Citizen Advisors - Turning Point

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Turning Point Connected Care Report 28 6. Rural and Community-based Models The majority of the Citizen Advisor models already discussed have been applied in urban areas and respond to the problems in areas where services are readily available but a lack of information is preventing people from accessing them. However, the issues facing people living in rural areas are different. People in rural areas requiring services may face problems such as isolation, poor information, a lack of transport provision and a limited availability of services in their local area. Moreover, the population in rural areas is generally quite widely dispersed. This means that health and social care professionals who support the needs of the population, have to cover large geographical areas. The effect of this is that it is more difficult for workers to spend time with clients and the information that people in rural communities require might not get through to them. One potential problem with using a Citizen Advisor model in rural areas is that there may not even be enough services to facilitate effective navigation. This was an issue raised in a discussion of the Sooke navigator project in Canada (Anderson and Larke, 2009), which was designed to improve access to mental health and substance misuse services and to increase the connections between primary care and the mental health provision. The lack of services and transport provision in the area were a limitation to the service and the navigators found it difficult to meet some of the needs of isolated individuals with mental health problems in rural areas. However, the Citizen Advisors in the following case studies responded to this problem by actually helping local residents to set up groups to support their needs. They were unable to influence statutory health or social care provision but they were able to set up social activities and community exercise groups. 6.1 Village Agents The village agent model in Gloucestershire, in response to research which identified that rural residents are less likely to access council services than people living in urban areas. In Gloucestershire, this low rate of engagement with services is attributed to a general lack of awareness. This assumption is supported by research conducted by the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council (2002) in three rural parishes, which found that 83% of people would go to someone they knew and trusted in their community for information and advice. It was found that people in rural areas, particularly older people, preferred to go to a trusted, local person for information. Village agents were developed as a way of bridging this gap between public services and people. In Gloucestershire, the scheme is currently managed by the Gloucestershire Rural Community Council and is funded by Gloucestershire County Council and the local Primary Care Trust. However, the scheme began in 2006 as a pilot project funded by LinkAge Plus in conjunction with the Department for Work and Pensions.
Turning Point Connected Care Report 29 The aim of the village agent service is to provide older people in rural communities with easier access to information and services. The village agent is an accessible and approachable local person whom older people can go to for advice on services. Village Agents bridge the gap between communities and organisations that are able to offer help or support. As this project is focused on older people it is important that the Village Agents are members of the local community because older people are more likely to source information and access services from someone that they know and trust. The village agents provide information, promote access to a wide range of services, carry out practical checks and identify unmet needs within their community. The Village Agents are paid staff that are recruited locally and receive training on the services and support that is available so that they can advise and signpost people to services, organisations and agencies that are relevant to their need. Each month they have representatives from different agencies speak to them to inform them about the service that they provide. Village Agents are in regular contact with a Rural Advisor to keep up to date on local issues and services and build their knowledge base. A web based Gateway referral system has also been developed which enables Village Agents, as well as partner organisations, to directly access services, information and support for clients from providers across the county. The graph below shows the referrals made by village agents in January 2008: General Support 4% 0% 2% 8% 1% 8% 0% 32% Adult Helpdesk Warm and Well Volunteering Transport Other Figure 2: Village Agent referrals, January 2008 Benefits 25% 9% 5% 0% 6% Fire and Rescue - Smoke Alarms Age Concern Care and Repair Flooding Support Housing The case study below is an example of the work conducted by the Village Agents. It demonstrates that people often need help with relatively mundane, simple tasks such as having smoke alarms or grab rails fitted, making telephone calls, writing letters, and how support in doing these activities can make a big difference to their lives:
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Citizen Advisors - Turning Point

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