Care Act

In April 2015 The Care Act 2014 replaced most previous law regarding Carers and people being cared for. It outlines the way in which local authorities should carry out Carer’s assessments and needs assessments; how local authorities should determine who is eligible for support; how local authorities should charge for both residential care and community care; and places new obligations on local authorities.

 

Direct Payment

If you, or the person you are looking after, are assessed by the local council as needing support, then you or they have a right to ask for a direct payment instead of having the support arranged by the local council.

 

Finding Homecare

Homecare, also known as domiciliary care, is a term for support provided in the home by Careworkers to assist someone with their daily life.  At times, you might need extra support for the person that you care for or helping you to do things that you need to. As well as looking at technology that might be able to help, there are new ways to find out what care is available locally and how you might access it. The Local Authority produces a booklet on finding care, and there maybe local voluntary sector agencies who offer services to help in the home.

 

Care Standards and CQC

The care you get in a hospital, in a care home, from an agency in your own home, at the dentist, in a GP practice and elsewhere must meet standards required by law. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the regulator who monitors and inspects all organisations providing care, to ensure standards are being met. All NHS and social care providers have to be registered with CQC and they have to conform to a set of standards. These standards can be found on the CQC website.

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Managing Someone’s Affairs

The Mental and Capacity Act also allows a person to plan ahead for a time when they may not be able to make decisions themselves. It clarifies who can make decisions, in which situations, and how they should go about it.

 

Power of Attorney

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person (who is 18 years or over and who has mental capacity) to choose other people to make decisions on their behalf should they ever lack the mental capacity to make decisions themselves. There are different types of Power of Attorney these include Property and Financial Affairs LPAs and Personal health and welfare LPAs.

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Disagreements with Health & Social Care

We all want the people that we care for to receive good care and provision. There are times when we may disagree with decisions or are unhappy with standards of care. There are local voluntary sector agencies who may be able to assist you with a complaint if you choose to make a formal complaint.

 

Coming Out of Hospital

Each hospital will have its own discharge policy based on guidance from the Government. You can request a copy of the hospital’s discharge policy from the ward manager or from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) department of the hospital. Discharge planning starts as soon as the person you care for is admitted to hospital. It is important to let the hospital staff know as early as possible if you are a Carer or thinking of taking on the role. A discharge coordinator (or ward care coordinator) should be available to coordinate the planning process. They will act as a key person for you to contact to find out what the discharge plans are.

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Planning for Emergencies

We advise all Carers to create an emergency plan - for you and the person you look after. Having a plan in place can help ease your worries if you are not able to care for the person you look after at any point in the future.

You may be able to arrange help and support from family and friends but it can be reassuring to have the involvement of your local council/trust in case informal arrangements fall through.

One way to do this is through an assessment for the person you look after or a carer's assessment for yourself. See our webpage on assessments for the person you look after and carer's assessments for further information.

 

When Caring Ends

Looking after someone may be a large part of your life, but it is inevitable that your caring role will change over time. This may be because the person you cared for has recovered and no longer needs care, they can no longer be cared for at home, or because they have died. Whatever your situation it is important to realise that you are not alone. It will be difficult, but you can find help and support.

 

Residential or nursing care

If the person you look after is no longer able to look after themselves and you are unable to provide the care they need, for whatever reason, residential or nursing care is a sensible and realistic option.  London Borough of Sutton produce a local Care Home Directory.

 

Bereavement

Immediately after a death there are a lot of practical things to do, like registering the death and arranging the funeral, and family and friends tend to be around a lot more. It may be that only when all the practicalities are dealt with, and the people around you get back to their everyday lives, that you really start to grieve. 

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There are many organisations, such as Cruse Bereavement Care, which run groups for people who are grieving. Your GP can put you in touch with a local bereavement counsellor if you’d like more formal one-to-one counselling. Many hospices also provide bereavement support for the families of people who have used their services.  Sutton Carers Centre have a moving on Group for Carers who are no longer caring.

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Carers UK and Age UK offer free factsheets on many practical subjects visit:

http://www.carersuk.org/for-professionals/publications/factsheets

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/publications