The impact of loneliness and social isolation is significant. To tackle this problem, Norfolk County Council adult social services, is investing in ways of preventing and reducing loneliness that address the barriers to people having the quality and quantity of social connections that they would like.
In November as part of our budget consultation we asked for views on our proposal to change the way we work out how much people need to pay towards their non-residential care services.
Our proposal was to change the Minimum Income Guarantee (MIG) for people under 65 and the amount of Personal Independent Payment (PIP) that some people can keep on top of their Minimum Income Guarantee.
As advised at the Steering Group meeting on 7 December, Norfolk County Council operates three separate referral mechanisms, one of which is Home Shield. This is inefficient and has been reviewed in light of the budgetary savings required of the council. On average, less than 8 referrals per month come through the Home Shield scheme and this, combined with the administrative and IMT resources required to maintain the referral form, mean that the scheme is very costly and unviable.
In 2018 our community phlebotomy service transitioned from JPUHT to ECCH. This process encountered some difficulties and in some areas patients were temporarily affected by lack of access to phlebotomy. As a result the Great Yarmouth and Waveney CCG reviewed the transition in partnership with JPUHT and ECCH colleagues and produced a report, the intention being to learn from what happened and apply that learning to any relevant service developments in the future. The report has been shared with our Local Delivery Group and we would now like to make it available to your organisation.
Thursday 14th March is Social Prescribing Day, when people across the country are being encouraged to think about finding health solutions in their communities.
Who knows a community better than the people who live there?
Surveys show that Norfolk people want to see more community spirit in their towns and villages and more support for the most vulnerable. This is why Community Action Norfolk (CAN) has supported the set-up of around twenty Good Neighbour Schemes around the county.
When the National Health Service began in 1948, the UK population was 49.4 million. 70 years later the population stands at an estimated 66.5 million, an increase of more than 34%. People are living longer. Many are living with long term conditions such as diabetes and heart disease or suffer with mental health issues and may need to access their local health services more often.
