Hello,
Further to my message to you last week, I wanted to update you on some of the developments that you may well have heard about in your teams and from your leadership team managers.
Before I do, I wanted to touch on the significant news about a COVID-19 vaccine. There is obviously still much planning to be done to make sure it reaches our most vulnerable residents and staff across the health and social care sector. Myself and colleagues are directly involved with this through our Sussex Health and Care Partnership with the NHS and know how vital it is to prioritise not just the wider care market, but also our own staff who are regularly seeing people face to face.
It does now feel that we can look to the future with renewed optimism for what I hope will become a much more settled time for our communities, the people we support and ourselves and our families. We do of course have winter to get through, when services often feel more strain than normal, and this coupled with the pandemic will require us to continue our efforts to keep people safe and supported. We have effective plans in place which will help us respond to the demands.
There’s a more detailed update on the vaccination roll-out across Sussex later in this newsletter.
I know this has been stated many times, but it simply can’t be said enough - on behalf of myself and the leadership team, thank you for your exceptional commitment to our most vulnerable residents during the pandemic. Despite all the challenges you have faced, you have continued to make a positive difference to the lives of so many people in West Sussex.
Moving on now to some of the key areas we are starting to concentrate on.
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County Council’s Reset Plan We are considering how best to reflect our work in the corporate ‘Reset Plan’ to ensure the Adults and Health plans are fully part of the council’s priorities. We are committed to supporting and strengthening the Reset Plan by including the work we have set in train to improve prevention and outcomes for local people and our ongoing commitment to ensure all our services deliver the best possible quality.
We believe the Reset Plan should also reflect the way you have adapted our services throughout the pandemic, which has accelerated our partnerships with the NHS and our district and borough councils. You’ve broken down barriers so that we’ve improved the way people have been supported.
A final version of the Reset Plan is expected to be approved at the Full Council meeting in February 2021 along with the final budget.
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Our budget plans 2021/22 We are looking carefully at our budget for 2021/22 which ties in closely with the Reset Plan. In addition, the council’s Cabinet recently agreed to look into a number of budget savings proposals, some of which affect our service. No final decisions have been taken and there is still a considerable amount of work to be carried out to review and consult on any proposed changes. I will keep you updated on how these plans develop.
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Development plans You will recall that recently our leadership team produced a video for you to explain our plans for the future. Essentially, we describe how we will support residents to lead healthy and independent lives for as long as possible. We set out how we’re proposing to work with the independent care market and our health colleagues, how we will ensure that our operational core standards are embedded in practice, and how we’ll introduce a new mental health service. We also detail our prevention strategies and our new approach to housing in West Sussex.
With so much going on across the service, it’s important to me that we adopt a co-ordinated approach to our work. I will keep you regularly updated on service developments and I encourage you to feedback any thoughts or suggestions you may have.
I know I have only recently joined you as your Director, but already I can see how committed and motivated you are, and how far the service has come in transforming adult social care here in West Sussex. I am optimistic about the progress we’ll make together over the coming months.
Best wishes
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