proposed changes to social care

My social services department has held a consultation this week with users receiving Direct Payments for paying for care at home in respect of their disability. The proposed changes in the next 3 years will cause concern to some recipients.

At present a care manager visits us at home to discuss our care needs and puts together a care plan and estimates the total cost, which has to be agreed by a panel. Individuals have the choice of employing their own personal assistants from a fixed amount of money paid by social services in a separate bank account once a month. This gives a greater freedom of choice as to where you receive your care: friends, family, agency or recruiting by advertising. Provision can come from a mixture of sources.

I have used Direct Payments since it was first introduced about 5 years ago. I find it beneficial to be able to choose my own personal assistants, and have control of how, and when they work for me. Unlike the agency workers, I always know who is coming at the appointed time. I still have some personal care from the agency because they have been well trained in this area.

Proposed changes will take the form of self-assessment by filling in a form giving details of care needs and receiving an annual grant to pay for care. I have some grave concerns about these proposals. I feel that a great deal of responsibility is being dumped on our families and us. It feels like social services will not, in the future, be supporting us in the community. It’s great to live independently, and have control of our own lives; however, things can go terribly wrong!

Interviewing prospective personal assistants is a hit or miss experience. It’s very difficult to get references. Last year I went through this process, enlisting friends to be on the interview panel. None of the applicants proved suitable, and I lost confidence in my own judgement in making the right choice of person. When Direct Payments first started, my social services appointed a payroll service to pay our employees; and appointed a worker to advertise and appoint personal assistants. She found me some brilliant people. After she left, this valuable help petered out. The payroll service is also very inefficient; employees were paid months in arrears. Fearful of losing my valuable help, I enlisted someone to deal with my assistant’s monthly pay. I pay for the service, worth it for peace of mind. There was someone in the meeting who was very likely to lose her personal assistant because she was owed so much money. She could no longer afford to work for free.

Future plans for Social Care have good intentions but have not been properly thought through. Plans can only be improved by consultation with users. Listening to us, and learning from our experiences.