REDCAR & Cleveland Borough Council hosted a major summit to discuss the future of Adult Social Care in Redcar and Cleveland this week.
Held at the City Learning Centre in South Bank, the summit heard from a range of speakers representing the different interested parties. These included care providers involved in care at home and running residential and nursing homes, the local voluntary sector and carers themselves.
The council has vowed to look at adopting the standards laid out in the Unison “Ethical Care Charter” which sets out to ensure a sustainable care system through appropriate pay, better conditions and training for home care workers who are employed by companies contracted by the council.
This is one of the commitments the new administration at the council prioritised for its first hundred days.
There were also calls from all sides at the summit for a joint letter to be sent to the government urging additional funding to support social care.
Cllr David Walsh, cabinet member for adults at Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council said:
“The council is facing significant reductions in government funding at a time when the number of people requiring social care will be increasing exponentially as the ‘baby boomers’ of 1945 become frail and elderly.
“At this time, we do not know whether we will be receiving a higher level of central government grant aid to allow these people to be nursed and cared for.
“Despite this uncertainty, all parties at the summit agreed to continue working together to improve the quality of care for the residents of our borough, which is our shared passion and our top priority.”