The living independently in later years (LILY) programme began in 2012 with the intention of helping older people access the right level of community-based support at the right times in their lives, to help them avoid triggering an event that will move them into high cost services. It is also aimed at providing greater coordination and joined-up working between statutory and voluntary service providers.
Living independently in later years
The living independently in later years (LILY) programme began in 2012 with the intention of helping older people access the right level of community-based support at the right times in their lives, to help them avoid triggering an event that will move them into high cost services. It is also aimed at providing greater coordination and joined-up working between statutory and voluntary service providers.
The focus is on older people who are currently living independently and not accessing statutory services, but who are potentially at risk and where an incident could set the individual back significantly. The service is focused on the 13 per cent of individuals below the top 2 per cent who already require high cost services, to prevent them moving into this higher cost bracket over time.
The initial rationale for the project was to invest in prevention for older people, by bringing together information on a range of services into a single on-line hub (phase 1), as it was felt that there was difficulty in potential service users or their representatives knowing which services to enquire about in the first instance.
The LILY online directory (www.asklily.org.uk) was completed in March 2014 and is maintained and promoted by the Borough Council of Kings Lynn and West Norfolk, bringing together information about a wide range of services, activities, advice and guidance, primarily for the over 65s. The directory contains links to over 1,100 local providers of services and community events and is structured into 10 main sections: things to do; out and about; learning and volunteering; health and wellbeing; money matters; advice and advocacy; staying safe; looking after someone; care and support at home; and housing and care homes.
Since summer 2014, a range of stakeholders involved in operational delivery, have been further engaged in LILY and how this will operate in practice. Phase 2 of LILY (LILY+) will use the intelligence gathered via the website and contact centre to identify patterns and areas of need and will also use communities and volunteers to address the more routine needs of older people in a community setting.
‘Pop-up’ information points, eg at sheltered accommodation, lunch groups, and Community Information Points, will involve trained volunteers showing users how LILY works and also allow them to provide more holistic support, such as. making calls on their behalf and escalating issues where appropriate. More widely, LILY also forms part of the council’s channel shift strategy.
Phase 1 of LILY was funded by the West Norfolk Partnership using ‘second homes’ funding (amount to be confirmed). LILY+ accesses funding from Norfolk County Council’s Strong and Well fund, together with further support from the West Norfolk Partnership and the borough council, with a total budget of £314,000 (£157,000 revenue and £157,000 capital). Specific funding (£30,000) was ring-fenced for dementia adaptations in the home.
Given the challenge of quantitatively proving benefits (and attributing these directly to LILY), particularly as this type of intervention is longer term in nature, a formal business case was not considered as part of the project (or required as part of county grant funding), as the council and wider stakeholders were agreed that the intellectual case could be made for prevention through this project and it was ‘the right thing to do’.
In terms of outcomes, the council monitors the number of times that the LILY website is accessed and is currently developing a framework for monitoring and evaluating volunteers’ work, as part of LILY+.