Join in the Conversation on Adult Social Care

A series of virtual and face-to-face meetings have been organised to allow residents of South Tyneside to get involved in developing a new vision and strategy for adult social care

The Council is keen to hear the thoughts of local people - particularly those who use adult social care, carers and other local people with an interest in social care  - so that their views and aspirations are reflected within the strategy with services ultimately co-produced and co-delivered.

The key aims of the Living Better Lives Strategy (2022 - 2026) include supporting people to stay fit and well and connected to their communities, promoting early help and delaying and reducing need and ensuring we have a skilled and sustainable workforce.

Councillor Anne Hetherington, Lead Member for Independence and Wellbeing, said: "In line with our priority of supporting our older and vulnerable communities, we want to help people live healthy and independent lives by fully utilising their strengths and assets.

"We want to work with all our partners to ensure that people only need tell their story once and that they have an equal voice in co-ordinating their care and support. However, we will only achieve this by changing the way we work; focusing on outcomes; what people want to achieve, how they want to live and working with our neighbourhoods and communities differently We want to ensure that this vision and strategy reflect the values, needs and aspirations of local people."

She added: "To ensure that everyone can make their voice heard, we will be facilitating a mix of online and in-person events.  We are asking residents to take part in two events, either virtual or face-to-face, to find out what a good life means for you and how we can work together so that social care can support this and help shape our final vision and strategy."

The first online session will be held on Tuesday 12 October between 11.00am and 12.30pm with a follow-up event on Tuesday 16 November between 10am and 11.30am. The face-to-face sessions will be on Wednesday 20 October and Tuesday 23 November and will both be between 11am and 2pm. Both sessions will be held at Jarrow Focus. Anyone interested in joining these sessions is asked to contact livingbetterlives@southtyneside.gov.uk

These sessions will be facilitated by the independent charity, the Social Care Institute for Excellence, and people attending will receive a £25 gift voucher as a thank-you.

People can also share their views on the draft strategy with members of the Adult Social Care Team by attending an online public engagement event.  The first online event will be held on Wednesday, 29 September between 1pm and 2.30pm, with a second event on Wednesday, 6 October between 11.30am and 1pm. A third event will be held on Friday 22 October between 12.30 pm and 2.00pm. To book a place for one of these sessions, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/have-your-say-with-south-tyneside-adult-social-care-a-virtual-gathering-tickets-169963530495

People can also share their views on the draft strategy and find out how they can become more involved in the conversation by completing the survey at www.southtyneside.gov.uk/haveyoursay

The consultation is open until 30 November.