What do you think about the future of community care, now, next year and next decade?
Download (PDF 989.78 KB)Summary of report content
Healthwatch Swindon worked with First City, a local provider of home care, on a survey to which 128 people responded.
People wanted to have control over their care, something very important to First City as a care provider. Control over care can/will manifest itself in the following ways:
- Care should be personalised – it is not ‘one size fits all’.
- Care must be tailored to an individual and be person-centred.
- The views and opinions of the individual must be central to the care and support.
People do not want their routines dictated to them. Individuals should be empowered to live the daily lives they wish to live, with care & support delivered flexibly to meet their needs. People wish to be communicated with effectively and treated with respect – two fundamental aspects of good quality care & support that will continue to be monitored.
People do not require their care & support provider to assist with developing social networks and facilitating access to community activities. This indicates that people feel able to do this themselves. Where this is not the case, particularly for those – of all ages – where social isolation is a concern, this can continue to be considered.
The findings indicate that technology-enabled care is not a key concern for many. This is a growing area of the care sector and the availability of technology to provider and supplement existing care mechanisms (i.e. physical care visits to an individual in the community) may not be known as widely as would be deemed necessary. Therefore, the continued adoption and promotion of new tec-enabled care products must continue in order to raise awareness.