Leadership
Lancashire's Dignity Campaign has received a unique profile across the County in being led consistently by a prominent Lancashire Council Member and the Director for Personal Social Care Services.
Lancashire County Council has a history of promoting the dignity agenda whilst giving a high priority to Personal Social Care Services. The authority continues to meet moderate need and has invested significantly in additional services, such as Help Direct to ensure wide accessibility to lower level preventative and universal services that respect the dignity of those who they support.
On a general note the authority is transforming the delivery of the support it provides in ways that maximise choice and control through the delivery of assistance through Self Directed Support and Personal Budgets. This will lead to a fundamental shift in power to service users over time. Our Self Directed Support case studies demonstrate the progress in this agenda that helps to move organisations forward fundamentally in the way they respect a person's dignity.
The focus upon delivering the dignity agenda has been maintained by the new council through the appointment of, Cllr Peter Mullineaux, Older People's Champion to take this work forward. Importantly Cllr Mullineaux is a member of the Councils Adult Social Care and Health: Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The recent paper I&DeA, "Walk a mile in my shoes" provides an ideal opportunity to explore the role of Overview and Scrutiny in understanding, promoting and evaluating dignity in the commissioning and delivery of services. It is intended therefore that discussions will take place to decide how best to involve the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in responding to and applying the principles of this recent paper.
The Director for Personal Social Care Services, Ms Olive Carroll, has been a focal point for the dignity campaign since its beginning and to date. She has personally led each of the Dignity in Care Events that have helped to create a wide, diverse and informed network of Dignity Champions across Lancashire. A fundamental ambition has been the desire to extend the campaign across as many health and care organisations in Lancashire as possible. The Director has also taken on a regional role attending the inaugural meeting of the North West Local Dignity Leads Group and on a national level she is now the formal ADASS representative on the recently established DH Dignity in Care Stakeholder Partnership Board.
This investment in time and attention at these levels has ensured the campaign has achieved a high status providing a critical driving force for this agenda in Lancashire and beyond.