Self-directed support

In the run up to publication of  Carers and Caring; the One Stop Guide; how to care for older relatives and friends  this is an A to Z of practical solutions learned from research and experience. If you think any problems have been missed you can email me and tell me, and I’ll make sure they are covered in the next edition and online on my website at www.juneandrews.net.  Today S is for Self-directed Support

Barriers to funding

There are lots of barriers to claiming allowances: stigma, not wanting to be described in the terms that are used on the forms, complications of the system, being turned down, negative people telling you there is no point, having to describe on paper the worst days of your life. All those things can put people off.

One complication is that there may be three or more different places from which funding is available. There could be some through the local authority social work department, some directly from central government, and some from the NHS. Most of it is a bureaucratic and administrative nightmare. Always reach out for help with the forms from your local Age UK or other charity that offers benefits advice for older people.

People eligible for social care support can CHOOSE how to receive services

People who are eligible for social care support can by law get greater choice and control over how they receive these services through what is sometimes called the self-directed support approach. The systems have different names in Scotland and England because they come under different Acts of Parliament, but they amount to the same thing: after getting an assessment of care needs, someone from the local council’s social care department will help to plan care. It’s focused on what matters most to you (the outcomes) and ways of achieving that. It might be a mixture of what they call ‘natural’ support and ‘funded’ support.

Council must offer 4 options for care

The council has a legal obligation to offer four options to people who have been assessed as needing a community care service. They must offer one of the following: 

• A direct payment to the person or a third party to buy their own care.

• The person themselves directs the support that is available from the council.

• The council arranges the support.

• A mix of the above.

With self-directed support, the social care department first assesses the need for care, then does a financial assessment, and tells the person how much they need to contribute to their care and how much the social care department can do. 

It’s so complicated because basically you are working on two rules. You might also be trying to access continuing care which has an NHS source. What you get from the chancellor, what you get from the mayor and what you get from the health authority are different. It is shameful that the government is sitting on billions of unclaimed benefits because people don’t claim. If we don’t claim now, it might be withdrawn, and people won’t get it in the future. You are doing everyone a favour if you claim now for yourself and the person you care for. (Carers’ organisation chief executive)

There is much more about self-directed support, including contacts for organisations that can help you in  Carers and Caring: The One-Stop Guide: How to care for older relatives and friends - with tips for managing finances and accessing the right support  available from all good bookshops in May 2022

Three hints:

1. No one can get their head round this unless it is their full-time job

2. There are organisations that can help

3. Not claiming helps no one, now or in the future