Corporate Strategy
Medium Term Corporate Strategy to 2009 Improving Life in Leicestershire
Older People
21% of our population is over the age of 60. We believe that older people
should be valued as active contributors to society rather than as dependants. We will take a broad approach
to improve the lives of older people and to recognise the vital role they play. This means developing
a better understanding of the needs of older people, including those with mental ill-health and learning
disabilities, in relation to a broad range of services as well as specialist care services. We will
therefore improve arrangements to gain and use the views of older people in planning and delivering
our services. For the 15% of older people who require care services our overall aim will continue to
be to support them to live at home and avoid admission to long-term care and to increase individual
choice and control over care services.
We will:
- continue to develop a range of services to support people at home; including
services out of hours and improved contracts with domiciliary care providers aimed at providing more
efficient, high quality care across the County;
- adopt a single assessment process across Health and Social Care;
- develop a model for integrated services for older people between Health and Social Services
including intermediate care services, services to people with long-term conditions and to older people
with mental ill-health;
- increase the take-up of Direct Payments for older people including people from ethnic
minorities;
- work with districts to develop supported housing options in each area including extra
care schemes and services for people from ethnic minorities;
- work to reduce the fear of crime felt by older people, including by working to tackle
scams and door stop sales to prevent distraction burglary; and
- work to ensure the safety of consumer goods including electric blankets and work with
the Fire and Rescue Service to promote safety in the home.
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HIGH PRIORITIES
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WE WILL ACHIEVE
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Develop partnerships in health and social care services
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A strategy with Primary Care Trusts to support people with long term conditions to live at home and reduce hospital admissions
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Improve engagement with older people
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An older people’s consultative network and consultation strategy (LAA target)
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Support more older people to live at home
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Increase the number of older people receiving direct payments by 143 to 200 (LAA target)
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Maximise older people’s income - increase take up of benefits
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Increase attendance allowance claims by 4420 (29%) Increase housing benefit recipients by 996 (10%) Increase council tax benefit recipients by 3400 (17.5%) (LAA target)
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Other Local Area Agreement Priorities
- Increase the range of supported housing options for older people through
the supported accommodation project, developing additional extra care schemes and floating support.
- Develop a single ‘gateway’ so that when older people contact key agencies for the first
time or for assistance, there is awareness amongst officers to wider issues that might impact on an
older person’s well-being.
- Improve the response of health, housing and social services agencies to situations when
older people fall at home.
- Develop a new service to enable older people to have access to low level support, through
the recruitment of volunteers.
- Increase the range and volume of cultural activities that older people participate in.
- Ensure that older people who are living at home have higher standards of housing and support
which enables them to live better quality of lives.
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