New social work scheme open day success

An open day was held on Wednesday 25 July 2012 to give people the opportunity to meet the team at a new Shropshire social work scheme and find out more about the exciting project.  

Shropshire Council was one of just six councils across England which received funding from the Department of Health to pilot the national Social Work Practice scheme that could benefit up to 1,800 vulnerable people in the county. 

The Social Work Practice pilot, called People2People, looks at different ways of providing social work support for people to ensure it best suits their needs and helps them to be more active and independent.

Ann Lewis, People2People Board Director, commented that the open day event was a huge success, showcasing the innovative ways and excellent services provided by this non-profit social work practice based at Radbrook Professional Centre in Shrewsbury.  

People2People has been set up by a group of social workers under a not-for-profit community interest company.  People2People’s board of directors includes people who use the service, staff, non-executive directors and representatives from Shropshire Council. 

The pilot is providing social work services for older people, people with physical disabilities, people with learning disabilities and their carers in the Shrewsbury area. 

People2People aims to help increase people’s independence and reduce their long term reliance on social care by giving them more control over their support, with an emphasis on helping people to use personal budgets to choose services. 

The scheme is testing whether a more streamlined service can be offered to customers, which also reduces bureaucracy: 

• Working alongside other community organisations to help identify the right support within people’s own communities
• Providing support at the first stage of contact to increase people’s independence through rehabilitation and reablement services
• Giving social workers more control over decisions which support the choices made by those in their care
• Providing advice, support and access to new support technologies
• Developing peer support and advice networks
• Exploring new and alternative options with individuals when developing their support plans.      

Claire Wild, Shropshire Council’s deputy Cabinet member responsible for personalisation, said:

“People2People offers an opportunity to improve the lives of those receiving support, by exploring new ways to work closely with people to help them maintain their independence and remain in their communities for longer. 

“It is an exciting development in social care which aims to help people have more control over the care they receive and consider alternatives to traditional services.  It is hoped that residents seeking social care support locally will benefit from a more responsive service and receive support that is more suited to their individual needs – and the feedback to date has been very positive.

“I hope everyone who went along to the open day enjoyed finding out more about how we are working to change the way adult social care services are developed and delivered to respond to what people have told us they want.”

The scheme is backed by Department of Health funding.  The pilot will run until August 2013. 

For further information email people2people@shropshire.gov.uk or call 01743 272053.