Our vision

People tell us they want to live in the place that they call home, with the people and things they love, in communities that look out for each other, doing the things that matter to them.

This vision of living the lives we want to live as independently as possible is one that we can all share in and is at the heart of our vision and supporting strategies: ‘Living Well in Devon’, ‘Ageing Well in Devon’ and ‘Caring Well in Devon’.  

We must be honest about the challenges we face. Maintaining financial sustainability when our income is falling behind the rate of inflation won’t be easy. People’s health and wellbeing have been affected in different ways by the pandemic and its aftermath and we are experiencing changes in demand for our services as a result. The cost-of-living crisis is impacting people’s needs and the price we pay for meeting them.

But we are fortunate in Devon to draw on the many strengths and assets of people in their communities and the partners and providers we work with. During the pandemic communities have stepped up to support their neighbours, the voluntary sector has taken on new functions, and our adult social care providers continued to provide quality care in challenging circumstances, and across the health and care system we have seen people respond with compassion, dedication, and innovation.

Our vision and strategies are rooted in what people have told us is important to them. They want the same opportunities as everyone else to lead meaningful lives in the community. People do not generally want to be dependent on public services, preferring to live with and be supported by their family and friends at home in the community and connected to their communities and interests.

We recognise that this can also put pressure on those who support others, which is why our ‘Caring Well in Devon‘ strategy is so important. People tell us that there are not enough opportunities in Devon for them to achieve what matters to them, and there are often barriers that get in the way.

The pandemic has shone a welcome spotlight on the caring workforce, and we must build on that momentum by promoting careers in care and demanding the recognition and value our frontline workers deserve, seeking to influence national change to deliver local benefits, including through securing the long-term funding of adult social care so that we can deliver on the government’s reform agenda to the benefit of people in Devon.

Good quality accommodation and the better use of technology are at the heart of the modernisation of adult social care, providing pathways for people to maximise their independence. We are seeking to make the most of the opportunities of integration, devolution, and partnership through the work of Team Devon to achieve this, building on what we have already achieved together, but not being afraid to think differently; with the world around us changing rapidly, so must we.

Articulating our vision and strategies provides us with an opportunity to address these challenges and transform how we support adults in Devon. We would like to take the opportunity to thank all who have worked with us to develop this strategy. We will continue to listen to people as we take forward our ambitions and deliver on them. 

Adult social care in Devon

Adult social care in Devon includes a wide range of services to help people maintain their independence, be protected in vulnerable situations, maximise their health and wellbeing, and play a full part in society. The people who we support have additional needs arising from age; learning, physical or sensory disabilities; or long-term physical or mental health conditions and autism.

We work with people at all stages of their lives:

• When becoming an adult, by developing their independent living skills so that they can lead a fulfilling life and achieve their goals.
• When developing as an adult, learning new skills as they progress and adapt to their changing needs, while planning for later life.
• When ageing as an adult, accessing the health and care support they need, living longer and better as a result.
• When providing unpaid care and support to a loved one, being supported in their role so that they can balance their own needs with those of the person they care for.

Adult Social Care in Devon County Council delivers the Council’s responsibilities for the safeguarding and wellbeing of the residents of Devon, including the Care Act 2014 duties:

• Prevention, early intervention and support for working age adults, including through the provision of advice, information, advocacy and support for carers, together with effective use of digital and Technology Enabled Care and Support (TECS) and reablement to promote independence and prevent the need for more dependent and expensive services in the future.
• Assessment of the needs of adults with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, sensory needs, autistic people and/or people with mental health needs.
• Commissioning, procuring and providing services that meet assessed eligible needs, support choice and control and maximise independence.
• Safeguarding and protecting adults from abuse.

Devon County Council delivers these services in partnership with other organisations including District Councils, the NHS, independent health and care service providers, and the voluntary and community sector. Together we aim to support people to keep their life in balance and live well. In changing our services, we are working with and listening to people to better understand what matters to them, so that we can work with each other in making the best use of our collective resources to improve people’s lives.

We have reviewed our vision for adult social care through conversations with the people who use our services and their carers, our staff and those of independent and voluntary sector providers, and colleagues in partner organisations and across the council. We have considered what they have shared with us of their experiences during the pandemic and our recovery from it in shaping our vision and the strategies that flow from it.  

We have also used the evidence contained within our Joint Strategic Needs Assessment and in our Annual Report for Adult Social Care in Devon as well as the research that informs the best practice standards that underpin how the Care Quality Commission assess our services and the outcomes people who use them achieve.

We have done so considering our statutory duties defined by the Care Act (2014) and other legislation and in the context of the government’s agenda for the reform of health and care services and the strategic plans of Devon County Council and our One Devon Integrated Care System.

Our vision for promoting independence in Devon

Most people tell us that what matters to them is to stay living safely at home in their community, surrounded by their family and friends, where they can retain as much of their independence as possible for as long as possible, living the life they want to lead by doing what matters to them.

We start with the assumption that the more independent people are, the better outcomes they will achieve, and at lower cost.

When people don’t receive the right care and support in the right place at the right time it can make their situation worse, not better. This is because once someone is receiving adult care support, they risk their needs escalating unless we work with them, and the people who care for them, to keep them as independent as possible in the place most appropriate to their needs at that time.

For most people most of the time that will be in their own home, which is where people tell us they want to be.

For some people some of the time this will be in hospital or a specialist setting where we will work to get them home whenever it is safe to do so.

We are seeking to create conditions in which people can lead fulfilling lives as independently as they are able, through being informed, secure and connected:

• Independent – People who are ambitious about living lives they have choice in and control over.
• Informed – People who know how they can get the support they need, when they need it, to help with the things that matter most to them.
• Secure – People who feel safe and confident that they can make the choices they want about how they live.
• Connected – People who have rewarding relationships and involvement with their family, social networks, and communities rather than feeling lonely or isolated.

We aim to encourage people to stay well and support them to help themselves.

When they need it, people should have personalised care and support that focuses on their strengths, the outcomes they want to achieve, and that gives them choice and control.

Wherever possible, people should remain in the place they call home, connected to their community of family, friends and neighbours.

What promoting independence means in practice

The way in which people are best supported depend on their needs and circumstances:

• For most people, our universal offer comprises information and advice and community development.
• For those on the edge of care, we target preventive approaches to avoid, delay and reduce the need for ongoing support.
• For some, this will mean providing them with short-term services following a crisis to help them recover, rehabilitate and be re-abled.
• For a few, we provide ongoing care and support to meet their long-term needs. 

What promoting independence means in practice:

• Through prevention: creating the conditions where people and communities help themselves.
• At first contact: effectively meeting people’s needs through information, advice, signposting, diverting them from dependence on care services by preventing, reducing, or delaying their need for them.
• In our care management practice: focussing on strengths of individuals, their families and social networks, and their communities to help people help themselves and each other do what matters to them.
• Through short-term interventions: developing the range of services we offer collaborating with NHS partners, extending their reach, improving their effectiveness, and ensuring appropriate access and triage.
• Through long-term services: making the default expectation the maximisation of independence and giving people choice and control over the services they receive from a diverse, high quality, affordable and sufficient market of providers.
• By safeguarding: keeping vulnerable adults in our health and care systems, pathways, and transitions safe.
• With carers: supporting them in their role through access to information, training, advice, and support.
• In integration: making independence the key outcome of all services and the core principle of shared culture, preparing people for recovery in all stages of health intervention.

In seeking to promote people’s independence in everything we do we will:

• Listen to people to understand what is important to them and what their abilities and challenges are.
• Recognise, nurture, and build on and the strengths of people, their networks, and communities.
• Aim to maintain or regain and maximise people’s independence.
• Provide the right care and support in the right place at the right time, keeping people at home wherever possible.
• Use well targeted short-term interventions to reduce reliance on long term care.
• Support people to maintain and extend family and social relationships and take part in fulfilling activities in their communities.
• Help people to gain employment or to access education and training opportunities that leads to employment.
• Encourage people to make use of facilities or services in the local and wider community.
• Promote people’s well-being through following healthier lifestyles and accessing health services.
• Inspire and empower people through our own language and behaviour.
• Be ambitious and innovative, having high expectations for ourselves and others.
• Respect our differences in an open, honest, and trusting way.
• Reflect on how we are doing, celebrating success, and acknowledging where we need to improve.

Our strategies for promoting independence

Our vision and the aims, outcomes and priorities are developed in our strategies:

• ‘Living Well in Devon’ focuses on people of working age with a learning disability, autistic people, those with mental health needs and/or physical or sensory disabilities and aims to maximise their capacity for independent living.
• ‘Ageing Well in Devon’ focuses on the needs of people as they get older to sustain their capacity, including interventions that prevent, delay and reduce care needs.
• ‘Caring Well in Devon’ focuses on unpaid carers who look after a partner, family member, or friend. (Not all people who fulfil a caring role recognise themselves as a carer or seek support.)