Cllr Dr Kate Usmar speaks on care at Lib Dem Conference

Cllr Dr Kate Usmar, County Councillor for Tewkesbury East division and Cabinet Member for Adults' Support and Independence, gave a rousing speech at Lib Dem Conference regarding the importance of preventative care in individuals' care journeys. 

She said: 

"Conference, it seems a little brave to be standing here for my first time opposing an amendment, especially one that seems at first sight, such a good idea and meets that community driven love of people that we have as Lib Dems.

The model of care suggested, of small communities to enjoy relatively early in their aging journey just doesn’t hit the mark. We know we must meet the needs of more and more elderly people with more complex conditions. 

The funding model threatens the finances of LAs and families alike, but there is a different solution that provides dignity, independence and community. Through properly-funded prevention work, delaying the need for additional support, we can help people to stay in their own homes and communities living gloriously ordinary lives in their own homes. 

Small bespoke units work well for adults of working age, but for residential dementia care, our focus should be on highly specialised homes, where economies of scale can ensure expert nursing and therapeutic support for people with complex needs.

The model proposed is expensive, and if we get prevention right, it is not needed. It risks moving people unnecessarily from the homes and communities they love and the support networks built up over a lifetime.

It risks additional confusion with a move from a home that wasn’t needed yet. It risks self-funders depleting their earlier than necessary. And it risks unsustainable shifts in the care market, as such expensive resources would appeal to large for-profit corporations, damaging the network of small to medium sized enterprises who we rely on to deliver care.

Business and charities which have evolved within their communities, meeting the needs of their communities, providing high quality jobs for their communities, and boosting local economies.

In Gloucestershire, the Lib Dem administration is already working hard on the prevention model, and building 3 brand new 80-bed purpose built care homes in the places that we know people are going to need them most. As Cabinet member, I am visiting schools, meetings residents, engaging with local groups to ensure that these homes will be central in the lives of their neighbourhoods.

They will have shared community spaces, to ensure that people of all ages are regular visitors, and these homes will become central to everyday life, not just places to send granny away to. 

Conference, I absolutely applaud the original motion, but this amendment, whilst well-meant, proposes a model of care which is an expensive distraction from our essential challenges: to fix the funding model of social care, to value and support our incredible carers, paid and unpaid, and to provide strength-based preventative support so that residents can keep healthy and independent for as long as possible. Thank you."