Stakeholder forum 03.09.24

Attendees: NM, NP, TOB, LJ, MH, DH, LF, JL, MM, WG, AB.

WG showcased the beginning stages of our parent/carer portal.

We showed some of the idea’s we have that we feel would be beneficial to include on a page you can access relative to your loved one.

• Photos/videos
• Care plans
• Documents to approve
• Allocations
• Upcoming events
• Forms/links

WG reassured the stakeholders that the portal will be part of the database we are already using, which is highly encrypted. Silva Care are compliant with GDPR regulations.

The portal will be available both by computer and mobile application, it was raised that on the computer it may not be instinctive to scroll across the page to access a file, when you receive a notification that there has been an upload, you should be able to click a link directly from the notification that should take you to the file. Where there is a parent or carer unable to or not wanting to access the portal, there will still be the option of viewing physical files.

Some other ideas that the stakeholders thought would be beneficial to include:

• Medication changes
• Urgent communication/notification section
• A useful information sections e.g. social care, WECIL, CLDT.
• Monthly statements (side note, TO, LJ & MH/DH are not receiving these).
• Preferred communication method recorded
• Required documents e.g. receipts for financial reviews
• Questionnaires could be stored on the portal
• Need to consider the username as email addresses may change

At the forum we discussed requiring a test group for the portal, this would need to be a range of people with different abilities to understand how user friendly it is.

We introduced AB, community engagement officer.

AB discussed his role with the stakeholders, explained how he analyses care plans to understand what goals can be met. Whether this is through employment, courses or meaningful activities. Recently AB arranged the red cross & police visits. LJ fed back that K thoroughly enjoyed the police visit and has been talking about it ever since. A mentioned he is happy for stakeholders to share idea’s or make requests, and Silva Care will ensure his details are available for this.

LJ mentioned a service that the fire service offer, free home checks for people living with additional needs. They will assess the property and write a protocol for if there is ever an incident requiring them to attend the house. This can include communication needs, physical needs, what room someone will be in, a code word- it’s very personalised to ensure the safety of vulnerable people.

There was a discussion around how themed days could be beneficial, where there can be multiple activities/discussions around a topic, and people can pick and choose what parts they will participate in. Community gardens and the company street goats were among some suggested activities.

Financial reviews.

Some of the attending stakeholders recently had financial reviews, some resulting in a larger care contribution. There were some suggestions from the stakeholders on areas that should be considered with extra care before submitting evidence, for example:

• Does the person you are caring for require more use of appliances (fuel)
• Do they require frequent furniture replacement
• Do they require more clothing than the average person

The local authority also requires receipts, so please ensure you keep them.

MM informed the group that if you require support with financial reviews or require support surrounding them, you can contact WECIL (west of England centre for inclusive living).

LJ informed the group that if you are living with someone diagnosed with a severe impairment / learning difficulty you can apply for a council tax reduction as a live-in carer.

MM proposed the idea of inviting guest speakers to future stakeholder forums, who could offer advice, support and knowledge in their specified area. An example MM suggested was inviting a GP to discuss reasonable adjustments with health appointments, flu jabs & annual health checks. The idea of guest speakers was received well, and stakeholders fed back some suggestions that could be useful.

Stakeholders felt inviting guest speakers could increase the attendance to the forums as parents/carers may be interested in particular topics.

Emergency appointments/support required.

If you have an emergency or require some additional support, please contact the manager of the service your loved one accesses. Where possible, we will amend support times and assist as much as we can. We can request for additional hours to be temporarily added to packages of care, alternatively, we can work something out with your current package and move hours to suit.

Recently a group of stakeholders took part in our expert by experience, each stakeholder participating was given one or two services to attend, with a questionnaire/survey to complete at the site. Thank you to all those who took part in this piece of work, the feedback has been received and we are currently working on a ‘you said, we did’ piece of work to showcase the actions taken. There are still outstanding services that require inspecting.