Lib Dem Budget - Social Care (Oxfordshire Liberal Democrats)

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Lib Dem Budget - Social Care

February 13, 2007 12:00 AM
By Cllr Janet Godden in County Council

Attempts to mitigate the hardship for family carers of no new Government investment in social care - despite all those promises - and the consequences of NHS service reductions are common to all four budgets this year. The Liberal Democrat budget goes furthest.

We recognise that help and support for carers comes not only in services for carers, important though these might be. In addition to putting in £300k for services for carers themselves, we have reversed the Conservative cut in respite beds, since carers' overnight breaks are dependent on there being somewhere safe for the cared for person to go, and more respite beds is one of the things that carers keep telling us is most needed.

Our most significant innovation is to revive the Prevention and Day Services Strategy for Older People, which was agreed in principle by the former Executive in December 2004. The strategy document is detailed and costed. It contained already in 2004 all the prognoses about demographic growth and the increasing incidence of dementias, about the needs of carers and their own age profile that the Cabinet now claim to have discovered for the first time. The resource implications were considerable, however, so despite the fact that the strategy was to be phased over 8-10 years, and had obvious opportunities for joint undertakings with Health partners, the door was slammed shut on the strategy in 2005.

It is not shut over here on the Liberal Democrat benches. The strategy is for 17 "day care resource centres" in the main population hubs, supported by smaller local day centres. Day care provides not just relief for family carers but proactive care rather than simple containment for the cared for person. The Resource Centres will be the base for community nurses, including community psychiatric nurses, who can carry out physical and mental health assessments on the spot and make appropriate referrals. People can obtain advice and information, including help with benefits claiming. Those living alone with reduced mobility can be helped to have a bath or shower and their clothes and bed linen can be laundered. They are given a decent lunch. There are other people to talk to, visits from the mobile library and a range of activities. For many people of a coping generation, a day a week at a resource centre of this nature, with perhaps another day at a smaller centre, makes the difference between coping with life and not coping. It is not so very visionary. It happens in other parts of the country, and its relevance to moves away from residential towards more home based care are obvious. Good day care is an important part of the web of services. The costs are not high when we consider the scale of the strategy. The only question is not Can we afford this strategy but Can we afford not to reintroduce this strategy?

Cllr Patrick has covered the money we are putting into the book fund, which is similar to the Conservative Group. We think that even Cultural Services should not be exempt from the strive towards more cost effectiveness: we propose a small charge for the use of computers in libraries for personal email, and a charge for the use of the County archives by genealogical researchers.