Communicating and sharing information about adult social care services
This consultation has closed. We have provided an update below regarding feedback we received.
Following the feedback we received in developing the Adult Social Care Strategy 2025-2027, as a priority area, we want to improve how we communicate and provide information and advice about adult social care.
We have a duty to provide information and advice about care and support services. Providing information and advice that is good quality, timely and accessible is also an important part of our approach to prevention; supporting people to stay healthy, happy and independent in their own homes and local communities for as long as possible.
We currently share information about adult social care in a number of ways from face to face contact to universal information sharing such as:
- placing information on Durham County Council website
- publishing news articles in Durham County News
- posting information about our services on our social media platforms
- cascading information to networks and partnerships such as the Carers Network so you can get information from them too
- providing printed materials such as leaflets, newsletters and letters
- having conversations with the people who use adult social care services
We want to ensure our communication and information sharing is proactive, appropriate, meaningful and inclusive, and that people have the information they need, when they need it.
To help inform and improve our plans, we want to understand key things such as:
- if you or someone close to you needed support in future, what would you want to know about adult social care
- where would you most likely look to find out information about adult social care
- what format of adult social care information you would find most useful and helpful
- what makes the information we provide useful and easy to understand and digest
Your feedback and suggestions will be used to help shape how we provide information, advice and guidance in the future and help us develop our Adult Care Communication Strategy.
If you have any queries about this project or need this information in an alternative format contact letstalkcountydurham@durham.gov.uk
Equality Impact Assessment (EIA): As part of consultation to create the new Adult Social Care Strategy an EIA was developed. This EIA will be carried forward within this consultation to support decision making. For more information about EIAs visit our About Us page.
Phases
Adult Social Care communication and information sharing survey - feedback
Thank you to everyone who took part either via the online survey or by providing feedback at a range of meetings and engagement sessions that took place offline.
Survey feedback:
Feedback found respondents mostly likely look for information about adult social care online at places such as the council’s website or via a general online search. GP and health professionals are also a valued source of information. People reported that information can be difficult to find. People most often talked about basic information being easily found, but more specialised information is harder to locate. Things that make it difficult is navigating various layers of information within websites with too many options and information spread across multiple sources.
Areas lacking information include information about financial assessment and the move from self-funding to local authority funding. Where people found information easy to find this was often because they already knew where to look. People reported incidents where information they found was both easy and difficult to understand. Where information was not easy to understand this was because technical language was used rather than plain English. Some people noted the need for information in a wider range of formats such as British Sign Language and audio formats. People reported they were provided information at the time they needed it to an extent and improvements focused on the need for clear, timely, simple, accessible information and consistent support and communication.
In terms of future communication topics, people would most like to know about eligibility criteria, costs and funding options, what services are available and how to access support. They would most like to be able to source this information online via the council’s website, a GP or other health professionals and by connected County Durham (online resource) Reasons for this include the need to be able to access information from trusted, reliable and familiar sources.
Feedback from engagement sessions supported the views found in the survey responses. Key things mentioned within these sessions included the need for information that is easily accessible e.g. a directory of services and how to contact them, and information that is easy to understand.
Events
Past events
Event date: July 27th, 2026 from 17:00 to 17:30.
2 registrants