Staffordshire Connects Health and Care Lucy Gratton

Staffordshire Connects What is Staffordshire Connects? Online directory that list hundreds of different organisations, groups and clubs that exist or take place across the county that can offer things like care and support, somewhere to meet other people and get out and about. Ethos is about ‘connecting people to local organisation, services and support that can help them to stay independent and well The idea being that ‘‘The more connected you are the better your mental and physical wellbeing’ It’s a free site, and is really for members of the public to find organisations on, but also useful to professionals or other organisations to use as a signposting tool to direct people to other sources of support. Based on a previous website Staffordshire Marketplace / Purple Pages….which were great sites in their day but couple years back their was a change in the company who provide the site and it got renamed to ‘Staffordshire Cares help yourself’ Unfortunately, it was given a a very long and complicated web domain name and there was a lot of confusion between that and another site which also known as ‘Staffordshire cares’ As a result the over time the numbers using that site started to fall, its was getting out of date and the customer journey to the site was complicated and lost it’s identity. So… Last year the site was rebranded to ‘Staffordshire Connects’, it was given a new logo and it has got a new logo / web address. The look of the site will be changing in ‘April’ as site mainly for adults at the moment, but looking to enhance the site with more information in for parents and families, and for those that support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. Now working hard to promote the site once again, get more people to use I to find the support they want, and to do this we need more organisations to be listed so there is a good selection to choose from when someone does a search Support Staffordshire offered to help with this and has sent a letter out to all it’s members asking if you’d like to join Staffordshire Connects, which I hope many of have done so or will do so . We tried to make the process simple, and to save you the admin of having to keep another site up to date, we will link to Support Staffordshire website for a description of what your organisations provides, where you are based etc But if your prefer, you can register for your free account on the site, and create and maintain your own record (use register button and if need any support use contact us button to get in touch) www.staffordshireconnects.info

Staffordshire Connects www.staffordshireconnects.info Find it using Google / Bing Download the ‘My Staffs app’ How do I find the site? Use web address and go directly to the site – it is mobile responsive so view it on your smart phone, tablet or desktop Type name into search engine such as google Added a clear link to Staffordshire Connects from the adult social care pages on the staffordshire.gov.uk website. You can also download the County councils app’ which is known as ‘My Staffs’ and we have tile within that app for Staffordshire Connects. If you or someone you know is struggling to get online to find the information they need, they can always pop into their local library, use the computers, ask for some support.

Staffordshire Connects How do I use the current site ? – these features will also stay with the new look of the site You can search for what you are looking for by using one of the categories that are on the home page such as ‘help at home’ Can also type in a key word in the search box such as ‘equipment’, and then narrow it down putting in place name or a postcode. This shows a list of organisations, which you can then click on to get more information about what they provide Other features we have added to the include a: A news rotator where we can share information about key changes / campaigns – information on there about importance staying hydrated – virgin care There a also a number of digital tools on the site that site you can use

Staffordshire Connects If you want to save that information you can add it to what's known as ‘my shortlist’ Bit like a shopping basket of all things you have looked at , you can then email that list yourself or share it with someone else, or you can download it and print it off. You can also send your self a text with the details of the organisation on it – so you can give them a ring from your mobile

Staffordshire Connects Other features we have added to the site include a: A news rotator where we can share information about key changes / campaigns – information on there about importance staying hydrated – virgin care There a also a number of digital tools on the site that you can use which includes: A social care self assessment tool – where by you can self assess your own or someone's else care needs. If the tool suggests you do need some support, you can then simply send the form onto the county council and they will give you a call back. The tool also gives you loads of information, advice and guidance along the away to help you out

Staffordshire Connects Also, an equipment and technology product showroom whereby you search for aids, gadgets and adaptations that help with daily living. May be something like a grab rail or a personal alarm. Basically the showroom shows you a picture of the products, gives you information about and it, tells you the price range and where you buy it from. Using catalogues such as medequip and other big retailers to provide that information.

Staffordshire Connects There is also a health and wellbeing planning tool that you can use to help you change some of your lifestyle behaviours such as stopping smoking , drinking less alcohol, losing weight The tool helps you toform a plan, set some goals and then gives you some helpful information and gives you details of where you can go for some support. This may be an organisation such as weight watchers if you want to loose weight or it may be an app that you can download if you want to track how much walking you are doing.

My details Lucy Gratton – Staffordshire County Council Lucy.gratton@staffordshire.gov.uk 07815827426 www.staffordshireconnects.info Lots to see on the site, so please take a look, check and see if you are on there and that your details are up to date. If you want any more information, please get it touch. I am more than happy to come out to you and demo the site in person I have some current materials and resources so you can promote the site if you wish to others and replace these with the new design once that is live in April .