Early Support Principles
The Early Support principles are a set of co-produced principles that we and our partners believe will facilitate a ‘prevention first approach’ to supporting adults and young people transitioning to adulthood across services in West Sussex. The aim is to support people to retain their independence for longer, enable efficiencies, and help to reduce demand in care and health services.
These principles can be adopted organisationally or by individual teams, as well as by locality and countywide partnerships. We will continue to work with our partners to ensure that these principles are embedded.
Principle 1: A systems approach to early support
Prevention is everyone’s business, and a system-wide approach is needed. We will work towards agreed goals and governance, clear communication pathways and common language locally and countywide.
Principle 2: Services should be easy to access
People need universal support, including self-serve options, to understand what is available and appropriate to meet their health and social care needs and how it can be accessed.
Principle 3: Early support should be personalised and strength-based
People should be empowered to have more choice and control over how their health and social care needs are met. There should be a focus on a person’s strengths, capabilities and support networks to help them remain as independent as possible.
Principle 4: Specialist advice should be quality assured
Partners should work collaboratively to ensure information, advice and guidance is more consistent and that specialist advice is quality assured.
Principle 5: Equity-oriented service provision
To tackle inequality and ensure equity in service provision.
Principle 6: Data matters
To effectively use data to understand the health and care needs of people we support, and their different communication and engagement needs. Data should also be used to understand what services are available, if they are being used effectively, where the gaps are, and to avoid duplication of services.