Together, UK Mental Health Charity working alongside each person with mental health issues on their journey towards greater wellbeing. Trusted experts in service user involvement
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Together and Personalisation e-bulletin
Personalisation is one of Together’s key strategic objectives. We believe that personalisation offers significant opportunities for people who use services, and we are actively developing our role and knowledge, as well as adapting the way we design and offer support. By 2014 we are aiming for all people using our services to be able to direct their own support and be able to access services using personal and individual budgets.
We intend to keep you up to date: keep checking our Personalisation page for information, conference materials and other useful documents.
Welcome to the November edition of Together’s personalisation bulletin. This publication will be produced bi-monthly with regular up-dates on what Together are doing, external developments, resources and useful information.
Contents
Together and Self Directed Support
Direct Payments Stories
Progress Measures For The Delivery of Transforming Adult Social Services
Don’t Be Fooled By The Law
Forthcoming Events
Together and Self Directed Support
Hampshire
Together is piloting different models of self directed support in Hampshire. The pilot aims to engage with up to eighty people from a variety of settings including day services, community support and residential care. The pilot will be independently evaluated by Cordis Bright, a social care consultancy organisation, alongside people who have experience of using services.
Ten people who have previously used services attended a one-day Community Surveying event in August and contributed to the design of phase one evaluation questionnaires. They have since been busy interviewing Together service users in order to establish peoples understanding of self directed support and explore how satisfied individuals are with the services they currently receive. An interim report of the findings will be published later in November with follow up interviews planned for the end of pilot in March 2010.
Emerging themes appear to be that people have little or no knowledge of self directed support and would not know how to access direct payments or an individual budget. There appears to be confusion about the eligibility criteria with many fearing they will lose services because they do not have a care coordinator. Likewise, service staff appear enthusiastic about the opportunities but feel they need more information.
Phase two of the pilot will work towards raising awareness in services and explore how service user involvement can contribute to designing services that are personal and individualised.
Regular updates on the pilot will appear on Together’s personalisation web page and at the following events: MHPF Annual Conference on 10 November 2009 and Personalisation Study Day, SCIE on 2 December 2009.
For more information contact Jessica Berry
East Sussex
The East Sussex ‘Staying in Control programme’ is one of 30 national pilots, supported by In Control and sponsored by the Department of Health Integrated Care Network – to test and develop individual budgets and self-directed support.
Together service users at the 73a Centre, a day service in Bexhill have been invited to participate in the programme with a presentation being planned for the 23rd October 09.
The pilot will run for six months and will give people in rural areas the opportunity to have choice and control over the support and services they receive.
Direct Payment Stories
Together service users have kindly agreed to share their experience of accessing Direct Payments. Read their stories - real lived experience is always the best demonstration.
If you know of anyone who would like to know more about Directs Payments, the Department of Health has recently published a useful guide. Further information can be found on their website
Progress Measures For The Delivery Of Transforming Adult Social Service
The Department of Health has published a set of milestones setting the expectations for councils in delivery on personalisation over the next 18 months. Putting People First have produced a document of progress measures on the delivery of transforming adult social care services, available here.
Dont' be fooled by the Law
Confused by the jargon and processes? A report published by In Control makes sense of FACS (fair access to care services), RAS (Resource Allocation System) and people rights under the current system.
‘Don’t be fooled by the law’ can be found on In Control’s website.
Forthcoming Events
Together – Working for Wellbeing
Should Service Users Lead the Personalisation Agena?
18th November 2009 - London
Community Care
New Frontiers In Personalisation – Next Steps in the Transformation Agenda
11th November 2010 – London
In Control
The Big Event
19th March 2010 – London
PACT (all events £50 per person)
Change Management for Personalisation
3rd /4th November 2009
Business Planning for Personalisation
24th/25th November 2009 - Winchester
Personalisation and Self Directed Support Seminars – For Hampshire Providers
27th October 09 – Fareham
9th November 09 – Winchester
10th November 09 – Brockenhurst
1st December 09 - Basingstoke
Also in this section
