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It’s the quality of care that counts
• I WAS pleased to see the prominence with which the Tribune published the letter from Angela Sinclair, of Islington Pensioners’ Forum (What are social services doing? June 1).
Social services are the council’s unsung heroes and provide essential but often unglamorous services to support some of the most vulnerable people in our community.
Social services regularly report to the council’s executive on the overall performance of all our contracts.
We are also rather proud of our record on consulting with our clients and with the public generally. The consultation attended by Ms Sinclair on May 17 was a consultation on a strategy document, the Live Long and Prosper strategy.
This is a partnership strategy across the health service, the council, the voluntary sector, the Chamber of Commerce, the police, the fire brigade and others, which focuses on all aspects of people’s lives.
It was not a social services event as such, and so was held in a community venue. Social services do consult intensively on what we do and it is rather unfair of Ms Sinclair to suggest we consult halfheartedly. Only last month more than 100 people attended our Carers’ Conference at Islington Resource Centre.
Ms Sinclair is unhappy about the amount of social services that are outsourced nowadays. Like her, I hanker back to the days when councils could build care homes and day centres and run them themselves. Government policy has put those days well into the past.
When the current Liberal Democrat administration took over Islington Council we found run-down council buildings for older people that verged on the squalid. We embraced the new culture of partnership with the private sector and I am pleased to announce through your columns the opening soon of another new building for older people in Islington.
This will be an excellent new 86-bed care home and day centre in Durham Road to replace the old Lennox home and Alsen day centre. It has very spacious rooms with en-suite bathrooms, sitting and dining rooms and a lovely garden.
We are proud that we have now replaced or refurbished all the old homes and day centres built in the 60s and 70s with high-quality provision and are now making the same improvements to facilities for people with disabilities.
I am sure people are more interested in getting good-quality care for themselves and their families than in doctrinaire squabbles about whether it is managed directly by the council or by an external organisation.
CLLR JOHN GILBERT
Lib Dem executive member for health and adult social services |
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