Project to improve care services in Shropshire moves forward

The ‘Making it Real’ initiative to improve the way people receive care services has taken a step forward, after the Shropshire board held its first ever meeting. 

Shropshire Council has signed up to the national Making it Real programme, which aims to ensure that personalised care packages are giving people the type of care they need. 

Providing care to individuals based on their own needs, known as personalisation, is now the nationally-preferred way of administering care. 

Making it Real is designed to give people a voice to say if they are pleased with the type of care they are receiving, or whether improvements are needed. 

Social care is the range of services and support available for vulnerable people to help them lead independent lives in their own communities. This can range from providing a first point of contact over the phone for anyone who feels they need some support, to helping people to arrange assistance with personal care, so they can keep living in their own home. 

The Shropshire Making it Real board, made up of council social workers, health professionals and people who use care services, met for the first time on 24 October 2013. 

Charlotte Quinton, who is leading on the Making it Real project for Shropshire Council, said the meeting was a good starting point: 

“The board agreed that it was vital to have input from people across the caring sector, so it was great that we had such a good attendance at the meeting.

“It was also great to work through an activity which helped us to choose the top three priority areas to focus and to base our Making it Real action plan on.  Our action plan will be finalised shortly and published on the Making it Real webpages this month.”

Lee Chapman, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult services – transformation and safeguarding, added:

“We wholeheartedly support the aims of the Making it Real initiative, and I hope the board meeting will signal the start of positive partnership working to improve the way we support people who receive care.”

Regular updates on Making it Real, and the wide variety of work taking place across adult services in Shropshire, are being placed on the council’s ‘Live Life Your Way’ Facebook page at www.facebook.com/shropshirelivelifeyourway.

To find out more about the Making it Real programme and the organisations nationally that have signed up, go to the national website – www.thinklocalactpersonal.org.uk/Browse/mir/