Live in care at Home – Elderly home care blog

A PIONEERING DVD aimed at raising awareness and promoting the benefits of Direct Payments to help people with disabilities, older people and their families has been officially launched.

Direct Payments is a government scheme that gives people money directly to arrange and buy their own care instead of receiving social services. This gives people greater choice and control over their lives and the ability to make decisions about how their care is delivered.

The new DVD, produced by Lancashire County Council, provides information on every aspect of Direct Payments in Lancashire. It includes five chapters including, the benefits of the scheme, a general overview of how users can access the scheme, what is involved in managing Direct Payments and the support that is available.

For the first time the Council has produced a DVD that is fully interactive and accessible giving the viewer the choice of chapters and different language options including English, Punjabi, Gujarati, Bangla, Urdu and British Sign Language (BSL). It also includes an option for viewing the film with English subtitles.

To ensure the 14-minute film was realistic and credible, fifteen service users and their relatives who currently use Direct Payments across the county are featured alongside staff and partner agencies.

The DVD is being launched alongside and to compliment the Council’s new Direct Payments leaflet and Easy Read guide for adults with a learning disability.

Steve Gross, director of Adult Services at Lancashire County Council, explained:

“The main purpose for producing the DVD and new leaflets is to ensure information about Direct Payments is fully accessible and available to everyone. Not everyone knows what information is available and not everyone has access to the internet. This is why it is important information is available in various formats.

“We were keen to produce a high quality, accurate and informative film alongside leaflets for use by staff and for those who may be considering receiving Direct Payments explaining what is involved and promoting the real benefits. The best way we felt to show this was to involve people with experience of using Direct Payments.”

People who have been assessed as needing social care services and who are eligible for Direct Payments can receive cash payments made in lieu of social services provision. Payments can be made to employ their own carer, personal assistants, or buy care services directly from a private care agency. Close relatives who don’t live in their household can also be employed to provide them with care.

Tracey Foster, a wheelchair user from Cottam in Preston who receives Direct Payments and who featured in the film, said:

“I chose Direct Payments because I felt it was a better option for me. It gave me more choice over who I employ and what I did in the day, rather than waiting from somebody to come or them dictating when I got up and when I went to bed.

“Once we’d got the Direct Payments scheme and the care package set up, it meant that my husband had a lifestyle of his own and he could go fishing and actually enjoy fishing and not think am I all right, have I fallen out of my chair.

“When I got married and I said my vows, I didn’t marry my husband because I wanted a carer, I wanted a husband. And do I think that my relationship ten years on from my accident would be husband and wife without Direct Payments? No it wouldn’t.”

Commenting at the launch County Councillor Chris Cheetham, cabinet member for Adult and Community Services, added:

“The DVD will support the County Council and its partner agencies to ensure Direct Payments becomes an option for people assessed as needing care services to gain greater control and independence over their own lives. Most importantly, the DVD will provide a resource which can be used by staff and help disabled adults with disabilities, older people and carers of children with disabilities make informed choices as to whether Direct Payments is something that would benefit them.”

Copies of the DVD and leaflets will be made available to local social care teams for use by social workers and staff across the Council and for health and partner agencies in promoting Direct Payments. The film will also be used in internal training courses about Direct Payments and available on the Council’s web site.

The Councils Resource Centre Network for people with physical disabilities can provide telephone advice about Direct Payments. For more information contact your local social services office or visit www.lancashire.gov.uk

News reported by Lancashire Local Government