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Adults and Health in Wakefield: Our plan for 2030

Helping adults live healthy, independent, and connected lives.

Welcome

We want everyone in Wakefield to live well. With support that is easy to access, joined up, and built around what matters most. Our Adults and Health Strategy sets out how we will improve health, wellbeing, and care by 2030.

We’ve listened to carers, partner organisations, voluntary groups, and people with lived experience. Their insight continues to guide our decisions.

Our ambition is simple:

A fairer, healthier Wakefield. Where people can live safely and independently for as long as possible.

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Our Wakefield

Wakefield is home to 357,729 people across our city, towns, and villages. By 2030, our population will rise even further. We'll have more older adults and more people living with long term health needs.

At the same time, we know that people across Wakefield experience health differently. Some communities face higher rates of long term conditions. Others face more mental health challenges, or unhealthy weight.

These patterns shape the support people need throughout their lives.

To support a changing Wakefield, we need to:

  • respond to a growing and aging Wakefield
  • reduce health inequalities
  • help more people stay independent
  • make support simpler to navigate
  • use technology and partnerships to improve access
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Our sector

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National and local pressures mean the cost of providing care continues to grow. All while more people need support.

We need to make the best use of every pound to protect services for the long term.

Like many areas across the country, recruiting and retaining skilled staff is becoming more challenging.

We need a strong, confident workforce to deliver high quality care that people can rely on.

Despite that, we have better technology, improved local insight, and stronger partnerships than ever before. These open up new ways to support people earlier, prevent problems, and make services easier to navigate.

Our strategy

Our strategy reflects the Wakefield of today, and prepares us for the Wakefield of tomorrow.

Above all, this strategy reflects what matters to our residents:

Being well. Being independent. Being connected. And getting the right support at the right time.

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We will focus on four key areas;

  • our people and our communities
  • our workforce
  • our processes, systems and data
  • joining-up across the health and care system

People and communities

We want people in Wakefield to live healthier and more independent lives. Surrounded by strong and supportive communities.

Wakefield’s population is growing and changing, with more older adults and more people living with long term conditions.

If we don’t act early, people can reach crisis before they get support.

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If we strengthen prevention and community help, more people can stay independent and avoid hospital admission. And enjoy the lives they want. We’re going to:

  1. Make it easier to get help early. With simpler ways to contact us and clearer information about local support. We’ll also step in sooner, so problems don’t get worse.
  2. We’ll make community support more consistent so people can stay connected. We’ll also work with voluntary and neighbourhood organisations so help is available close to home.

  3. Help people stay independent at home. We’ll make it quicker and fairer for people to get equipment and home adaptations. We’ll also speed up Occupational Therapy assessments and offer more technology.

  4. We’ll consider housing as part of a person’s health and wellbeing. We’ll work with housing partners so people can keep a home that supports their independence.

A thriving workforce

Two people looking at the camera and laughing happily

We want people in Wakefield to receive support from a skilled, confident and compassionate workforce.

People deserve care from staff who listen, understand what matters, and have the right training and time to help.

Wakefield, like many areas, faces challenges recruiting and keeping staff. If we don’t invest in our workforce now, we risk longer waits and more pressure on the people who rely on us.

By building a stronger workforce, we can improve the quality of care and make sure people feel supported.

We’re going to:

  1. Support and invest in our staff, so they have the training, skills and confidence to provide high quality, personal care.

  2. Create a positive and supportive workplace, where staff feel valued, listened to and able to grow in their roles.

  3. Build clear career pathways so we attract and keep the right people. We'll reduce turnover and improve consistency for residents.

  4. Make trauma informed and person centred practice the norm. Giving people support with compassion and understanding.

Quality and effectiveness

We want services in Wakefield to be safe, reliable and good value for money.

As more people need support and demand grows, we need systems that work well. We want to avoid delays, and make the best use of the Wakefield pound.

If we improve how we plan, assess and make decisions, people will get quicker answers, clearer care plans and better long term outcomes.

Better processes mean better experiences for residents.

We’re going to:

  1. Speed up assessments and decisions, so people receive support more quickly.

  2. Create clear, personal care plans based on people’s strengths and what matters most to them.

  3. Support unpaid carers earlier, with better information and practical help.

  4. Use digital tools to make processes faster, clearer and more transparent.

  5. Strengthen the local care market, the right services are available when people need them.

Joined-up care and support

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We want health, social care, housing and community services to work together so people experience one joined up journey. And not separate, confusing systems. When services are disconnected, people can get stuck, face delays, or feel they must repeat their story.

Joined up working means smoother transitions, faster help and support that reflects the whole person and not just one need.

It helps people feel more in control and reduces avoidable crises.

We’re going to:

  1. Make services work together, so people don’t have to repeat their story and get clearer, more coordinated support.

  2. Improve support for neurodiverse adults with clearer pathways and timely help.

  3. Strengthen help for people with complex lives, such as homelessness, mental health needs or substance use.

  4. Build stronger neighbourhood teams, bringing support closer to home.

  5. Improve dementia support, offering information and help earlier.

  6. Work with housing and health partners to prevent homelessness and keep people safe.

How you can be involved

Your voice helps shape our services

The best ideas come from the people who use our services, support others, or live in our communities.

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Ways to get involved

Every voice matters. And every piece of feedback helps us make our services better.

Strategies, plans and performance

Some of the key information about the district's population detailed in the Council's Corporate Plan and our Adult Social Care Strategy is from our annual State of the District report and Joint Strategic Needs Assessment.

Our plans

Our Adult Social Care Market Position Statement sets out the Council’s market shaping responsibilities required under the Care Act 2014, by:

  • providing an overview of our current market and what we currently commission
  • an outline of our market demand; and
  • what our future commissioning intentions are

The Market Position Statement is an important part of what a Council must do to help to make sure that there is a choice of different types of service and support available and can be used to encourage commissioners, people who use services, carers and provider organisations to work together to explain what care services and support is needed in the area and why.

Care market sustainability and fair cost of care exercise.

Our performance

Our How are we doing? Adult Social Care Local Account 2022-23 informs our residents about what progress we have made against our priorities. The document also sets out what we plan to improve over the next year, to support people to be Living Better Lives.

Please see below reports and links for further insight into our performance:

Strategy and plans with our partners


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