Strategic aims

A sustainable care system is essential to delivering long-term, high-quality support for Norfolk's communities. As people live longer and needs become more complex, care services must be able to adapt, evolve, and remain resilient. In Norfolk, this means supporting a confident and capable workforce, creating a stable funding environment, and embracing innovation that enables earlier, smarter interventions.  

Sustainability in Norfolk's care system is shaped by three linked priorities: 

• Sustainability of care demand
• Sustainability of the care sector
• Environmental sustainability

Sustainability of Care Demand (Prevention and Early Intervention)

Reducing future care needs through targeted, preventative support that helps people stay well and independent for longer.

Our ambitions

• Expand Norfolk's proactive intervention programme, working with health partners to identify people at risk of needing more support - before problems escalate
• Strengthen joint working with NHS partners to prevent avoidable hospital and care home admissions, supporting timely and effective discharge when hospital admission is needed
• Foster innovation and digital transformation where it improves care outcomes and prevents escalation of need
• Encourage the continued uptake of digital care records and technology-enabled care, such as remote monitoring, to promote and support independence

Sustainability of the care sector (provider resilience) 

Ensuring care providers have the workforce, funding, and market conditions needed to deliver quality care. 

Our ambitions

• Actively engage with regional and national partnerships to advocate for long-term reform and sustainable funding for adult social care - ensuring Norfolk's voice is heard as national policy and funding arrangements are reviewed
• Support transparent pricing through regular fee reviews, drawing on provider input, local market analysis, and affordability assessments
• Work towards sustainable fee levels, while recognising that progress is dependent on national funding reform and the resources available to local authorities
• Improve the timeliness and reliability of provider payments to support provider sustainability and financial resilience
• Shape a diverse, high-quality market that offers choice and meets the varied needs of all Norfolk residents, including specialist provision
• Enable practical support for providers to encourage awareness, uptake and embedding of innovative digital tools and workforce solutions
• Work with key stakeholders including Norfolk and Suffolk Care Support, Skills for Care, The Norfolk Care Association and International Recruitment East to build a resilient and skilled workforce, with strong pathways into care roles and support for training, mentoring, and leadership

Environmental sustainability (carbon reduction and net zero)

Caring for our environment is central to building a resilient and sustainable care system. We want to work with providers to reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and design services that are financially secure as well as environmentally responsible.  

Energy-efficient homes, cleaner air, and access to greener spaces improve wellbeing, reduce health inequalities, and make communities more resilient. By embedding sustainability in the way care is delivered, we can protect the environment while supporting healthier lives for Norfolk's residents. 

Our ambitions

• Encourage providers to embed carbon reduction into business planning, ensuring services are financially robust, environmentally responsible, and resilient to climate impacts
• Work with partners to promote the health and wellbeing benefits of climate action - including cleaner air, warmer homes, reduced fuel poverty, more active travel, and better access to green and blue spaces
• Support providers to adapt to the risks of climate change (eg heatwaves, flooding) and to build resilience into care delivery

To find out more about the individual, community and system actions that the health and social care sector can take to prepare for the impacts of climate change, read the director of Public Health annual report 2024/25 - health and climate change.  

What this means for providers

• We'll invest in evidence-led preventative models and digital tools that help reduce demand pressures while improving outcomes
• We're committed to contracts that balance value for money with your ability to deliver excellent care, plus support for recruitment campaigns, training offers, and workforce development initiatives
• We'll provide guidance and support to help you develop carbon reduction plans and adopt greener practices

What people can expect

• Innovative approaches that help you stay well and independent for longer, with early support when you need it
• Support from a consistent and capable workforce backed by sustainable services designed to last
• Access to diverse, high-quality care options that meet your individual needs and preferences  
• Care that not only meets your needs but also protects the environment for future generations

Norfolk's Virtual Carer Service - case study

In 2023, Norfolk County Council became the first local authority in the UK to commission a long-term virtual care service, delivered in partnership with Alcove. This nationally significant initiative reflects our ambition to embed digital innovation into mainstream care as part of a more sustainable and preventative system.

The Alcove Virtual Carer service provides proactive, person-centred support through scheduled video calls, offering welfare checks, medication reminders, and friendly conversation. This digital approach complements existing care services in Norfolk - improving wellbeing, reducing isolation, and helping to prevent crisis interventions.

The service now delivers over 43,000 calls per year, helping people stay connected, supported, and independent at home. It reduces pressure on face-to-face care and is fully integrated with Norfolk's reablement offer. Locally based installation teams ensure the service can be deployed quickly and reliably.

The service not only promotes independence but also provides reassurance for families and carers.

"Virtual care calls make a big difference to our clients. They help people feel safe, happy, and less alone while staying in their own homes. The calls provide daily reassurance - reminding clients to take their medicine, offering a friendly voice to ease loneliness, checking on their wellbeing, and giving them more control over their day-to-day lives."

Alcove's team lead

Looking ahead, Norfolk will explore further opportunities to expand the model - such as incorporating sensors to monitor care needs, and introducing group calls, virtual activities, and befriending services.

Driving sustainability through Smarter Care Solutions - case study

Norfolk County Council is working to embed sustainability across all commissioned services. The Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES), delivered by Medequip since April 2023, shows how essential care can be delivered in a way that also protects the environment.

ICES supplies vital equipment - such as walking aids and specialist beds - to help people stay safe, mobile, and independent. The service uses a reuse model, where items are returned, professionally cleaned, and refurbished for future use. This approach reduces waste and supports Norfolk's wider ambitions around carbon reduction.

As part of their successful tender, Medequip committed to a number of sustainability measures that align with the Council's net zero goals, including:

• Transitioning to electric and alternative fuel vehicles
• Optimising delivery routes to reduce fuel consumption
• Making energy-saving improvements at local depots

These steps ensure that equipment services are not only effective and responsive, but also environmentally responsible.

Looking ahead, the upcoming Technology Enabled Care (TEC) service, launching in April 2026, will build on this foundation with similar sustainability requirements.