Barnet wants us to tell them what we think of its Adult Social Care!

There is a press relase on the Council website, saying they want to hear peoples views about adult social care.

http://www.barnet.gov.uk/news/article/223/tell_us_what_you_want_to_know_about_barnets_adult_social_care_performance_council_urges

It says:

"Barnet Council wants to know what residents and service users would like to see in this year’s Local Account, an overview of the year from a social care perspective. Outlining the successes and challenges in adult social care in 2012, the Local Account gives residents a clear and easily accessible report on how well adult social care services are performing.The council has developed an online survey designed to find out what worked well in the last Local Account and what could be improved for next time around.Questions include asking residents if they found it easy to access and understand, as well as whether it provided balanced information about the performance of Barnet’s social care services.

         Councillor Sachin Rajput, Cabinet Member for Adults, said:

"We heard back from many residents about our first Local Account, saying it was informative and helped them know which services are available. Obviously, the more feedback we have the better, as it means we can focus on what is important to our residents. Social care is a vital area which influences all aspects of our lives. We want residents to tell us what they want to know about these essential services we provide, so we can improve on last year’s Local Account."
This year’s Local Account will cover achievements over the past year, including the awarding of Supporting Independence Fund money to several local organisations, now developing exciting new projects to support Barnet residents. 

Local community and voluntary organisations have been asked for their input, and the council is working with Barnet Link to get more residents involved in having their say on this year’s report."

Whilst on the face of it, one may think that it is a good thing that Barnet want to get feedback, they don't actually put a link to the survey or tell us how to find it. It isn't listed on the consultations hub. In the past when they have consulted residents about adult social care, when they haven't got the answer they liked, they simply ignored the survey. A prime example was sheltered housing, where they abolished the warden service, despite over 85% of residents saying they wanted to keep it.

Like many things Barnet, it is a cock up. If you want to particpate click here. If you or a relative has experience of Adult social care, it is the only way to get your point across, even if they completely ignore it as usual.