Care plans explained
Producing a care plan
Once it is decided that the person has eligible needs from the community care assessment process, the local authority has a duty to provide sufficient support to ensure that these needs are met
The person who carried out the assessment should write a ‘care plan’ (this is sometimes called a ‘support plan’)
This describes which services are to be provided. The person in need of care and their carer should be closely involved in the development of the plan
The care plan should include:
- Needs identified
- Desired outcomes and how they can be met
- Risk assessment
- Plan for dealing with emergency changes
- Result of the financial assessment
- Support that carers are willing and able to provide
- Support to be provided to meet the assessed needs
- Date of plan review
The person being reviewed, or their carer, should be given a copy of the care or support plan. If they are not, they should ask for one
They should also be given the name of the person responsible for ensuring that services are then provided. That person is often known as a care manager. The care manager should be contacted if there are any difficulties
People who pay for their care privately can still benefit from a care plan to help them to make the best use of their resources
How are care plan services arranged?
- The local authority will give the person requiring care, or their carer (if they are considered to be a ‘suitable person’) the option to arrange their own support services
- Services may be provided directly by the local authority, or arranged through other agencies, such as health or housing departments, or voluntary or private organisations
- Some services, such as community nursing, are arranged through the GP, either directly, or after discussion with social services
What are reviews?
- Circumstances change, so the services they receive should be reviewed every so often
- Local authorities do this through ‘reviews’ − meetings to see whether the person’s needs have changed
- Care plans should be reviewed within the first three months and then annually, or as needs change
- If there is a change in the situation of the person or their carer and they feel that they need more help, or different kinds of services, they should contact the local authority, whether or not a regular review is due
Making a complaint
If the person needing care, or their carer, has a complaint, it is advisable to try to sort it out with the person they have contact with, such as the assessor or care manager
There may simply have been a failure in communication or a misunderstanding that can be easily rectified
However, if this is not successful, there is a local authority complaints procedure. The local authority will explain how to use this
The complaints procedure might be useful if:
- There are problems arranging an assessment
- The services needed are not provided, or are unsatisfactory
- There is an unreasonably long wait for an assessment
If the local authority complaints procedure does not resolve the issue either, you can take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman
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