More communication and information is needed to help people over 65 get the help and support they need from social services, and ensure they are aware about the costs of care.
Those were the key themes in a new report just published by Healthwatch Norfolk, which gathers feedback from people in the county about their health and care and feeds it back to decision-makers.
Healthwatch Norfolk is reporting back on the first 12 months of a three-year project for County Hall.
You can read the full report at www.healthwatchnorfolk.co.uk/reports/over-65-adult-social-care-year-one
They were asked to get feedback on three different subjects:
- How well older people are listened to by people working in adult social care
- The help given by adult social care staff when people over 65 leave hospital.
- The support received by adult social care after a dementia diagnosis.
Over 300 people shared their experiences through a mix of in-depth interviews and surveys.
Overall, most people felt adult social care staff did listen to them well, but some found it challenging negotiating the large number of organisations and services offering help and were not sure exactly what to ask for.
Many said they would like help to guide them through what is best for them, their partner or family-member, and help to understand how much it would cost.
Some of those we spoke too also felt assessments of the care they needed were signed off too quickly and the help they were receiving was not always checked to make sure it was working well.
Significant numbers of people said they and their carers did not receive enough consultation or were given enough information on the help they would get when they left hospital, and exactly when they would be discharged.
There was also some miscommunication over who would pay for care.
Concerns about the cost of care were also flagged up as a concern for some following a dementia diagnosis. A significant number of people also said they felt alone and that there was not enough help for them from health and social care services after the diagnosis.
Based on what we heard, we made a number of recommendations. These were:
- Come up with new ways of providing people with information about how adult social care is provided, along with timely information about who will pay for it.
- Every effort should be made to make sure everyone possible can be involved in a care assessment.
- Improve the hospital discharge process by making sure details of care when leaving is given in a timely way, people are consulted about what they want, and investigate why female patients are significantly less happy with discharge communications than males.
- More support for people after a dementia diagnosis especially around how their condition will progress and the costs of care, along with professionals checking in regularly.
- Making sure people diagnosed can still be socially connected which includes replacing support groups where they had to close.
Alex Stewart, chief executive of Healthwatch Norfolk, said: “Statistics show almost a quarter of the county’s population are aged over 65 which is well above the national average. Coupled with a rising population, the demand for social care for Norfolk’s older people is only going to rise.
“As we often hear, communication and information are key in health and social care, and this report yet again highlights that issue. Navigating the huge number of organisations, red-tape and understanding the financial demands are all important and people told us they do need more support around this.
“While there was often positive feedback about the care people got when they finally receive it, the path to getting it was sometimes a challenge.
“Our team will now drill down in more detail on what we heard and work with Norfolk County Council to help them act on the findings. The work will also continue, and we will continue to talk to Norfolk’s older residents to continue our work and boost understanding of what works well and what needs to improve.”
You can find out more about the key findings in the video below:
There is a subtitled version of the video below:
