignoring its roots - disappointing but that's their right.
We at In Control will also tell the government what isn't
working and why not. But that isn't enough is it?
In many ways that's the easy thing to do.
Personalisation has to be made to work - what is the alternative?
So what's harder but really important is to identify what works -
what we want to see more of, why and how it seems to make a
difference. We then have to share and promote and struggle to get
these things to happen everywhere. In part this is government
business but it's also for councils and providers and others to
act. Please will you help us with this? Tell us anything
you have experienced or know about that works. We'll pull what you
tell us together and tell the government about it.
To get in touch, please email communications@in-control.org.uk
To find out more information and the Department of Health
Consultation and to give your views direct please visit the Caring
For Our Future website at http://caringforourfuture.dh.gov.uk/
The deadline for responses is 2nd December 2011.
Martin Routledge, head of operations for In Control
Last Updated : 06 October 2011. Page Author: Laura Bimpson.
