Local Account - Active and supportive communities
The following information has been taken from the Local
Account of Adult Social Services in Blackburn with Darwen.
The Local Account gives an overview of the range of social
care services we have offered to local people during 2014/15, as
well as our plans for 2015/16. To view the full Local Account
document click here
Blackburn with Darwen is an area with high levels of
poverty. This means there are people who do not have jobs,
and who live in poor housing with low incomes. We know that
these worries can affect the health and wellbeing of people just as
much as smoking or not exercising enough.
We work with other Council departments and with local
voluntary organisations to increase the range of support and
activities available in local communities.
The re:fresh programme gives the people of Blackburn with
Darwen the opportunity to access a wide range of leisure, health
and wellbeing activities as well as health and dietary
advice. Re:fresh supports the whole community to get
involved, and in 2014/15 year physical activity attendances
totalled 654,998 compared to 623,071 in 2013/14 (an increase
of 31,927). 50% (326,397) of these attendances were re:fresh
free leisure activities.
Your Support Your Choice (YSYC), the free information and
advice service to help people to live independent lives, continues
to successfully signpost people to services. Care
Network became sole delivery partner of the YSYC service in October
2014 and has been working hard to develop the service and offers
available from partner agencies. During 2014/15 the service
has dealt with/delivered the following:
- Footfall - 3,379
- Referrals - 1,338
- Signposts to other services - 1566
- YSYC attended 80 engagement events attracting 866 people
- YSYC supported their 2000th customer in December 2014 and
continue to expand their customer base
The service was also helped by 20 volunteers, who
volunteered 2067 hours of their time during 2014/15.
Here are some comments from people who have received a
service from YSYC:
"I love it here, talking, having a laugh, everybody's friendly.
It's getting me away from my agoraphobia and helping me with many
concerns, heat, electric, money problems and pressure, I seem to be
feeling more focused."
"You have been brilliant, I couldn't
have done this without you, I didn't know where to turn, or where
to go for the best. Thank you so much!"
"My wife never wanted to move home,
but I thought it was the best thing for us, I never knew there was
so much other support available."
Spotlight on: Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership
(MCIP)
The Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership (MCIP) in East
Lancashire and Blackburn with Darwen is a pioneering three-year
partnership programme to provide better care and support for cancer
patients from the moment of diagnosis to beyond
treatment.
The £1m project, which was set up to address high cancer
incidence and mortality rate in the area, has created new services
and invested in enhancing existing services to help create
excellence and equality of care across the
region.
Among the successes achieved during the last year, include 89 GP
practices and 400 GPs in the area signing up to improve cancer
awareness and early diagnosis. They have helped deliver more than
800 new cancer care reviews, and standardise and improve the GP two
week wait referral process, making the system of early diagnosis
more efficient and effective.
Other milestones achieved include a new team of Macmillan
professionals who have been appointed to run new services,
including a community Macmillan Information and Support Service
delivered in partnership with the Council.
Volunteers from the local community have been recruited and
trained to provide support to people affected by
cancer.
A Macmillan Solutions service is now providing much needed
practical, emotional and financial support to people affected by
cancer and their families.
A new service user group called ELCEP (East Lancashire Cancer
Experts Panel) has been established. ELCEP are a group of
'experts by experience' who are helping to make sure that service
users are involved in shaping services and influencing
decisions. A collection of patient's stories has been
gathered which we can use to learn from.
Achievements 2014/2015
- Funding has been secured to develop the re:fresh health and
wellbeing website to make it more accessible for people with a
learning disability.
- The Older People's Forum was supported to organise the 'Just
Good Friends' social events at Derwent Hall in Darwen and King
George's Hall in Blackburn.
- The Community Wellbeing Co-ordinators supported volunteers to
set up a weekly arts and crafts group at Audley Lane Community
Centre, Kinross Close.
- Age UK are now running and developing the services provided
from Hopwood Court.
Challenges
- There can be gaps in support and provision for vulnerable
people who are not eligible for social care support. We are
working with the voluntary and community sectors to strengthen
support networks in local neighbourhoods.
Priorities 2015/2016 and beyond
- Support and develop a self-sustaining volunteering model across
communities.
- Support the development of the 'Transforming Lives' agenda
through the Neighbourhood teams.
- Continue to support the 'Your Neighbour Your Call' community
capacity building initiatives.
- Ensure the Macmillan Cancer Improvement Partnership
developments are self-sustaining.
In focus - Support provided through 'Your Support Your
Choice'
'Tom' suffered from anxiety and a loss of confidence due to many
contributing factors. He lives alone in private rented
accommodation and has little support from his family. He was being
treated for depression and also had mobility problems. His GP was
helping him to access counselling and osteopathy
services.
Tom visited Your Support Your Choice (YSYC) to find out about
services to help him feel less isolated and improve his emotional
and physical wellbeing. YSYC provided the following
information and aided access to:
- Adult Social Services - support around rearranging a missed
assessment of needs appointment
- Age UK - befriending services
- BwD Healthy Living - for a home visit to review his energy
efficiency and support him with budgeting
- BwD Wellbeing Service, Stop Smoking Clinic & Health
Trainers - for strategies and motivational support to stop smoking
and eat better and more healthily for financial, physical and
emotional health
- Community Transport, Dial-a-ride, Travel Assist - for low cost
accessible travel
- Keep Safe and Warm in Winter - a free educational event hosted
at YSYC by BwD Sustainable Neighbourhoods Team in collaboration
with BwD Healthy Living and Lancashire Fire and Rescue
- Lancashire Fire and Rescue Services - for a fire safety
check
- Lancashire Mind, Facing Up - for support around his emotional
wellbeing
- Macmillan - for promotional literature to support him with his
sister's diagnosis of cancer
- The Wish Centre - for strategies and support to manage
financial abuse
- YSYC Chill & Chat group - a social group for building new
friendships and trying different activities
YSYC has put Tom in touch with a range of third sector and
local authority services as well as support from his GP, providing
an integrated package of care, supporting him to overcome a diverse
range of challenges in his life.
The Local Account gives an overview of Adult Social Services in Blackburn with Darwen.