Surrey Care Association Ltd (SCA

We continue to advise against making decisions about long-term care in a crisis or when a relative is in hospital. It is better to wait and assess what may be needed when someone is recovering, has regained independence or has optimal mental capacity. There are many options such as adaptations and equipment to make support at home more affordable.

It is certainly recommended that you seek independent financial advice before you make decisions on long-term care. To find out if you, or someone you are enquiring about, is likely to receive social care support, and how much you’ll have to pay, try our online tools on the Surrey County Council website. For details, please visit www.surreycc.gov.uk/

adultsocialcareonline

Simon White

Executive Director for Adult Social Care and Integrated Commissioning Surrey County Council

Supporting social care providers across Surrey

SCA is a not-for-profit membership organisation representing and supporting providers of social care and support in Surrey. SCA currently has over 220 member organisations, ranging from large nationals to small, newly-established home care providers. Its members employ and provide care and support for thousands of people across Surrey.

SCA’s role is to support our members so that they in turn can deliver the best possible services for the people they support and care for. SCA’s services and activities have been developed to respond to its members’ needs and cover three key areas: • influencing, representation and partnership; • supporting service delivery; and • supporting sustainability and access to affordable goods and services.

SCA offers virtual networks for its members, organised by service model, client group and ‘place’, bringing providers together to share their insights, experiences and best practice. This allows SCA to represent providers and influence local and national decision-making.

SCA arranges workshops and conferences to provide opportunities for sharing information, accessing updates and receiving training and briefings from a wide range of individuals – local commissioners, health colleagues, specialists and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). SCA helps members navigate the extensive information and guidance available for providers by distributing a weekly bulletin, summarising key information and action points.

SCA provides members with access to commercial partners who can offer competitive prices and share their expertise. SCA also supports members with recruitment, staff wellbeing and retention, hosts www.proudtocaresurrey.org.uk and ensures members’ needs shape training from statutory partners.

The SCA website (www.surreycare.org.uk ) plays a key role in providing information for families and those seeking care, highlighting SCA members’ services and complementing this Directory. It offers a useful resource for providers to access information, book events, advertise jobs and to find local suppliers.

SCA engages regularly with key statutory partners to ensure the insights, experiences and needs of its members (and the people they care for and support) are understood, valued and acted upon by key decision makers and practitioners across Surrey. This includes the Director for Adult Social Care and Lead Member for Adult Social Care, partners from Frimley and Surrey Heartlands Clinical Commissioning Group, districts and boroughs. SCA attends regional and national groups to help members keep up to date with the latest developments.

Simon Carter, SCA Chairman, owner of a domiciliary service, said, ‘With changes taking place in the care