West Sussex County Council (WSCC) is dedicated to promoting and supporting a diverse and active care market that encourages and rewards innovation and high-quality care. Our goal is to work with providers to shape future service delivery in line with our overall Council Plan, the Adult Social Care Strategy and our Adult Social Care Commissioning Strategy.
For more information read: WSCC Our Council Plan and ‘WSCC Adult Social Care Strategy 'The Life You Want to Lead'’
Services should be person centred and outcome focused, delivering care through a strength-based approach, building upon people’s relationships and wider social networks as well as increasing community connections.
Early intervention and prevention will reduce avoidable health inequalities, particularly when the council, care providers and the voluntary community and faith sector work in partnership with local people to build on local strengths and community assets.
People need to have choice and control over how their care and support is provided. Therefore, delivery models will be flexible, enabling services to respond quickly and meet short term demand.
Care will be provided within the community wherever possible, reducing reliance on traditional or more institutional forms of care.
Unnecessary hospital admissions will be reduced by developing services and service pathways to give more people effective and low-level support following hospital discharge. Key to this will be working with providers to develop ‘home first’ and ‘discharge to assess’ pathways which can operate seven days per week.
Current gaps in the market will be addressed including services for people with complex needs and those facing multiple disadvantages.
Care provision needs to be focused on reducing inequalities, promoting fairness and opportunity for all and supporting our most vulnerable residents.
Delivering social value is a key part of all services commissioned by the council so that procurement not only raises quality standards for customers but delivers additional value to the wider community.
For more information read: WSCC Social Value Framework
This document is the next step in our mission to set out our adult social care commissioning challenges and ambitions. We want to move forward in our work with providers and customers by developing a clear roadmap for key services and establishes a framework for collaboration.
Our Market Position Statement provides an overview of the local care and support market to help providers and customers better understand current and future need and demand. It provides information and analysis in the following areas:
The Market Position Statement is intended to inform and support providers of all care and support sectors from wellbeing and preventative services through to specialist regulated provision. We will use it to facilitate a dialogue with local providers so we can jointly enable the market to meet current and future needs.
It also provides an opportunity for the residents of West Sussex to input into designing and shaping the future of local services as well as increase the focus on promoting independence, reducing isolation and improving quality of life.
Our work with local care providers is shaped by legislation and government guidance, particularly The Care Act 2014 and The 2021 Adult Social Care White Paper.
The Care Act 2014 gives local authorities the responsibility to improve capacity, quality and diversity in the local care market. Working with providers is central to achieving these ambitions. As a result of the Act, council commissioners have responsibilities for:
Market oversight refers to the duty of local authorities to regulate care and support providers. Different from the more formal Care Quality Commissioning (CQC) approach, we work in partnership with providers daily to encourage, support and maintain high standards of quality in services accessed by adult social care customers in the county.
Market sustainability includes tackling some of the major challenges in care provision such as recruitment and retention, as well as investing in care by setting care costs at a rate which is both affordable to the public sector and fair to providers. We already have a Market Sustainability Plan which focuses on adult home care and residential and nursing care for the over-65’s.
Market shaping refers to activity where we work with individuals, carers, and families to understand what people need from the local care market, then work with providers to help ensure there is a diverse range of opportunities available for people.
The Adult Social Care White Paper sets out the 10-year central government vision for how people will be placed at the heart of the support and care system in England via three central objectives:
For more information read: Adult Social Care White Paper and The Care Act 2014