Priory chief executive officer Rebekah Cresswell will become one of the founder members of a new Care England Working Age Adult Policy Board, ensuring that the needs of working-age adults in social care settings remain a priority at the highest levels of decision-making.
Care England, the leading voice of adult social care providers in England, announced the establishment of the Working Age Adult Policy Board as a significant step in strengthening advocacy and shaping policy for one of the most underserved areas of the social care sector.
The Working Age Adult Policy Board has been created to give a dedicated voice to providers supporting working-age adults and to tackle the distinct challenges this group faces within social care, which are different to those of older people.
Cresswell said: “It is a privilege to represent the social care sector during this critical time to collaborate with likeminded colleagues for solutions to sustain these vital services for people of the UK.”
Professor Martin Green OBE, Chief Executive of Care England, said: “The creation of the Working Age Adult Policy Board is a landmark moment in ensuring that the needs of working-age adults are fully recognised and addressed within social care policy. This dedicated board will provide a strong, united voice for providers and service users, helping to drive forward the reforms needed to improve care and support for this vital part of our society.”
The new board – comprising leaders from across the sector - will provide a collaborative space for sharing expertise, identifying sector-wide challenges, and formulating impactful policy recommendations. It will also ensure that providers delivering services to working-age adults are properly represented in national and local advocacy efforts.
Priory - the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services - supports autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, within specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.
This March it was a finalist at the Health Service Journal’s industry awards for Independent Healthcare Providers, for its work supporting working age autistic adults and adults with learning disabilities.
Over the past two years, Priory’s pioneering assessment and transition directors have overseen the transition of 85 patients with complex autism out of hospitals (run by Priory, the NHS and other providers) and into residential or supported living services which are better suited to support their needs.
This award recognition includes Priory’s work to support an autistic hospital patient, Peter, who had been cared for in multiple hospitals under a number of providers for more than 16 years before arriving at a Priory healthcare service, Mildmay Oaks. Priory was able to identify a suitable, Priory operated, adult social care service for Peter and transition him, within just 15 months, into a purpose-built and personalised self-contained flat – simultaneously improving his quality of life and reducing care costs seven-fold.
Through her role on the Care England policy board, Cresswell will work to drive measurable sector wide improvements in policy and practice, to benefit working-age adults and the providers that support them. Through evidence-based advocacy and direct engagement with decision-makers, the board will translate discussion into tangible action, ensuring that this vital area of social care remains a national priority.
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About Priory and MEDIAN Group
Priory is the UK’s largest independent provider of mental health and adult social care services. Priory treats more than 70 conditions, including depression, anxiety, addictions and eating disorders, as well as children’s mental health, across its nationwide network of sites. Priory also supports autistic adults and adults with a learning disability, Prader-Willi Syndrome and brain injuries, as well as older people, within specialist residential care and supported living facilities – helping as many people as possible to live their lives.
Priory is part of the MEDIAN Group, the leading European provider of high-quality mental health and rehabilitation services. The MEDIAN Group comprises: Priory in the UK with 280 facilities and 5,000 beds caring for 28,000 people, MEDIAN in Germany with 120 facilities and 18,000 beds caring for 256,000 patients, and Hestia in Spain with 14 facilities and 2,000 beds caring for 10,000 people in Spain, with more than 30,000 employees across the group.