The Green Paper I’ve just published culminates the experience of the last 3 years to improve care…

We have seen big improvements in the quality of cares services across Staffordshire over the last few years.  

In 2009  the previous Labour County Council Administration left office with the legacy of a fragmented care service system and a tolerance of poor quality services for fear of destabilising the care market if it was tackled.

But despite the improvements of recent years I strongly believe there is a long, long way to go. The Staffordshire Green Paper on Care Quality is a consultation which seeks to combine practical solutions which are underway with an aspiration of raising expectations in care services quality.

Far too often people expect, and therefore get, services which fall short. Included in the proposals is a new approach of paying for services based on the quality of them rather than a flat rate no matter how good or bad. 

There’s also action planned to improve the status of frontline care workers including a higher minimum wage for them in Staffordshire when services are commissioned by the County Council. How is it right that people get more for stacking shelves than looking after some of the most vulnerable in society.

Then there’s a contraversial proposal to publicly name service providers that are under investigation or that have services which fail to meet the new quality standard. Historically that information has been kept secret but I can’t countenance that families who need to secure services for loved ones have less information than those within the State social care system.

And there’s much more. I hope it’s a comprehensive document which is of interest and also challenging in places. Anyone can comment on the proposals and I’d encourage as many submissions as possible from people using services and their family members, providers of care services, professionals and anyone with an interest or experience.

The full Green Paper is at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/greenpaper

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