DESIGNING A WELFARE STATE MK II FOR SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE

 14 June 2009

David Kidney explains:

“Already we see clearly that people are living longer lives due to changes in wealth, medical advances and healthy living. This is a good thing, but it brings with it challenges as the proportion of our population over retirement age becomes much greater. In particular, there will be some elderly residents with complex needs, disabled people and carers for whom no service was ever designed when the welfare state was set up in the 1940’s.

“Our task is to design the new services that are needed and to identify ways of delivering them and ways of funding them. We held a similar event at the University last year when we invited national policy-makers to Stafford to discuss the changes that we need to make as a society. At this event we intend to look at the changes we need to make at the local level.

“My thinking is that if we can design a good model of health and social care for all of South Staffordshire, it may become a guide to best practice for the rest of the country.”

The seminar is at Staffordshire University’s Gallery Restaurant, Beaconside on Friday 19 June starting at 1.00 pm.