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You need to prioritise!

5/1/2017

1 Comment

 
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.
1 Comment
Mark Han-Johnston link
9/1/2017 12:11:11 pm

If someone chooses to change the Option under which they receive support and funding from their Local Authority, it would be important to know that the level of support and funding allocated is enough to meet that person's identified needs.
People's lives and circumstances can change but there is still a duty for the Local Authority to meet a person's needs as identified in their assessment. Therefore, I would ask the question 'Is the funding / support offered able to meet my identified needs?'. If it doesn't, then there is a reason to challenge the decision to refuse to increase funding and to have the reasons put in writing - with information about how to challenge this decision as well. Just because it is possible to meet needs under one Option at a certain cost. doesn't mean to say that the cost will be the same under other Options. As people's lives and needs change - so the cost of the support that they need can change.

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