Putting People First - What's it All About?

Putting People First and the drive to develop a personalized services market within the social care sector is making steady progress throughout England. The Government has set targets for Putting People First to make sure individuals eligible for social care are given the information, support and means to take control of their own support with the help of personal budgets.

There a number of national policy documents covering the wider aspects of public service and social care transformation:

* The transformation of adult social care services are outlined in the ministerial concordat Putting People First which sets out the vision for every person wanting more control over social care services have the right to choose, organize and pay for their own care regardless of where they live.

* The agenda includes NHS and personal health budgets, which have been piloted and reviewed. The agenda in the social care field is making more rapid steps forward that the health service. The idea of an NHS patient theoretically having consumer choice seems a more complex concept than say, an elderly person choosing a happinesslifetime.com home care agency.

* The 'Big Care Debate' arising from the adult social care green paper has continued to drive the wider agenda forward towards a national care service.

Personalized services based on individual needs and person centered planning are nothing new. Individual support planning, offering choice and user led services have been around for years especially in services for people with learning and physical disabilities. The move now to hand over key parts of the process of procuring services and more control generally is a radical new development.

Service users can also choose to take up different services than may have been traditionally available, including the ability to express preference over the people and organizations who they choose to employ directly or otherwise.

Putting People First is about more than a worthy vision. One of the key drivers is the need for better outcomes, increased quality, and greater cost efficiencies against a backdrop of the growing demand for social care. This is driven by people living longer and staying in their own homes. Part of the agenda is to provide more widespread understanding of early prevention measures to reduce the need for higher level more expensive packages of care.

One of the key pieces within the personalization jigsaw is communication and information. Local authorities need to provide good access and clear guidance to the range of services available. Putting People First also highlights the need for local authorities to work with the voluntary sector and community based organizations to help develop social capital for vulnerable groups and individuals.

More emphasis has to be placed on people helping others rather than the whole burden of care resting with local Councils. Councils have been tasked with working within communities to create conditions where people can build self-sustaining support networks with help and advice from a range of groups and services.

Glen Crosier is a marketing and business development consultant based in Brighton, England specializing in the care, support and community sector. He is the author of sellingcare.co.uk Selling Care which provides marketing and business advice for care and support service providers responding to changing market conditions created by the sellingcare.co.uk/putting-people-first Putting People First agenda.