It's a Fact: A Recent Survey Shows that Personal Budgets Improve the Lives of Their Recipients

Introduction

This article is aimed at people who are receiving domiciliary care or who are thinking about choosing domiciliary care for themselves or another.

A recent survey (published 28 October 2014) conducted by three bodies working together, In Control, Lancaster University and Think Local Act Personal, looked at the use of personal budgets in adult social services and health in England.

A striking finding of this survey is that 80%  of respondents (over 4000 people were included in the survey) said that personal budgets had made things better or a lot better for them in terms of dignity in their support and their quality of life. You can read more of the report for yourself here.

If you know all about personal budgets, you’ll understand just how significant that finding is. If you’re a little unsure about what personal budgets are, what follows is a brief introduction to them. Let’s start with a look at personalisation.

Personalisation

There was a time, and it was not so long ago, that the providers of domiciliary care took a paternalistic approach towards their customers. Paternalism means that somebody else knows what’s best for you. In the context of domiciliary care, it was usually social services who thought they knew what was best for you.

Personalisation is an approach to domiciliary care that is the exact opposite of paternalism. Personalisation recognises that you are the person who knows best what is suitable for you when it comes to choosing domiciliary care.

Therefore, personalisation places you at the centre of everything that happens with regard to your care. It’s all about your independence to choose. Control is handed over to you to be able to choose what type of care you want, who you want to provide that care for you and when you want it provided to you.

Personal Budgets

Of course, the obvious question is how you can have this independence, control and choice over your care if social services are paying partly or in full for your home care? And this is where personal budgets come in.

To get a personal budget there are two assessments that have to undergo. First, you need to have your care needs assessed. This is called a community care assessment. For more information on community care assessments see Eight things to know about Community Care Assessments by Kent County Council.

Second, you need to have a means test, sometimes referred to as a financial assessment for more information about financial assessments see How to get financial help for home care from Kent Social Services.

If you are found to have eligible needs following a community care assessment and qualify to have all or some of those needs met by social services you will be offered a personal budget. This is a sum of money that is given to you to pay for the care that you need to meet your eligible needs.

Your personal budget can be held by you or by a friend or relative on your behalf. It is also possible for a care provider to administer the budget for you. In some cases, you may want the local authority to administer your personal budget.

Direct Payments

Once you have been awarded a personal budget, you should also be offered an opportunity to receive this in the form of a direct payment. Direct payments work in a very straightforward way. Kent County Council pay an amount of money into your bank account or onto a Kent Card. The Kent Card is a Visa debit card and you can find out more details here. You then use this money to buy your care from a provider of your choice.

For more information on direct payments see How to get direct payments to buy home care and How to get financial help for home care from Kent Social Services.

What Is the Significance of the Survey Mentioned above?

Now you know about personalisation and personal budgets you’re in a position to appreciate just how important the findings in the survey are.

The whole idea of personalisation – and personal budgets - was (and perhaps remains) controversial. Many saw its introduction as a way of reducing costs for local authorities. There may well be some element of that. However, if personalisation is to be seen as a success, it has to improve the lives of those receiving home care.

Personal budgets are a central part of personalisation. If personal budgets are bringing about improvements in the lives of those in receipt of them then personalisation is bringing about the effect that was intended.

The Research Findings in Brief

1. Over 4000 people took part in the survey. 2679 were personal budget holders and 1328 were carers of people who hold personal budgets.

2. At least two thirds of respondents said their personal budget had made things better or a lot better in 11 of the 15 areas of life that were asked about: dignity in support (82%),  Independence (78.9%), arranging support (79.9%), relationships with people paid to support them (75.9%), quality of life (81.4%), mental health (66%), control over life (70.6%), feeling safe (72.8%), family relationships (74.6%),  paid relationships (67.8%), self-esteem (73.2%).

3. Less than 5% of people reported their personal budget having a negative impact on any of the 15 areas that were asked about

4. Over two thirds of the carers surveyed said that things had got better or a lot better in three out of eight aspects asked about: continuing care (78.6%), the quality of life of the person cared for (79.6%) and the carer’s quality of life (71.3%).

5. People were more positive about their personal budgets when they felt that their views were considered when their needs were being assessed.

6. Personal budgets were held by the individual budget holder in 34% of cases. In such cases the individuals received a direct payment. For more information on direct payments see How to get direct payments to buy home care and How to get financial help for home care from Kent Social Services.

7. In 21% of cases, direct payments were made to friends or family of the person receiving care. In 19% of cases the budget was administered by a care provider. In just 18% of cases did a local authority remain in control of the personal budget.

Personal budgets put you in control of your care. They promote your independence, give you choice and help enhance the quality of care you receive.

Garry Costain is the Managing Director of Caremark Thanet, a domiciliary care provider with offices in Margate, Kent. Caremark Thanet provides home care services throughout the Isle of Thanet. Garry can be contacted on 01843 235910 or email garry.costain@caremark.co.uk. You can also visit Caremark Thanet's website at www.caremark.co.uk/thanet.