National Care Service summer forums: supplementary report - easy read

Follow up events

Information Sharing

We held an extra event in Edinburgh. It had a particular focus on the workforce. Workforce means staff who work in social care support and healthcare.

We talked about:

• access to information
• things that prevent sharing information
• pressures that make delivering social care and support hard for staff

At the session we talked about the Integrated Social and Health Care Record. An Integrated Social and Health Care Record could store social care and health care information. People would be able to add their information to it. This could be shared to support a person’s care.

Talking about access to information helped us understand that people feel that:

• the quality of information shared can affect how staff are judged

• staff may not always have access to the process of collecting information

• an integrated record should let staff update information in an organised and safe way

• information about supported people may not always be available to relevant staff

• information should be displayed clearly to relevant staff

Talking about things stopping information sharing helped us understand that people feel that:

• there is sometimes too many people involved

• staff in different professions work at different hours of the day. This can make sharing information hard

Discussions about ways we can help share information helped us understand that people feel that:

• face-to-face conversations can be important

• the integrated record must have a non-digital way to record information

Non-digital means ways to record information without using a computer. For example, over the phone or face-to-face.

• information must be available at all hours

Talking about pressures that make delivering social care support hard for staff helped us understand that people feel that:

• information can be missed because staff are rushed

• bigger workloads might mean staff feel undervalued

• the high number of people who need social care support cannot be met by the current system

• staff sometime may not have enough time to complete their tasks

• staff are not given enough time for training

Making sure your voice is heard

We held an extra event in Hawick and 2 online events. They focused on ‘making sure your voice is heard’.

People who came to these sessions were:

• staff from health and social care support
• unpaid carers
• people accessing support

We talked about:

• complaints
• independent advocacy
• eligibility criteria
• support planning

Independent advocacy means getting support from another person to help you express your views isand whes.

Eligibility criteria is the way your council decides whether you can receive social care support.

Talking about complaints helped us understand that people feel that:

• some people need support to provide feedback and make a complaint

• they want positive feedback to be recorded and celebrated more

• they want to have a conversation about their complaint instead of a standard answer

• it would be better to have staff whose job is answering complaints

• they want to be told what can be done to fix their complaint

• they want to know what will be done to make the service better because of their complaint

• they need services close to where they live

Talking about independent advocacy helped us understand that people feel that:

• people want information about advocacy earlier

• they want social care support staff to be aware of and support independent advocacy

• they want other types of independent advocacy support to be considered in the National Care Service

• they want standards in place for independent advocacy services

• they want a clear description of what independent advocacy means

Talking about eligibility criteria helped us understand that people:

• do not understand what eligibility criteria means

• want social work staff to explain what eligibility criteria means

Talking about support planning helped us understand that people feel that:

• they do not know about the support planning process. There is not enough information about the decisions

• they want more communication with their social worker

• unpaid carers may not feel heard in the support planning process

Valuing the workforce

We held two extra events in Edinburgh and two online.

We spoke to staff who deliver community health and social care support.

We talked about:

• training
• integration of services
• trust
• career paths
• communications

Talking about training helped us understand that:

• new social care staff may need more basic training
• experienced staff would like a way to share what they have learned with new staff
• staff would like more in-depth training specific to their job

Talking about integration of services helped us understand that people feel that:

• agency staff have limited training

Agency staff are staff who are employed by a private social care support provider

• there is a need for more understanding of roles across health and social care

• it is important for adult and children services to be more joined up

Talking about trust helped us understand that people feel that:

• staff need to know they are trusted

• there needs to be enough staff to feel safe at work

Talking about career paths helped us understand that people feel that:

• they need to understand there is support in an apprenticeship to reach a qualification

• social care staff should have ways to specialise in their job

Talking about communications helped us understand that people feel that:

• staff want people to understand what they can and cannot do

• it is important for staff to help people understand their rights

For example, understanding how to get social care support.

Realising rights and responsibilities

We held an extra event in Hawick.

This event focused on the National Care Service charter of rights and responsibilities. The charter will help people understand their rights and what to expect from the National Care Service. It will provide a clear way to get further support and advice or how to make a complaint if rights are not met.

We spoke to:

• staff who deliver community health and social care support
• unpaid carers
• people who receive support

People felt:

• positive about the rights in the charter

• worried the rights cannot be delivered

• worried the charter is focussed on adult social care and residential care

• that they want more information about what we mean by support networks and how they help make decisions

• that the charter should give more information on health and social care standards

• that the charter should include a timeline for a response to complaints

Keeping care support local

We held an extra event in Aberdeen.

This event focused on the workforce and people who receive social care support.

People felt:

• communication in easy read and plain English should be more common

• information sharing between staff and people who receive social care support could be more effective

• that they want choice and control when receiving social care support services

• that the same Self-directed Support options should be available everywhere

• that the same services should be available everywhere

• that the system should be flexible

• that moving between councils can sometimes make things difficult

• that more voices from people with lived experience need to be heard

• worried about if there were enough staff with the right training