Vision for Adult Social Care
In April 2008 the Council Cabinet agreed to adopt a vision for the future of adult social care in the borough, and an Action Plan to take it forward. It was based on the seven outcomes of "Our Health, Our Care, Our Say", the government strategy for community health and social care services. The Gateshead vision is based on the views and experiences expressed by local service users and carers during a consultation in 2007.
The Action Plan is linked to a wide range of other strategies and initiatives in Gateshead, such as the inclusion of older people, supporting people with disabilities into work, tackling the obstacles to volunteering and developing user-controlled services. It addresses workforce development issues, and the need to ensure that the Council meets equalities standards. The need for action with other agencies, such as over transport matters or with the Department of Work and Pensions is recognised. Several of the actions will also contribute to Local Area Agreement indicators.
These links mean that monitoring the progress of the Action Plan can be done alongside that for other strategies that are in progress. A number of the issues relate to communication, changes in ways of working and contributing to cultural change in society at large, and so they will need to be kept continuously under review rather than assumed to be complete. User groups will help the Council to do this.