You need to prioritise!

That was the response from my social worker when I said I didn't have enough hours support now I had moved to a support agency from a personal assistant. Unfortunately if you choose to change from a personal assistant that costs half of what a support worker from an agency costs Fife Council will not increase your budget, you are expected to just reduce your hours of support and prioritise your outcomes. For me this means choosing between getting help to manage and improve my health & wellbeing which is what I currently use my hours for or getting help to prepare meals. Both are equally important and essential for me but I am being told to prioritise and choose between the two. This is because my hours are used to go to a special exercise class for people with long term health conditions and to go to the gym to work on building up the muscles in my legs so I am able to keep walking with aids rather than ending up needing a scooter to get about. The exercise also benefits my mental health and I have time to get much needed emotional support. Social work may seen it as a social activity but it is an activity that meets my health & wellbeing outcomes which is one of the most important of my outcomes due to my many health conditions. The support has meant I have been able to stay well most of the time and get help to identify when something isn't right and I need medical help. Luckily I have my mum who I see every day who cares for me around 6 hours a day and who helps with my evening meal as I need assistance with many aspects of preparing a meal due to my arthritis and the side effects of my medication which include involuntary movements and problems with my memory and concentration. Until my mum, who is classed as an ageing carer, stops helping me I won't get any additional support as I have her there. Should an adult in their 30s be relying on a parent as their main carer? What are other people's experiences of trying to get additional support to allow an unpaid carer be a parent/friend/sibling instead of a carer.

The social care crisis unfortunately means that funding is tight and even for help with essential daily needs e.g. bathing safely or cooking meals alternatives to funded support is being recommended e.g. paying for a community alarm so if fall in bath can press the button to alert someone, buying ready meals to save cooking from scratch or using your PIP money to pay for additional support. If you're in this situation we can help you look into what alternatives are out there that might help you and help with getting these put in place.