Hi Chris DWP has informed me by phone call that unless im on pension credit im not entitled to carers premuim so your link doesent have the answer as far as DWP are concerned tottaly misleading information and still confused?
My link was to the information provided by CUK itself.
One for their people to sort out !!!
I’d like to ask "Does the 1970 Chronically Sick and Disabled Person’s Act still apply.
If so, the elderly and disabled should have free provision of a TV and licence, and a telephone.
There is also a clause for the disabled having holidays provided.
Does Valuing People still apply? There is a clause that the local authority should have a policy specifically for those with learning difficulties. New Forest Council does not have any such policy.
I already have information on carers benefits i thought i was asking an expert for straight reply answer this was point of joining carers uk with due respect
The " Experts " will appear on the forum during the week commencing 18 November … as confirmed by Lizzie’s opening posting.
In the interim , the CUK Advice Team can be contacted … best by email :
https://www.carersuk.org/forum/support-and-advice/carer-disability-benefits/how-to-contact-the-carers-uk-adviceline-24147
What is Valuing People? There should also be a policy designed for those with physical impairments. I doubt Surrey County Council has such a policy too. I’m happy to draw one up.
Hi how can I found out how many hours paid care my husband is entitled to. We have a carer morning and lunch time for half an hour 5 times a week.
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Hi how can I found out how many hours paid care my husband is entitled to. We have a carer morning and lunch time for half an hour 5 times a week.
First port of call … a Needs Assessment through your L.A. :
The Care Needs Assessment Explained | Age UK
Also … a guide to home care services … what’s available , and who provides them :
How are carers supposed to find out about the services available to support them when NHS and local government staff either don’t know what is available or refuse to pass the information on? For example, I live in Aberdeenshire and have been an unpaid carer for my son for 19 years but requests for information, advice and/or support invariable drew responses along the lines of “nothing available”, “you’re managing fine”, “your wife earns too much” etc. It was only in March or April this year that I learned Aberdeenshire Council had contracted carer support out to Quarriers (who didn’t respond to my emails), that I might (or might not) be able to be assessed for an Adult Carer Support Plan (ACSP), and that I might (or might not) be able to apply for a Short Break. And that was in passing from a new occupational therapist who thought I’d would have known already.
I find it difficult to believe that social workers, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, educational psychologists, mental health support workers, speech and language therapists, psychiatrists etc etc were all unaware of support services, even more so with the healthcare/social care partnerships. Is it part of anyone’s job to actually pass the information on and help get access to services? I sometimes get the impression information isn’t passed on as to do so would mean stretching budgets even further if an application was successful.
I was able to access one useful project, an Aberdeenshire Council project to recognise the skills of unpaid carers via the award of an SVQ2 Social Services and Healthcare, although it was a mess and appeared to have lapsed before it came back to life again after several tense months of not knowing what was happening. However, I only found out about the project because I was doing zero hours relief work for the council and my line manager heard about it from a friend of hers in another department. I’d never have learned of it otherwise and wouldn’t have been awarded an SVQ.
And that leads into a second question. How can the skills of Unpaid Carers be better recognised? The SVQ was a useful start as I’m trying to return to the workforce. However, even with the qualification and a skills-based CV I’m finding that neither social care nor healthcare employers are particularly interested - despite their staff shortages - because I’ve been out of the workforce for too long, because I might go back to looking after my son, and because “I have to realise that it’s a caring vocation and, well…” (In other words, I’m an older male and we don’t do care.)
Edited to add: Also, being an unpaid carer and not having a current or recent line manager means I can’t supply a suitable reference, according to some social care employers (quite big names). Their HR managers say SSSC Guidelines mean they are obliged to reject people who don’t have a suitable reference from a current or recent line manager. On top of that, one of those HR managers admitted they don’t provide references when their own staff leave, only providing start and finish dates which are apparently not sufficient to meet the requirements of the code. (He said this was due to data protection laws.) This makes it extremely difficult for an unpaid carer to find work in an area where they have skills. (I do have several good references, including from my SVQ assessor and from charitable work, but not from a line manager within the past 18 months.)
I would like to ask a question of an expert please.
I have found out that if we wrap our capital in a trust (bare or discretionary) which was a sum paid as a result of a Critical Illness policy when my husband had a traumatic brain injury causing a major stroke, our capital amount is mitigated, thus allowing us to claim Universal Credit as a couple.
Is this correct? If so, can we do it now as we have held this in a house, then sold that house and moved to a cheaper one and now the capital amount is in a bank. It is exactly the same capital which we have looked after and it must pay for any adaptations he may need.
My elderly father has a concessionary travel pass with Companion but due to his ill health he rarely leaves the house. i do most of his shopping and get what he needs, eg pick up medications,
is there any plans to enable free bus travel to carers ?
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is there any plans to enable free bus travel to carers ?
A few LAs issue free companion cards to carers … need to check with your own LA.
( Last time I checked , 4 / 5 maximum … early Spring , 2019. )
Main thread on FREE PUBLIC TRANSPORT FOR CARERS :
27,600+ views as I type.
I await the day when GPs CPNs Psychiatrists SServices anon start to agree & appreciate the value of carers in mental health care and support, as long-written into MH NICE procedures. I have now been derided for thinking that carers even exist usefully in any care programme and have had the resulting harm, done by exclusion, rejected as conjecture.
Such is the case in my son’s death 2008. I have now had to withstand the insult, derision and vagary of the health services complaints investigator (PHSO) in stating that this is all purely my opinion and a ‘would have liked’ in my son’s 5 year isolation before suicide.
The NHS Trust involved and PHSO have now viciously and blatantly lied in attempting to play down and cover up the failures before my son’s death, and the corruption in NHS and PHSO investigation ever since - a complaint still without closure for that reason (2009 - 2019).
I have been shocked and mentally harmed by what those bodies have manufactured to ensure I would never recover from my trauma, and no-one would be ever be brought to book. Unfortunately many more have died since for the same reasons; Rejection and isolation by services, and keeping Carers out. The system is broken.
Why is nobody aware, when things still go wrong; or even before? The PHSO appears ignorant and out of date - a State tool for keeping the status-quo. Action is needed today because someone else will die avoidably and alone tomorrow.
Hello, I’m caring for both of my parents who are at different stages of dementia and they live over 80 miles from me in a different county. I contacted my local carers service and they mentioned that I could be entitled to a one-off carers grant. However, once they realised that I didn’t live in the same area as my parents, I was referred to the carers service in the county where my parents live.
The service in that area later came back to me to say that I was not entitlled to the grant because I didn’t live in that area. It seems that because my parents chose to live in a different county I fall between the gap and am not entitled to anything, which seems so unfair. Has this happened to anyone else in a similar situation, and did you manage to find any support to get a grant?
I am looking after my caree suffering from physical and mental illness, last year they got to the point of not being able to cope anymore and took an overdose.
I went down to A&E sat with them eventually they saw the crisis team who listened for about 10 minutes then handed my caree some leaflets about councelling and said they could go home. No treatment or follow up appointment was ever arranged.
I have talked to mental health services who say that unpaid carer support is only available to carers of services users of the mental health trust.
So if my caree was attending treatment or was sectioned by mental health services I would be entitled to help.
So who should be providing help and support as that’s what my caree needs, long term health problems, depressed anxious, stuck at home. My caree has had a needs assessment and basically been refused all help, my caree can wash and dress themselves and that is the criteria. Social Services have raised the bar so high so that only the very severely disabled get help.
So who should be providing the help? my caree needs social services, help going out and about, help with transport, help seeing friends, socialising, all of which the Care Act mention.
But the mental health problems are causing the needs, scared to go out on their own, has panic attacks.
I have recently learned my caree has personality disorder, diagnosed years ago but little treatment given.
The councelling place has said, we don’t deal with personality disorder, your caree needs to see Mental health services, but my caree has done, no help supplied.
What are my carees rights in this situation, needs but being refused personality disorder treatment, being misdirected to sources of support.
And what are my rights as an unpaid carer looking after my caree with multiple health issues and personality disorder.
As stated Mental health services refuse any kind of support to me, but I am looking after someone who is mentally ill.
Social services have refused both of us any kind of help and support, but this is a vulnerable person living in the community with no support.
Can Social Services force Mental health services to give treatment and support to my caree, there is a wellbeing duty through the Care Act and Mental Health Services surely as well have dutys to keep people mentally well?
The only option seems to be paying for private therapy which does not seem viable, is there any way of getting a grant to pay for private therapy?
What are the rights of someone with personality disorder to get treatment which in turn will give the carer support, is there personality disorder guidance that Mental health services must follow?
Thanks for your question.
If you are based in England, The Care Act statutory guidance provides a list of examples of Disability Related Expenditure (DRE) at paras. 39-41 of Annex C, which can be accessed here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/care-act-statutory-guidance/care-and-support-statutory-guidance#AnnexC
It is worth noting that this list is indicative and not exhaustive, and so if the person you care for has DRE not on this list, it should still be considered if it is directly related to their disability.
If DRE has not been taken into consideration, then you may wish to lodge a complaint with the local authority regarding this. Irwin Mitchell Solicitors have created this letter template for anyone to use for free. You can also ask for an explanation of how the decision has been made. More advice about writing your letter is provided by the Citizens Advice website.
If you are not happy with the response to your complaint, you can then complain to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO). The LGO investigates complaints where the council may have made the decision in the wrong way. They can recommend what the council can do to make up for their decision. You can find more information about this on the LGO website.
Best Wishes
Danny
Hello,
From Monday 2nd December everyone in England eligible for an NHS wheelchair and people who require aftercare services under section 117 of the Mental Health Act, will have access to a personal health budget. You can read about the change in law here:
You can also find more detailed information on how personal budgets for wheelchair users work here:
Best Wishes
Danny
Hello. Thanks for your question.
The regular demands of caring can often be exhausting and so it’s important to recognise when you need a break. There are lots of different options that can be explored, whether you need an hour each week, a day off here or there, a week or two for a holiday, or a combination of all of these.
You can read more about the different ways this can be organised in our factsheet on taking a break, which can be accessed here:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/health/looking-after-your-health/taking-a-break
One of the main ways a break can be arranged is by getting some support cover through your local authority. This will often include an assessment of the person you are caring for to see what support is required. You can read more about assessments here:
https://www.carersuk.org/help-and-advice/practical-support/getting-care-and-support/needs-assessment
Best Wishes
Danny
Hello,
Thank you for your message.
The Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970 has been replaced by the Care Act 2014 in England and the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2016 in Wales.
Regarding condition-specific guidance, we would encourage you to make direct contact with Mencap to get advice on the most up to date guidance applicable to those with learning disabilities. Their contact details can be found here: Access Learning Disability Advice and Support | Mencap
With best wishes
Danny
Thanks Danny, but I need to know where it actually says this?