Self directed support

Plymouth City Council is committed to 'Putting People First'. This is the Government's vision for the future direction of adult social care.

In Plymouth we want to place citizens at the heart of a new social care system which will enable them to have greater choice and control over their lives.

We believe that every individual should be able to:

• live as independently as possible
• make their own choices to achieve their personal goals and aspirations
• take risks if they want to
• live their lives free from abuse and neglect

We will work with service users, carers and other agencies to ensure that high quality and personally tailored services are available. We will put the individual at the heart of the assessment process and introduce personal budgets.

Why do we need a new approach?

The current system of social care will not work as well for the 21st Century. The population is changing, people are living longer and there will be much larger numbers of people with an illness or disability that need support to maintain their independence.

We want to give people more choice and control over the support they receive, by giving people a clear, up front idea about how much money is available for their support. They will then be able to choose from a wider menu of services to meet their needs and aspirations, and maintain their independence as long as possible.

What is self-directed support?

Self-directed support is the term used to describe how people are able to design the support or care arrangements that best suit their specific needs. It puts people in the centre of the planning process, and recognises that they are best placed to understand their own needs and how to meet them.

Through self-directed support people will be able to direct and control how the money available to meet their support needs is spent. There will be a greater emphasis on people using personal budgets to build on their own support networks such as family and friends.

There are seven key stages to self-directed support:

Stage 1 - Your support needs

The first step is to find out what social care needs you have. This is done through a community care assessment.

Self-directed support means that you play a more active part in deciding who can help you to do the assessment, how the assessment takes place and when it gets done.

How much money you get is decided by looking at the answers you give to questions about your needs.

Through the assessment you can find out:

• if you are entitled to money for support
• an idea of how much money you are likely to get to meet your needs
• if you have to pay towards your care and support

Stage 2 - Design your support plan

Once you know roughly how much money you will get to meet your assessed needs you have to make a plan of how you'll use the money to get the life you want.

Your care manager or someone else you trust can help you to do this.

The support plan you design must meet your assessed needs and must say how you will benefit from the plan. We call this 'meeting your outcomes'.

Stage 3 - Getting your plan agreed

We have to report to the Government on how the money we have to provide social care helps people to live a more independent life. So the next step is for your care manager to look at your support plan and check that it will meet your assessed needs.

• If your care manager has already helped you complete your support plan, then they know it is ok.
• If someone else has helped you, the next step is for you to show your support plan to your care manager who will check that it is ok.

Your care manager has a duty of care to make sure that your support plan will keep you safe and meet your assessed needs and outcomes.

Stage 4 - Organising your money

Once your support plan is agreed, your care manager will tell you the final amount of money you will get for your care and support, we call this a 'personal budget'.

You use the money to buy the support you need. The money can be paid to you direct, or to someone who can help look after it for you like a Trust or an independent organisation. If you prefer, your care manager can use your personal budget to arrange services of your choice. These could include services run by Plymouth City Council or care providers that the Council have contracts with.

Stage 5 - Organising your support

You can choose how you want to be supported and when you get that support.

You can do this yourself or you could get others to help you, like your care manager, family or friend.

For example, you may wish to use your personal budget to buy day services on some days and arrange your own activities on others. You may wish to spend your money on buying things that will help you in your life.

Some people use the money to employ their own personal assistant. The person you choose could be someone you already know, or you can advertise for someone. Help is available if you wish to do this. Because you are in charge, you can choose your own personal assistant.

Stage 6 - Living your life

You will need to tell us how you spend your money, but you will now have more control to live your life the way you want to.

Self-directed support means that you decide what the most important things are for you.

Stage 7 - Has your plan worked

You have to show that you use the money properly and legally and that it has met your outcomes. We call this a 'review'.

The review is a chance to check how things are going and to see if any changes are needed.

The review will also monitor how you are spending your budget and if it is meeting your needs. Usually reviews happen once a year, but if your needs change, you can ask your care manager to help you to review things earlier.

If you would like to find out more information about having a personal budget you can talk to your care manager.

If you do not have a care manager but feel that you might be entitled to support from adult social care call our contact centre on 01752 668000 who can arrange for an assessment of your needs to be carried out.

We also produce a range of leaflets and publications which you may find useful.

You can download a self directed support information leaflet below: