– Toolkit for professionals
Key message to providers from Herts County Council
Working with partners and providers to deliver good outcomes doesn’t finish with commissioning good care. We have a responsibility to make sure providers and partners understand their role in achieving outcomes and enabling people to live independent lives. Services, care and pathways should always be designed to prevent needs from escalating.
ConnectedLives is Hertfordshire’s new model of Social Care.
Bringing together practitioners, commissioners and providers, it supports the transformation of our service. It is underpinned by the core concepts of the Care Act, ensuring community opportunities, citizenship and personalised outcomes and is now core to Hertfordshire’s adult social care services plan for the next 15 years.
On this page you will find further information on the ConnectedLives approach, and useful guidance of how to implement ConnectedLives in your area.
- Overview ConnectedLives is Hertfordshire’s whole service approach to community practice, personalised enablement and new models of commissioning. Bringing together practitioners, commissioners and providers, it supports the transformation of our services
- It is underpinned by the core concepts of the Care Act, ensuring community opportunities, citizenship and personalised outcomes and is now core to Hertfordshire’s social services plan for the next 15 years
- The model itself sets out standards, principles and approaches for staff delivering services. It places more emphasis on prevention and enablement and supporting people to live the life they want
Resources
The overarching Connected Lives principles
- The foremost principle of connecting people to people, services, technology, networks, communities, aspiration and real lives. Some people need a little support to live independent and fulfilling lives
- A new assessment framework and approach for everyone that places more emphasis on prevention and enablement. A proportionate, outcome focussed approach that ensures everyone, regardless of eligibility and care and support needs can benefit from having with a strength based conversation based on professional analysis
- Everything we should do should enable citizenship and the rights and responsibilities that go with this. By making a commitment to citizenship for everyone, we are putting in place the building blocks for stronger communities. Independence for people gives them the means and motivation to have choice and control over their life and over their care and support. Independence doesn’t just mean not having a service. Very often a service may give people independence
- Connecting people is not just about connecting people to others nearby. Social care staff and providers should be motivated to think beyond just ‘good care’; and look wider than their own care regime to initiate and supporting people to sustain relationships. Generally people who are socially isolated experience poorer wellbeing outcomes
What will help people manage their own lives?
- Focus on peoples’ own strengths and capacity for independence
- Taking risks is something we all do to make our lives better and achieve our personal goals, this should be reflected in the care and support we offer too
- Support people to be more in control
- Ensure providers support people to choose how and what they want to achieve
- Care should make lives better, not restrict and disable
Want to know more?
Try these e-learning packages:
» Connected Lives Outcomes
» Introduction to Connected Lives