Reform Of Social Care (From Crewe Guardian)

Reform Of Social Care

3:30pm Thursday 2nd July 2009

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ADULTS in South Cheshire requiring social care services are to benefit from radical changes offering them greater flexibility and control over their own care.

The East Cheshire Council’s cabinet has approved a revamped system, which they say will put the area at the leading edge of implementing the Government’s policy on personalisation of social care.

Personalisation is a new way of providing social care services which recognises that people are often the best judges of their own needs.

The system offers greater choice of support and focuses on what is important to individuals and the results they want to achieve.

Adults whose needs are judged ‘critical or substantial‘ will be eligible for an allocation of resources known as a 'personal budget' to design their own care package.

Following an in-depth assessment and support to ensure they remain as independent as possible, each eligible person will be offered a sum of money to pay for the services they wish to ‘buy in’ or continue to receive from the council.

This budget will be based upon the level of support each individual requires and takes account of their financial situation.

Councillor Roland Domleo said: “By recognising that individuals are the best judges of their own needs, personalisation promotes the view that people will achieve better outcomes from their social care support if this is more personal to them.

“By combining the concepts of independence, choice, control, individual budgets and self-directed support, it represents a radical reform of the way Adult Social Care is delivered in Cheshire East.

“Service users and their carers have been closely involved in the development of the new system and we have incorporated their feedback into the plans wherever possible.

“Choice is a crucial factor. People do not have to buy in their own services if they do not wish to - each individual has the option to carry on receiving services in the same way as they do now.”

The new system will be rolled out from October in Crewe and Nantwich.

The changes are expected to be implemented in full by February 2010.

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