Personalisation Policy 2015
Adult Services
Policy
Northamptonshire County Council
Adult Social Services
Version: 2
Effective from: April 2015
Next Review Date:
February 2016
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Northamptonshire County Council: Adult Services
Document details
Project: Personalisation Policy 2015
Version: 2
Status: Update
Date: April 2015
Area: Adult Social Care Directorate
Author: Lynne Griffiths
Owner: Carolyn Kus, Director of Adult Social Care
Document History
Version
Date
Editor
Details
Personalisation
Updated June
Sally Bresnahan
Policy and
2010
Procedures
Personalisation
Updated April 2014 Lynne Griffiths
Policy 2014 v1
Document sign-off
ASC Adult Leadership Team
17 March 2015
Feedback
If you have any comments about this document please email:
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx.xx
For public access on the Internet YES X NO
For NCC staff access on the Intranet YES X NO
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Contents
Item
Content
Page
What is this document?
4
Glossary
4
Symbols which may be used in the document
4
1
Introduction
5
2
Purpose
5
3
Scope
5
3.1
Adults in need of care and support
6
3.2
Carers and Young Carers in need of support
6
3.3
Young person with care and support needs in transition process
6
4
Policy Statement
6
5
Policy Principles
7
6
National Context
8
6.1
Public Policy Transformation
8
6.2
Social Policy Transformation
9
7
Outcomes in Adult Social Care
10
8
Personalisation
10
9
Legislative Policy
11
9.1
Legislation
11
9.2
Additional Statutory Guidance
12
9.3
Impact of Care Act 2014
12
10
The Local Authority’s Duty to Assess
13
10.1 Adults who present with social care needs
13
10.2 Carers who present with social care needs
14
10.3 Destitute People from Abroad (No Recourse to Public Funds)
14
11
Equality, Diversity and Human Rights
15
11.1 Equalities
15
11.2 Human Rights
15
12
Northamptonshire’s Adult Social Care Pathway
16
12.1 Adult Social Care Pathway Diagram
17
12.2 Information, Advice and Support
17
12.3 Short-term support
18
12.4 Longer-term support
18
12.5 Is it working and what next?
18
12.6 Pathway Assessment and Eligibility Process for adults and
19
Carers
13
How does NCC measure the success of Personalisation?
21
13.1 The national Markers for Change
21
14
Acknowledgements
22
15
Future Updates
22
16
Website address for this policy
23
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What is the Document?
This policy is for Northamptonshire citizens and staff who work for and on behalf of
Northamptonshire County Council and sets out the policy which governs how the
Council works with adults with care and support needs in the county and their
informal Carers. It brings together and consolidates good practice and incorporates
values and principles that underpin the Council’s work with individuals.
Glossary
For an explanation of some of the social care words in this Policy please go to the
following website
: Think Local Act Personal
Symbols which may be used in this Document
Means a Council Policy or Document
If the policy or document is blue and underlined then this will take you to a
website where it can be found. All you need to do is place your cursor over
the text, hold down the control (ctrl) key and left click with your mouse
button, or press the return key on your keyboard
Means a need to complete an NCC form. It is the responsibility of each
member of staff to ensure the completion of the correct and most up-to-date
form.
Means Legislation or a national document
If the legislation or document is blue and underlined then this will take you to
a website where it can be found. All you need to do is place your cursor over
the text, hold down the control (ctrl) key and left click with your mouse
button, or press the return key on your keyboard
Means an electronic recording requirement e.g. CareFirst is the electronic
customer records system used by adults and children’s services to record
work done with and on behalf of individuals
Means an external Internet website address
(These will be highlighted
in blue throughout the document, all you need to do is
place your cursor over the text, hold down the control key (ctrl) and left click with
your mouse button, or press the return key on your keyboard. This will take you to
a website that we feel will be more helpful to you should you require more detail).
Means an internal NCC Intranet website address
(These will be highlighted
in blue throughout the document, all you need to do is
place your cursor over the text, hold down the control key (ctrl) and left click with
your mouse button, or press the return key on your keyboard. Only internal staff
and approved bodies will have access to these pages. Please contact your site
designer where appropriate).
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1
Introduction
Northamptonshire County Council (NCC) is committed to continuously improving the
way we deliver care and support to adults with care and support needs who are
ordinarily resident in our county and their informal Carers. We aim to achieve this
through the ongoing transformation of adult social care by a personalised model of
support so that people who come into contact with the Council have good outcomes
of the highest quality and support services which are financially sustainable.
Personalisation means recognising people as individuals who have strengths and
preferences and putting them at the centre of their own care and support.
Personalisation is for people with a wide range of social care needs, regardless of
whether the person may be eligible for public funding or not or whether support is
received from the statutory, community, voluntary or independent sector.
This Policy is underpinned by belief in the combined values and principles of:
Respect for individuals
Self determination
Independent living
Participation
Control
Choice
Empowerment.
The above commitment contributes to the Council’s vision for customers and Carers
to take control of their lives.
Part 1 of the
Care Act 2014 is implemented from April 2015. It restates the
personalisation principle and
introduces a new general statutory principle of ‘
wellbeing’. Personalisation and the promotion of wellbeing both apply to all
citizens. Promoting wellbeing involves actively seeking improvements in those
aspects of wellbeing set out in the Care Act at any stage of contact with adult social
care i.e. from first contact to the review of a care and/or support plan.
2
Purpose
This document outlines the principles and policy framework supported by
Northamptonshire County Council to ensure the consistent and effective
implementation of Personalisation in the county through the transformation of adult
social care.
3
Scope
The policy is for adults with social care needs living in Northamptonshire and their
informal Carers and for all staff working for or on behalf of NCC’s Adult Social Care
Directorate.
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3.1 Adults in need of care and support
The policy applies to adults aged 18 years and above with care and support needs
and adults with social care needs who are at risk of abuse or neglect. It covers older
people and people with physical, sensory or learning disabilities and those who
experience mental ill-health.
It includes people who pay for their own care and/or support as well as adults with
social care needs residing in prisons and other approved criminal justice premises
which are located in the local authority area.
Adults in need of care and support
must be ordinarily resident in
Northamptonshire or, in the case of an adult with no settled residence, the person
presents as having care and support needs at the time they are in Northamptonshire.
3.2 Carers and Young Carers in need of support
It applies to informal Carers aged 18 years and over who need or may need adult
social care support and to informal Young Carers approaching adulthood. A Carer is
someone who provides support to or who looks after a family member, partner, or
friend who needs help because of their age, disability or physical or mental ill-health
and could not manage without this help.
An adult Carer or Young Carer must be providing (or intending to provide) care for
an adult with care and support needs who is ordinarily resident in Northamptonshire
(even though the adult may not be known to adult social care or be eligible for local
authority care and support or may have refused support). There is no requirement for
the Carer to be ordinarily resident in Northamptonshire.
3.3 Young person with care and support needs in transition from children to
adult services.
Unde
r Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014 , linked to the Care Act
2014, an adult Carer of a young person with care and support needs may request an
assessment of their own caring needs and those of their child when the young
person enters the transition process (14 – 18 years) and the child’s needs are likely
to continue after reaching adulthood (18 years and over). The Council must carry
out a transition assessment
under the adult statute where it believes there is
‘significant benefit’ (i.e. it is the best/optimum time) to the young person or their
Carer to do so and the consent condition is met.
4
Policy Statement
The following represents the policy of Northamptonshire County Council:
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The Council will build on the adult social care model introduced in 2010 further
empowering people to make choices and take control of their care and support
though Personalisation and community support.
The self-directed support approach will continue to provide the person-centred
framework through which Personalisation will be delivered and will remain as the
Council’s core way to do business for the delivery of adult social care support. This
will be for potential customers, existing eligible customers, and those new customers
who need longer-term support and who are eligible under the new national minimum
eligibility thresholds as an adult in need of care and support or a Carer in need of
support
Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014 & Care and Support
(Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2014 . The Personalisation Policy will be applied at
any social care contact, assessment, reassessment or review.
The approach involves finding out what is important to people with social care needs
and their families and friends. It supports people to plan how to use available
personal and community resources, including financial resources, to achieve their
aims. It is about focusing on the individual’s personal desired outcomes and
ensuring they have as much choice and control over arranging and directing their
own support arrangements in order to meet their social care needs while enabling
optimum health and wellbeing, independence and safety
(Northamptonshire Inter-
agency Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults Procedures). Northamptonshire County Council has a strong commitment to have ‘people at the
heart of what we do’ and expects citizens:
To have a good experience of adult social care.
To have access to good information and advice in various formats
To find NCC to be open, honest, transparent, fair and equitable in our
practice.
Northamptonshire County Council supports the concept of co-production in social
care, working in partnership with all stakeholders and citizens to achieve positive
outcomes for the benefit of individuals and groups.
5
Policy Principles
The policy also uses the following principles to strengthen independence, choice and
risk management within self – directed suppo
rt NCC Risk Enablement Policy &
Independence, choice and risk: a guide to best practice in supported decision-
making DH2007a 2. The Council expects all staff to be familiar with and use these
principles in their practice:
Right to independent living
Right to a personal budget
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Right to self-determination
Right to accessibility (understand the systems and rules)
Right to flexible funding (free to spend allocated budget in a way that makes
sense to the person to meet eligible needs and agreed outcomes)
Mutual accountability principle (the person and the local authority have a
responsibility to each other to explain decisions and share learning)
Mental capacity principle (the person will be assumed to be mentally capable
of giving consent and making their own decisions unless it is proved
otherwise)
Mental Capacity Act 2005 &
NCC/NHS MCA Inter-agency Mental
Capacity Protocol
Wellbeing principle
6
National Context
6.1 Public Policy Transformation
Reform of the public sector has been a central feature of previous and present
Governments since 2007. The need for reform of the whole public sector and, within
it, the need to transform adult social care, is being driven by changes in the law, the
financial situation and the expectations of citizens. This includes the need to make
services more personalised to the individual.
Personalisation is the cornerstone of public policy and applies to all citizens. It is not
just about adult social care. It is a key issue for all public services, including the
National Health Service (NHS). It has been described as the “process by which
services are tailored to the needs and preferences of citizens”.
All citizens need universal access to information and advice to ensure they can
choose the best support available, regardless of how that is funded. Everyone
should also be able to access universal services such as public transport /education
and leisure facilities/housing/health services and employment.
In 2012, following a review of adult social care law by the Law Commission, the
Government published the White Paper ‘Caring for our future: reforming care and
suppo
rt’ (White Paper Caring for our future) and the draf
t Care and Support Bill. The
latter went through Parliament during 2013/14, culminating in the Care Act 2014,
providing further legislative push towards the ambition to promote the greatest
possible independence, wellbeing and safety for older people and people with
disabilities or mental health needs throughout their lives. The aim is to enable
individuals to stay as healthy, safe and independent as possible for as long as
possible and to exercise as much choice and control over their lives as they can
manage. The Care Act 2014 has introduced the concept of the Local Authority
‘meeting needs’ as opposed to ‘providing services’.
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The overall vision is that the role of central and local government is to empower
people to shape their own lives and the individual support they receive. This national
programme is aimed at shifting the balance of power and responsibility for ownership
from public bodies over to the person requiring care and/or support. In doing this, it
makes support more personalised, more preventative and more focused on
delivering the best outcomes (
i.e. bringing a positive difference or benefit to the
person’s life) for the individuals who use them.
6.2 Social Policy Transformation
The vision for the transformation of adult social care was first set out in a
collaborative national agreement between central and local government, the
regulator, providers and key leaders in “Putting People First: A shared vision and
commitment to the transformation of Adult Social Care” 2007
(Putting People First).
This was followed by two Department of Health circulars ‘Transforming Adult Social
Care’ (LAC (DH)
(2008 & 2009) which highlighted the expectation for people with
social care needs to have better information; better quality of services; more focus
on prevention and more personalised care and support.
The need for a complete change to the way social care is delivered has come about
as a result of the combined pressures of a rising and ageing population, increasing
demand on limited resources and severe financial challenges in the public sector
which have taken place alongside higher citizen expectation. Northamptonshire
faces the same challenges to its social care services and resources for all of the
above reasons, requiring us to fundamentally change how we offer and deliver
support.
The shared aims and values of the agreement to change from traditional services to
more personalised care and support are underpinned by four universal and specific
themes that there should be:
Universal Services – e.g. transport/leisure/information/advice/advocacy
Prevention and Early Intervention – helping people early enough or in the right
way so that they stay well, healthy or recover quickly from illness and stay
safe from avoidable harm.
Choice and Control – people who need support can design it themselves,
understand quickly how much money may be available for this and have a
choice about how they receive support and who manages it.
Social Capital – making sure that everyone has the opportunity to be part of a
community and experience the friendships and care that can come from
family and friends.
NCC welcomed and supports the government vision to reform social care and
provide more choice and control. In Northamptonshire we recognise that the
contribution of Carers is significant to society both in financial terms and in the
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quality of life for those who are dependent on them as endorsed by the Care Act
2014.
7
Outcomes in Adult Social Care
In individual terms, a good social care outcome means the benefit or positive
difference that contact with social care can bring to someone’s life as defined by the
person.
The national high-level outcomes
(Adult Social Care Outcomes Framework 2015/16
which NCC must evidence to the people of Northamptonshire are that Adult Social
Care (ASC) has:
Enhanced the quality of life for people with care and support needs and their
carers
Delayed and reduced the need for care and support
Ensured people have a positive experience of care and support
Safeguarded adults whose circumstances make them vulnerable and as far
as possible protected them from avoidable harm.
8
Personalisation
The broad agenda of Personalisation is that everyone will have the maximum
possible choice and control over how, where and when their support is delivered.
Everyone should be confident that support services are of a high quality, are safe,
and promote their individual requirements for health and wellbeing, independence,
dignity and protection. Personalisation also promotes personal responsibility,
fairness, equity and the transfer of power to individuals and communities.
Personalisation starts with the individual and not the service (needs-led not service-
led) - as someone with strengths and preferences, who may also have a network of
support and resources, including family and friends. Carers are recognised as
central to the success of Personalisation
(Carers and Personalisation: improving
outcomes DH 2010). A person may have his/her own funding sources or be eligible for state funding but it
recognises that people can be responsible for themselves. They are able to identify
their own needs and make decisions and choices about how and when they are
supported to live their life in their own way. Individuals are better placed to know
their own needs and how these could be met, with access to good information and
support to enable them to make informed decisions.
The idea of Personalisation is linked to related terms such as person-centred
planning; person-centred care; person-centred support; choice and control and self-
directed support.
For adult social care, Personalisation means:
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Tailoring support to people’s individual needs whatever the care or support
setting using the person’s own written support plan. This should always be
written by or with the person, taking account of the Capacity principle unless
acting according to the outcome of a Best Interest decision where it is proven
that someone lacks the capacity to take the specific decision at the required
time.
Ensuring people have access to information, advice and advocacy, including
peer support and mentoring in order to make informed decisions about their
care, support or the management of any allocated budget.
Finding new collaborative ways of working which support people to actively
engage in the design, delivery and evaluation of services.
Developing local partnerships to co-produce a range of services for people to
choose from and opportunities for social inclusion and community
development
Developing the right leadership and management, supportive learning
environments and organisational systems to enable staff to work in
emotionally intelligent and creative person-centred ways.
Embedding early intervention, reablement and prevention so that people are
supported early on and in a way that’s right for them.
Recognising and supporting Carers in their role, while enabling them to
maintain a life beyond their caring responsibilities.
Ensuring all citizens have access to universal community services and
resources.
9
Legislative Policy
This policy and its associated procedures should be considered in the context of the
consolidated and reformed statutory framework which supports the provision of adult
social care services following the Care Act 2014.
9.1 Legislation
Care Act 2014
Care and Support for Deafblind Children and Adults Policy Guidance
(under Section 78 Care Act 2014 for adults).
Children Act 1989
Children Act 2004
Children & Families Act 2014
Data Protection Act 1998
Equality Act 2010
Freedom of Information Act 2000
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Gloucester Judgment (R v Gloucestershire County Council ex parte
Barry1)- National Assistance Act 1948/ Chronically Sick and Disabled
Persons Act 1970
Health Act 2009
Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
Health Services and Public Health Act 1968
Housing Act 1996 & 2002 Amendment
Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act (as amended)
1996 Health Act 1999
Human Rights Act 1998 National Framework for NHS Continuing Healthcare and NHS-funded
Nursing Care
The NHS Continuing Healthcare (Responsibilities) Directions 2013
Manual handling operations regulations 1992 (Amended 2002)
Mental Capacity Act 2005
Mental Health Act 1983 & 2007
The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1992
Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards April 2010
9.2 Additional Statutory Guidance
Additional Government Directions, National Service Frameworks, Statutory Policy
and Practice Guidance are in force to support the legislative framework. Some
general policy and practice guidance is shared across customer groups as well as
mandatory guidance being in place in relation to specific customer groups under
Section 78 of the Care Act 2014 (adult statute).
An example of the latter is in respect of Deafblind children and adults which states,
among other things, that local authorities must ensure that the assessment of social
care needs is carried out by a specifically trained person or team
Care and Support
for Deafblind Children and Adults Policy Guidance. 9.3 Impact of Care Act 2014
The Care Act 2014 brings changes to existing legislation from April 2015. It provides
a reformed and consolidated legal framework for social care and/or support. It draws
together certain existing and new duties, powers and responsibilities under a single,
modern adult statute. It became law in May 2014 and Part 1 is enacted from 1 April
2015. The remainder should be enacted from April 2016 (funding reform).
The Care Act 2014 includes provision for:
A new national assessment framework for adults and Carers
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New support entitlements for Carers
A national minimum eligibility threshold
A new system for funding and charging for care and support
A new statutory framework for adult safeguarding.
A new power (i.e. discretionary) for local authorities to delegate certain care
and support functions to a third party (including assessment)
The Care Act signifies a shift towards the concept of
‘meeting needs’. This is the
core legal entitlement.
The Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 are intended to work
together and address the needs of Young Carers.
10 The Local Authority’s Duty to Assess
The Care Act 2014 introduces a new national assessment framework for adults and
Carers
Care and Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014. Assessment is a statutory duty on the Local Authority and a service in its own right
which is separate from the later decision about determining eligibility for publicly-
funded support. Both are separate from the care and/or support planning stage
when agreements are reached as to how assessed eligible needs and outcomes will
be met.
Assessment is not just a gateway to care and/or support. It is a critical intervention
which can:
Help people understand their situation and the needs they have.
Reduce or delay the onset of greater needs.
Help people to access support when they require it.
10.1 Adults who present with social care needs
The Care Act 2014 states that the Local Authority must undertake an assessment for
any adult who
‘appears to have any level of needs for care and support’. This is
regardless of whether the Local Authority thinks the person has eligible needs and
irrespective of their financial situation.
The adult must be determined as being
ordinarily resident in Northamptonshire or, in the case of an adult with no settled residence, the person presents as having
care and support needs at the time they are in Northamptonshire.
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The local authority then has a
duty to decide, having regard to the results of the
assessment,
what, if any, services they should provide to meet the individual’s
needs.
10.2 Carers who present with social care needs
The Care Act 2014 states that the Local Authority must undertake an assessment for
any Carer of 18 years or over who
‘appears to have any level of needs for
support’. This will be regardless of whether or not the Local Authority thinks the
individual has eligible needs or the person’s financial situation.
The Local Authority responsible for assessing and meeting a Carer’s eligible needs
is the Local Authority in whose area the ‘cared for’ person is ordinarily resident. The
Carer assessment is not dependent on the ‘cared for’ adult having an assessment or
having eligible needs.
Under the new legislation Carers have entitlements to support if assessed as having
eligible needs and will follow the same process as adults in determining eligibility and
support planning.
The Care Act 2014 and the Children and Families Act 2014 both address the duty to
identify and respond to the needs of Young Carers.
10.3 Destitute People from Abroad – No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF)
No Recourse to Public Funds refers to destitute people from abroad who are subject
to immigration control and have no entitlement to welfare benefits, Home Office
support for asylum seekers or public housing and are ‘destitute plu
s’ (National
Asylum and Immigration Act 1999). Under Section 21 of the National Assistance
Act 1948
(National Assistance Act 1948), Schedule 3 of the National Asylum and
Immigration Act 2002
(National Asylum and Immigration Act 2002) and the Human
Rights Act 1998
(Human Rights Act 1998) all local authorities have a duty to advise
people who have NRPF on their personal circumstances and to assist them in
finding a solution to their destitution.
In limited circumstances Councils can provide support, including accommodation
and subsistence, if the eligibility criteria is met and the person is ‘ordinarily resident’
in their area.
However, this is a complex area of work involving the interface of immigration (
new
Immigration Act 2014), human rights law and community law and the Council
expects staff to consult with its Legal Services Department, sources of expertise on
national legislation and the NRPF Netwo
rk (NRPF Network for Guidance for LAs) in
relation to individual situations.
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11 Equality, Diversity and Human Rights
Personalisation is underpinned by a human rights framework and should be
delivered within the framework of the Equality Act 2010
(Equality Act 2010). The
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) produced seven broad principles to guide
social care transformation:
1. Care and support based on clear outcomes and founded on human rights and
equality.
2. Access to publicly funded care and support based on clear, fair and consistent
criteria.
3. Individuals and their families in control of their care and support.
4. The right balance between safety and risk to promote choice and independence.
5. Local strategic partnerships that play a central role in developing and maintaining
local care and support.
6. Funding that balances affordability and sustainability with fairness.
7. Equality and human rights law and practice accurately adjusted to respond to our
ageing society.
(Equality and Human Rights Commission)
11.1 Equalities
Northamptonshire County Council believes in the dignity of all people and their right
to respect and equality of opportunity and life chances. We value the strength that
comes with difference and the positive contribution that diversity brings to our
County.
Under the Equality Act 2010 NCC and its staff are fully committed to the public
sector equality duty to:
Eliminate discrimination, harassment and victimisation
Advance equality of opportunity
Foster good relations
We recognise and accept that discrimination means some people may not have had
equal access to support or universal services or fair chances in life.
NCC Equality Policy Statement 2012 & NCC’s Equality Statement of Required
Practice (SORP) – the latter is for staff guidance).
11.2 Human Rights
The Human Rights Act 1998 imposes a legal obligation on all public authorities to
exercise their powers and to interpret laws and rules so as to be compatible with the
fundamental human rights contained in the European Convention on Human Rights
1950. These will include matters such as the right to family life, the right to privacy in
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home and correspondence. All staff should be familiar with the contents of the
various Articles of the Convention, which set out every person’s human rights and
know where to access a copy of the
Human Rights Act 1998. Staff should always bear in mind the principles of the Human Rights Act and take
into account the human rights of the individual whenever recording information,
processing information, making professional judgements about people and reaching
decisions about assessments and arrangements for support.
It can be lawful to interfere with an individual’s human rights provided this can be
justified as a proportionate response to the need to safeguard certain other principles
such as the rights of others or the economic well-being of the country. Such issues
will of course be very complex. The principal guidance to staff must therefore be to
ensure that they are familiar with the provisions of the Human Rights Act and that all
decisions in the area of adult social care are fully recorded and reasoned so that any
interference with an individual’s human rights can be tested and justified by
reference under such a record
(NCC Recording with Care Policy 2010 & NCC’s
Information Management SORP - latter for staff guidance).
12 Northamptonshire’s Adult Social Care Pathway
In the context of Personalisation, the promotion of wellbeing and customers being in
charge of their life, Adult Social Care made changes to its adult social care pathway
to address the four transformation themes of universal services; choice and control;
prevention and early intervention; social capital in Northamptonshire. In doing so,
this meets the policy intentions and matches the core purpose of the Council to:
Help people to help themselves
Help people when they can’t help themselves
Be a trusted advocate
The customer pathway reflects how adult social care will work with people who make
contact with the Council or require adult social care support, including informal
carers and people who fund their own care or support. It was developed in
discussion with individuals, informal Carers and families using their experiences in
anticipation of the Care and Support Bill 2013 receiving Royal Assent and becoming
law as the Care Act in May 2014.
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12.1 Adult Social Care Pathway Diagram
The person’s journey begins when the individual, carer or someone authorised to act
on their behalf contacts the Council. At any point along the pathway the person may
feel able to manage more for themselves to meet their social care needs and the
need for formal adult social care support can be reduced or removed.
12.2 Information, advice and support
When people make initial contact with adult social care, the Council will encourage
individuals to maintain their independence, choice and control. This will be
regardless of the person’s financial circumstances. We will look at personal and
community strengths and networks, ensuring there is good quality guidance to
enable individuals to make their own arrangements to meet their personal needs.
The availability of good quality information, advice and support which is accessible
enables adults and Carers to make informed decisions and encourages self-
determination.
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NCC believes that this is an example of a universal service available to all citizens
which fits with NCC’s core purpose of
‘helping you to help yourself’.
12.3 Short-term support
When someone’s social care needs change as a result of an accident, illness or a
change of circumstances NCC will support the interventions which will prevent
individuals requiring more intensive and longer-term support. We will do this to
enable people to retain optimum health, wellbeing and independence. To achieve
this we will work closely with individuals, family and other statutory, voluntary and
community agencies.
Following an initial assessment,
reablement will be the starting point to help people
to maintain or regain skills and confidence in order to avoid needs from increasing or
developing reliance on specialist support. Short-term support includes things like
short-term assessment and rehabilitation, technology and equipment and crisis
response services as well as NHS Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy and
other health services.
Short-term support may also assist carers to sustain their caring role and promote
their wellbeing for example: training (e.g. moving and handling or dementia training);
equipment; learning relaxation or stress-management techniques; sitting service.
NCC believes that support for a short period of time fits with its core purpose
of ‘helping you when you can’t help yourself’.
12.4 Longer-term support
NCC will ensure that those people who do require longer-term support have high
quality support which is tailored to meet their assessed needs and agreed outcomes.
A similar assessment focused on personal desired outcomes will take place when
people can no longer help themselves or, in the case of Carers, need ongoing
support to sustain their caring role. The appropriate eligibility framework will be
applied –
please see: NCC Assessment and Eligibility Policy for Adults and Carers
2015 and its partner document: NCC Assessment and Eligibility Policy Guidance for
Adults and Carers 2015 on
Personalisation Page Intranet. When people need longer-term support NCC thinks that this fits with its core
purpose of ‘helping you when you can’t help yourself’.
12.5 Is it working & what next?
At regular intervals, NCC
will review the support provided to ensure that it is still
needed and is meeting the outcomes agreed. NCC will seek, listen to and learn from
customer feedback given at a Review and under other circumstance
s Customer
Feedback webpage.
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We will also use the annual adult social care survey, telephone surveys and the
evidence from performance indicators and national progress markers to measure
satisfaction and performance.
NCC will continue to engage with Northamptonshire people to find out how they think
adult social care is doing and use this information for further improvement.
NCC believes that this fits with its core purpose of ‘being a trusted advocate’.
12.6 Pathway Assessment and Eligibility Process for adults and Carers
The process will normally follow the stages of first/initial contact; initial assessment;
proportionate assessment; determination of eligibility; support planning; meeting
needs; review. The principles of personalisation, wellbeing, choice and control will
be applied at each stage.
Throughout the process and where relevant, NCC will consider opportunities to
intervene early in order to prevent, reduce or delay the need for care and/or support
developing or escalating.
The process involves:
1. Throughout contact with the Council, NCC will promote wellbeing and
encourage individuals to maintain their independence, choice and control to
enable self-determination and self-reliance. Access to information and
advice, universal services, early intervention and preventative services or
reablement will be promoted alongside maximising personal, community or
voluntary resources and local networks.
2. A comprehensive, appropriate and proportionate
assessment of presenting
needs between the assessor and the person
, using an
outcome-focused approach.
3. The application of the appropriate national
eligibility framework (Care and
Support (Assessment) Regulations 2014 and
Care and Support (Eligibility
Criteria) Regulations 2014 to identify eligible needs, outcomes and the impact
on wellbeing to
reach an eligibility determination.
4. A personalised
Integrated Care and Support Plan (adults) or Support Plan
(Carers) being
created
by/with the person to
record agreed eligible needs
and clear outcomes.
5. The Care and/or Support Plan detailing how eligible needs will be met and the
potential cost to the local authority of providing any support to meet unmet
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eligible needs.
All options and alternatives to meet eligible needs must
be fully explored before deciding if public funding is required to meet
any remaining unmet eligible needs.
6. Meeting eligible needs is the core legal entitlement. How needs will be met
will differ from person to person. Needs can be met in a variety of ways and
not solely through direct provision from the local authority. Every effort will be
made to maximise an individual’s independence using the local networks of
support and existing service provision. Public funding may not always be
required and will only be used if the other forms of appropriate support are not
available.
7. Where public funding is required to meet any remaining unmet eligible needs
a
Personal Budget will be identified. A Personal Budget is a first guide to the
estimated cost to the Council of meeting the
unmet eligible needs and outcomes as agreed between the individual and the assessor.
8. Any support delivered by the local authority to a person to meet their unmet
eligible care and/or support needs will always be proportionate to their needs
(i.e. at the right level required to maintain health and wellbeing and keep
people safe) and cost-effective (i.e. delivering agreed outcomes with value for
money).
9. Once the
Integrated Care and/or Support Plan* has been signed off by the
local authority any final public funding will also be agreed where relevant.
10. A
financial assessment** will be carried out (where appropriate and
relevant) of the person’s
financial resources to work out the level of
contribution he/she will make towards the cost of their care and support (link
to
Fair Contribution Policy 2014).
11. Clear
outcomes will be identified
and
reviews will be carried out to
evidence
whether the needs remain and agreed outcomes are being or have been
delivered. The review will also evidence if any
changes need to be made to
the
level of support required or if the support still required warrants local
authority funding.
12.
Changes in the
level of need will require a
reassessment.
* Please note: the local authority has a
statutory duty of care and a responsibility
not to agree to sign-off a care and/or support plan
if there are serious concerns that
it will not meet an individual’s needs
or if it places an individual in a dangerous
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situation
(Independence, choice and risk: a guide to best practice in supported
decision-making - Department of Health 2007a 2). ** Please note:
For the financial year 2015/16 the County Council has decided
not to charge for services to Carers. This decision will be reviewed during the
year.
13 How does NCC measure the success of Personalisation?
In order to check the progress of adult social care towards achieving change and
positive outcomes for individuals, NCC will use local Performance Indicators and the
national ‘I am’ progress markers of Think Personal, Act Local’s (TLAP) outcomes
framework ‘Making It Real’. The latter are mapped against the Adult Social Care
Outcomes Framework (ASCOF) provided by the Department of Health, which the
local authority must report on.
13.1 The national Markers for Change
13.1.1 Information and Advice: Having the information I need, when I need it
rmation and support I need in order to remain as independent as
possible.
-to-understand information about care and support which is
consistent, accurate, accessible and up to date.
things happen.
13.1.2 Active and supportive communities: Keeping friends, family and place
a contributing member of my community.
- carers, family, friends, community
and if needed paid support staff.
interests, skills, abilities.
an make to my community
13.1.3 Flexible, integrated care and support: My support my own way
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-ordinated, co-operative and works well together and I know who
to contact to get things changed.
13.1.4 Workforce: My support staff
support staff.
y competent people.
opportunity to get advice from my peers.
13.1.5 Risk enablement: Feeling in control
and each other.
ems in place so that I can get help at an early stage to avoid a crisis.
13.1.6 Personal Budgets and self-funding: My money
or care and support needs, and I can
determine how this is used (whether it’s my own money, direct payment, or a council
managed personal budget).
-
complicated procedures
e to get skilled advice to plan my care and support, and also be given help
to understand costs and make best use of the money involved where I want and
need this
14 Acknowledgements
We would like to acknowledge the feedback from the Personalisation Challenge
Board and the two Staff Reference Groups in the original development of this Policy.
15 Future Updates
Northamptonshire County Council is committed to reviewing this policy annually or
earlier, according to relevant changes at national or local level.
We welcome feed back on this policy which will be collated and considered at the
next point of review (
see page 2 for contact details).
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16 Website address for this Policy
Public:
Adult Social Care Policy and Procedures Internet page
NCC Staff:
Personalisation Page Intranet
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