Archive for March, 2009
My last post is an extreme example of why this is important. Life is likely hard enough for people who need health and social care without them having to deal with all the extra rubbish they get lumbered with. AT ALL TIMES remember “the customer is always right” and stand up for yourself!
Step #5 is about putting all the other steps together.
Firstly, by understanding how ‘the system’ works and your place in it you can remove the some of the stress that comes from the mystery surrounding it. This is also important because it allows you to make your own informed judgements about the way you are being treated and the decisions that are made.
Then, equip with this knowledge, an assertive presence and a healthy dose of persistence you can make a big enough impression to make sure you get what you are entitled to.
BUT, and this is a big but, you must be prepared for a few knockbacks!
The likelihood is that the whole process will take quite a long time, even if you do follow all these steps. Therefore, you must do your best not to get disheartened.
If day to day living is becoming seriously difficult and you are worried your health may suffer if you don’t get the help you need very soon, make sure to say to so, and keep saying so, it will speed things up.
Overall, stay in control, don’t let it get to you!
Bye for now,
George
P.S. In case you’re interested, there could well be some exciting developments to do with my book in the very near future, so keep checking back!
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I came across a very interesting report in The Independent today (link at the bottom)…
A judge has ruled that two disabled people who have been in receipt of Direct Payments will have this service replaced by inferior, and far more expensive, agency care funded by the NHS. This is all because a change in the law means people can no longer be funded by the NHS and social services, only one or the other, and the NHS cannot legally provided Direct Payments.
It is very rare for me to lose my head…but this time its war!
My family and I spent YEARS, LITERALLY YEARS, fighting to get the Direct Payments I NEED to live independently and it works f***ing great!!
Now however, it looks like, at the time of my next review, they might get taken away and replaced with agency care funded by the NHS.
Why I hear you ask, change something that isn’t broke, far from it in fact?
Well, for no other reason than an arbitrary and ill thought out change in the law of course, why else would they bother?!
I’ll tell you something now, it is beyond me how most of the decisions in the NHS and health and social care sector are made and sometimes it even makes me think:
“You know what – screw the NHS, it’s inefficient, ineffective and insanely expensive…let’s just have nationwide private healthcare instead…at least then the private businesses might compete with each other and give us more value for money!”
Why, in the name of common sense, would you decide, based on an arbitrary point of law, which just happens to be under review, that an arrangement which maintains people’s liberty and quality of life should be thrown away and replaced with one which does neither of those and is 3 times as expensive!
It makes no sense whatsoever!
Obviously, the point of the judicial system is to enforce the law, but equally, where the law is inadequate, unfair, or even just not cost effective, should judges not call for some sort of review, or at least point out the problems?
I would have thought that even the most heartless and ruthless government would have winced at the prospect of paying 3 times the cost for an inferior service, apparently not!
And we aren’t talking small numbers here; we are talking “MEGA BUCKS”!
It can cost 10s of thousands of pounds to fund a high maintenance Direct Payments package, so think how much a comparable service would cost from an agency!
Think about how much you pay in tax every year, in the case of a lot of people, their yearly tax contributions might not cover a 5th of the cost of a big Direct Payments package, let alone an agency one!
I don’t care what anyone says, a problem of this nature, even from a purely economic perspective, should be sorted by a fast tracked change in the law, especially as it is widely agreed a change is necessary!
What is even more annoying is there is a perfect, and already legal, work around being championed by those in favour of disability rights, which may even be superior to Direct Payments, but few NHS trusts are supporting it!
The idea is that a third party acts as an agency that the NHS can then pay to administer people’s care, the difference is that this third party offers a service with the same values as Direct Payments. This would mean people could still choose their staff and would even not have to do all the paperwork anymore, because the agency would it…happy days!
Furthermore, there is already a bill before parliament, which is the result of a widely accredited report by Lord Darzi, which would legalise the use of Direct Payments by the NHS!
Unfortunately, assuming the bill is even passed, it is unlikely NHS “personal health budgets” as they are called, will be rolled out nationally before 2012, meaning we may well have to deal with this rubbish situation for at least 3 years.
Overall, I despair at this sorry state of affairs!
(Rhyme not intentional but left in to lighten the mood)
This court case could have been a prime opportunity to expose the shortcomings of health and social care in the UK. Instead, it has served to reinforce the double standards, wastage and incompetence of those in charge!
What makes me even more frustrated is the vast majority of officials involved in this system want to make things better; they are just stopped at every turn by the short-sightedness of those controlling the purse strings!
It’s time this was recognised as a large, yet unnecessary and fixable issue which has the potential to be turned on its head and used as a springboard to improve the lives of a huge number of vulnerable people!
In my view, if they were used correctly, NHS “personal health budgets” could be used to great effect and could not only save a huge amount of money, but also pave the way for new and innovative home treatment of people who would otherwise occupy an extremely expensive and much sought after hospital bed.
I will do everything I can to make sure I don’t lose my Direct Payments and not because I’m on some sort of moral crusade, but as a matter of simple self preservation!
George.
“Your Personal Health and Social Care Guru”
Link to The Indpendent Report => Click here
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Step #4 – Persistence, persistence, persistence!
Ever heard of the phrase “location, location, location”? Kirsty and Phil over on Channel 4 reckon it (location) is the factor MOST important to people when they purchase a home. Why is that relevant to getting a care package I hear you ask? Well…it isn’t , but I like the ‘rule of three’ thing so I thought I’d steal it and apply it to possibly the most important quality one needs when pursuing a care package…PERSISTANCE!
Ok…I admit it…this is a little similar to the last articles topic…BUT…persistence is just as important as assertiveness and more than deserves a post of its own!
Quite simply, without persistence, assertiveness is a waste of time!
Assessment for a care package often involves a lot of back and forth deciding things like who should pay for it, the NHS, social services or the individual and it is sometimes very hard not to get disillusioned and give up. For me, there were more than a few times when I felt like I was going backwards. Therefore, it is vital that you don’t waver and keep on at people until they come to a decision, Step #2 will help enormously with this because you should know what you are entitled to.
By taking control of the situation and refusing to give up you give yourself a huge advantage, not just because you will probably be far more efficient at chasing things up than the professionals, but also because you get peace of mind from knowing this is the case!
I’ll be back,
George Baker
Terminator of your care package stress!
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Step #3 – Be assertive!!!!
When you’re trying to get something you want, or in this case NEED, there’s nothing like a bit of assertiveness to make sure everyone knows you mean business!
Life can be exhausting enough for disabled people and/or those caring for someone and often the last thing they want to do is become the champion of their care package.
Unfortunately however, the reality is that if you want to get what you are entitled to (or at least get it within a reasonable time frame) then it will help you enormously if you can muster the strength to ‘lead the charge’ and make sure everyone is doing what they are supposed to.
One of the main reasons the process of assessment often takes so long is quite simply lack of communication between the different people involved. So by, for example, phoning/emailing people on a regular basis, you can make sure they haven’t ‘forgotten’ you.
This will involve being a little bit more forceful than you are perhaps used to, social workers and such like often have a large case load and tend to put off (like all of us) the things that don’t need to be done immediately. All you really need to do is make sure your case stays near the top of the pile and doesn’t get relegated to the ‘no go’ pile of paperwork in the corner of their office!
Now up until this point, you’re probably thinking “this sounds like a shed load more hassle than just letting them get on with it and putting up with the wait”
Trust me…it isn’t!
For two reasons…
The first one is obvious: if you keep reminding people of your situation, how important it is and how much you mean business, they are far more likely to sort things out for you quickly, and the quicker the help you need is in place, the quicker you can get on with your life. However, it’s important to note that you always want people to stay on your side, so, as irritating as the bureaucracy and inefficiency can be, try and play nice, even when they aren’t nice to you!
Secondly, being in charge can be fun, and more importantly liberating!
I know it sounds like more work, but providing you have enough energy, appointing yourself chief in charge of your ‘care package campaign’ will make you feel far less stressed because at least you’ll know what’s going on!
Very often, the professionals involved will respond well to this because not only does it take the pressure of organisation off their shoulders, but it also looks good for them because the service user is involved and ‘personalisation’ is a big part of the government’s agenda at the moment.
Dedicated to helping you get the help you need,
George Baker
“Your personal social care guru”
P.S. part 4 and 5 coming soon!
P.P.S. really soon…getting fed up with this series…got lots of awesome stuff stored up that I want to share with you, so keep your finger over F5 (refresh) for the next few days!
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Thanks to the BBC for Inviting Me to Discuss Social Care
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I guess a lot of you heard me on the BBC Friday before last.
Just wanted to say a very quick thank you to all and in particular Charlie Crocker for inviting me along to discuss How to Get Care, the challenges, the solutions and of course my new book.
I’ve had some fantastic feedback and thanks to all of you who have pre-registered for my new book “How To: Secure the Perfect Care Package!”…
Keep your eyes peeled!
It’ll be released soon!
George.
“Your Personal Social Care Guru”
PS: Any questions, comments, post them here.
PPS: If you’re not yet on the pre-release list, simply register on this site in the box to the right and I’ll send you all the details as soon as it’s released.
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Step #2 – Make sense of the ’system’!!
Ever heard of the saying “if you want something done properly, do it yourself”?
I’m almost certain you will have and the process of applying for health and social care is one situation where this saying is absolutely true!
I won’t sugar coat things, the system is pretty damn complicated and confusing, but it’s more than worth getting to grips with because if you can manage to get your head round it you will have a better understanding of what is happening and this should reduce your stress levels. Of course, it will only be worth learning about the aspects which are relevant to you.
The question is how should one go about this?
Previously I would have told you to do trawl the web for hours looking on government websites before trying to get hold of your social worker for a good old chat, both of which would probably have just made you more confused.
You see, the information is so disparate, there is no central resource and it’s very difficult to find what is relevant to you. Luckily however, I have just the thing for you!
I’ve written the ONE and ONLY insider’s guide to the UK’s health and social care system, called “How To: Secure the Perfect Care Package!”
My intention in writing it was to provide a complete guide to the assessment process for health and social care and I’m pretty pleased with the way it’s turned out, in fact, I’ve squeezed in a lot more than I thought I would.
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