I feel like this place is an absolute fountain of knowledge and experience when it comes to the trials and tribulations of caring and funding that care…
My question for you all with experience in direct payments is - how often should needs be reassessed by social services?
I know they do ‘reviews’ annually, but a reassessment is a much bigger undertaking it seems. Does anyone recall how long went between their caree’s reassessments?
Does the duration between reassessments change when dealing with someone who has a degenerative condition which is only going to decline as the years pass? If the LA are in no position to offer more funding, should they really be messing with people who stand to never improve?
Seems to me they like to come out to reassess in the hopes of palming off responsibility to CHC but who instigates a reassessment? If there’s no documented dramatic changes in health?
Your advice and shared experiences are proving invaluable! Thanks all.
No hard and fast rule … suffice to say , any deteriation in the patient , a new Needs Assessments should be carried out as
the original care plan would need revision … annually recommended for all other cases.
@bowlingbun - is that for reviews, or reassessments? Because it’s my understanding that they are rather different…
@Chris - Not eligible for CHC yet, on the cusp but been told repeatedly by specialist nurses etc that there’s no chance of CHC yet.
However, after funding care level for years, LA is now disputing what is in their remit and what isn’t, as they want to cut funding dramatically as services bought with DP (overnights for example) are not “cost effective”, despite a reassessment in 2017 clearly stating “council will need to continue social care funding until eligible for CHC”…
In a nutshell, in order to circumvent the increased cost of overnight care (due to the high court/backpay situation) the LA has invented a small group of carers to provide overnight support on an “as and when” basis for people across the county. Meaning rather than paying 10 carers to support 10 service users through the night, they can now just pay 4 carers to support 10 and show up for fifteen minute calls here and there when requested.
Total joke, got disaster written all over it, and it will not meet the needs of those who require support through the night, but as long as it saves the LA budget, they don’t care!
I would suggest that anyone having trouble with their loved one’s care prints off a copy of the Statutory Guidance, puts it in a ring binder, then gradually goes through it with a highlighter pen.
I’m reasonably well informed, but didn’t know about the Statutory Guidance. I’ve now printed off my copy and it is very, very clear that my LA has breached much of the guidance!!
I was told by a social worker who came to do a Review that it was now called a Reassessment as it was my daughter’s first since the 2014 Care Act. I keep putting off agreeing to the Care & Support Plan because I feel they may be doing something underhand. What do you think?