Adult social care workers check value of partnership working

Adult social care workers are being encouraged to identify how partnership working can improve housing, health and social care services for older people, whilst reducing wider health care costs.

Following the announcement of extensive public spending cuts by the Government, we are calling for housing, health and social care providers to work together to ensure the needs of an ageing population are met.

We have produced a checklist for adult social care workers to identify opportunities for joint working between housing providers, local authorities, health providers and social care services to deliver their commitments to the well-being and personalisation agendas.

We recognise that housing providers and local authorities must be encouraged to work together to raise the profile of housing related support services and their contribution to meeting wider targets, including cost-savings and providing better care and support.

The checklist was launched at the National Housing Federation Housing Care and Support Conference and Exhibition 2010, at the University of Warwick, in July.

ERoSH is highlighting the value of sheltered housing buildings and staff in playing a preventative role, prolonging independence and self-care by enabling older people to access a range of low level support services that promote their independence and well-being.

Our chair Jo McTavish explains: "We hope the checklist will encourage adult social care workers to think about how partnership work between housing, health and social care can ensure older people are offered the correct services and support.

"By posing questions relating to best practice of joint working we are giving adult social care workers examples of how they can work to provide the most effective services to older people whilst maximising the potential of sheltered housing and its staff.

"We hope the document will highlight that sheltered and retirement housing has huge potential as a valuable community resource and reduces the cost of moving older people to high dependency settings which ultimately cost more."

We have also produced a DVD ‘Sheltered Housing's Contribution to Health and Social Care' which emphasises the benefits of partnership working and demonstrates a range of health and social care related activities that do or should take place in sheltered housing.

To order a copy of the DVD please contact Marie Therese or call her on 01249 654 249.

You can download the adult and social care checklist from the ERoSH website.