Social Care Provision Priorities

Social Care Provision Priorities

PaCC Chair, Diana Boyd and Fiona England (who is now leading on social care for PaCC), met with Alison Mills-Clarke last month to discuss PaCC perspectives on social care provision.  

Alison started as Interim Head of the 0-24 Specialist Community Disability Service (SCDS) in January, replacing Carl Campbell. She has been a qualified social worker for 21 years and worked in a number of London Local Authorities managing many different services, including 0-25 Disabilities. Prior to qualifying, she undertook extensive community-based work, including working in respite provisions and as a residential social worker. Alison says:

I am dedicated to making a difference to children’s lives and continuing Carl’s journey, and am keen to work alongside PaCC in order to make improvements. 

We discussed priorities for parents around respite provision, including:  

• Transition to adulthood planning, including plugging the gaps for those who are no longer eligible for SCDS once they reach 18. The 14-25 year pod at SCDS, aimed at improving transition, is good in theory, but the benefits need to be felt on the ground. 
• Challenges recruiting PAs. 
• The challenges of Covid restrictions and how these have significantly impacted families with children and young people (CYP) with SEND. 
• The need to review Brighton and Hove’s Short Breaks Statement. 
• Gaps in provision for those who need respite but don’t fulfil the current eligibility criteria. 
• Concerns across the city regarding insufficient social care provision for CYP with SEND. 
• The ongoing need for education, health and social care teams to work together to improve long term outcomes for CYP. 

PaCC know that good and accessible respite is an essential lifeline for families. We look forward to working with Alison while she is in the role, using the feedback we get from our members to ensure the voices of parent carers feed into service improvements.