Named worker

Buckinghamshire Council have been making changes to rejuvenate Adult Social Care services since 2019. As part of this change, we are rethinking resident experiences of care and support services. Based on tried and tested ideas, certain Adult Social Care services will be adopting “Named Workers” to allow better relationships between clients and care and support services.

A Named Worker is a dedicated, trusted, and ongoing source of support for you and those around you. They work within the Adult Social Care long term and review teams and will remain dedicated to you to allow you to build a real and consistent relationship with your Named Worker.

Named Workers operate on an ‘open door’ principle, meaning the Named Worker is there for you should you need support. They are your primary point of contact for any of your interactions with us relating to your care and support.

Your Named Worker will let you know how to contact them via both email and telephone.

If your Named Worker is planning absence from work, they will provide you with an alternative person to contact if appropriate and necessary, including an emergency contact for any urgent situations.

Named Workers will be introduced on a phased basis beginning June 2022.

Named Worker will be identified, aligning their knowledge and skills to support meeting your assessed needs. If you are already in contact with a specific person regarding your care and support, it is likely that this person will then become your Named Worker, although there may be a more suitable match so this cannot be guaranteed.

If you do not require active, ongoing support, your Named Worker will remain in touch with you via ‘keeping in touch’ meetings. These meetings are for you both to check in with each other, and could be over the telephone, email, text message or at in-person drop-in sessions. There is no set number/frequency of these meetings – you can work together with your Named Worker to decide what will work best for you and your needs.

The Department of Health and Social Care ran a pilot of a Named Social Worker scheme in 2016 to fantastic success. Evidence from this pilot demonstrated vast improvements in outcomes and experiences for individuals and these people reported feeling more in control of the care and support they receive, which is the vision we have for Buckinghamshire.

Buckinghamshire is proud of the efforts that are being made within Adult Social Care to enable its realisation of our vision for Better Lives and the introduction of Named Worker is the next phase towards this. Through complimenting the current efforts of current team, introducing Named Workers is intended to establish and maintain local-based practice and pride in connecting with the community, its resources, and its people.