“People have told us they feel that health and social care services are a maze,” says deputy mayor of Liverpool and cabinet member for adult social care and health Cllr Roz Gladden. “But at the same time we’re encouraging people to access services and to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing. We needed to do something to make the support landscape easier for everyone to navigate.”
The solution in Liverpool, which faces some of the toughest health inequalities in the country as well as some of the harshest central government funding cuts, was to launch the Care to Know campaign, which, over five months, is introducing people to the city’s range of advice, care and support.
Developed by Public Health Liverpool’s behaviour change and insight team, the campaign has been informed by extensive research with the local population. Explains Joy Wyche, senior behavioural insight and change executive at Public Health Liverpool: “We know that people often don’t understand what services are available to them and there is also a real sense that social care is the ‘beginning of the end’ when in reality it’s about improving people’s lives and giving them confidence by helping them to stay as independent as possible at any age.”
As well as Liverpool city council, Care to Know has also been developed with Liverpool clinical commissioning group (CCG), which leads the city’s More Independent (Mi) partnership, which offers a wide range of ways to increase independence, including the ways in which technology can make people’s lives easier.
As well as a webpage, hosted by local station Radio City, Care to Know’s other central campaign channel is a problem page-style feature in the Liverpool Echo. From losing weight and giving up smoking to support for carers, each page will showcase a series of different issues with signposting to advice and support.
Wyche adds: “This approach has been about putting the range of services in the city into a real-life context for people so that they might recognise issues that apply to their own life and realise that there are ways of getting help or support.
“Care and support isn’t just about a carer visiting an older person in their home twice a day. It can range from making sure your home is safe and comfortable to live in to advice on how to keep socially active in your community to Mamafit, which works with women who are pregnant or who have just had their baby.”
With Liverpool being home to a high number of people with long-term conditions, encouraging people to be responsible for their general health as early as possible is a big priority, particularly if it means they won’t need longer term care in the future. Care to Know is seen as a real opportunity to empower people around the city’s many public health services, such as limiting alcohol intake and mental health.
says Dr Sandra Davies, director of Public Health Liverpool: “People know they need to take care of their health, but they can feel bombarded by messages. It’s not that they don’t want to make a change, but they don’t know where to start or who to trust. Care to Know is about letting people know where they can start on these journeys to a healthier future.”
Content on this page is produced and controlled by Liverpool city council, sponsor of the adult social care hub
