With all the services Adult Social Care Provide: • they will assess your needs. You can have a written copy of this assessment if you want. • they will give you as much choice and independence as they can. • they will listen to what you say about the service you want, and do their best to provide it. • they will make sure the services you get are what you need. • they will review the services you receive at least every 6 months to help make sure they are still right for you. • they will keep your details confidential, and only share them with other people who need to work with you. • if you have to wait for a service, they will tell you when you can have it and identify any alternative forms of support
Direct Payments Scheme What are Direct Payments? Direct payments are one way of providing social care services to people who need support to live independently in the community. Following an assessment of needs and an agreement that eligible needs will be met, Cornwall County Council will give people the choice of Direct Payments or having social care services arranged for them. It is also possible to receive a care package which combines a Direct Payment and arranged services. A Direct Payment gives individuals requiring social care support the opportunity to arrange and pay for it themselves in order that they may organise their lives flexibly on a dayto-day basis. It also means that people have greater choice in how to meet their needs. Direct Payments are paid in advance into a separate bank or building society account on a four weekly basis. What can Direct Payments be used for? Most people using Direct Payments employ a personal assistant. Others use it to buy services from an agency or to access activities as identified within their care plan. The money cannot be used to buy permanent residential care or services from the Council. More information such as Who can get Direct Payments?, What responsibilities are involved?, Will I need to pay any money toward the cost of a Direct Payment? Then call Cornwall County Council on 01872 324357 and ask for ‘Direct Payment Scheme’ leaflet, ref; ASC15. Also department of Health publication ’An easy guide to direct payments’ 08701 Strip2 15/5/07 11:59 Page 1 555 455 or email dh@prolog.uk.com
Have Your Say with LINk Cornwall Local Involvement Network Do you feel passionately about local health and social care services? Have you got an experience (good or bad) you want to share so that those services can better meet the needs of the people that use them? From April 2008 Local Involvement Networks (LINks) replaced Patient and Public Involvement Forums in order to strengthen and extend the influence local people have on health and social care services. These networks of service users, voluntary organisations, community groups and members of the public are being established and supported by independent ‘host organisations’ commissioned by local social care authorities (on receipt of money from the Secretary of State for Health). Cornwall Rural Community Council are the host organisation funded by the Department of Health through County Council, and supported by Age Concern and Penwith Community Development Trust. The LINk is a network of local people, organisations and groups that want to make health and social care services better. Its membership can include: • Individuals • Youth councils • Neighbourhood renewal networks • Foundation Trust governors • Faith groups • Minority ethnic groups • Service user support groups • Older people’s forum • Local business groups • Patient transport groups • Carer groups/network • Patients’ groups • Self-advocacy groups • Tenants groups
What will the LINk do? The job of a LINk is to: • Give everyone the chance to say what they think about their local health and social care services – what’s working well and what’s not • Give people the chance to check how services are planned and run • Feedback what people have said about services so that things can change for the better Joining the LINk Contact Cornwall Rural Community Council by phone on 01872 273952 or email info@cornwallrcc.co.uk
M O V I N G I N T O A C A R E H O M E – A D V I C E A N D I N F O R M AT I O N
0800 99 88 33