The introduction of self-directed support for adults in receipt of non-residential social care is intended to stimulate the development of a much wider market place of different types of providers of support services. I can provide a range of consultancy services that could help a social enterprise to develop and market innovative new services to meet the emerging market demand.
The key principle of self-directed support is that once the indicative personal budget has been calculated, based on the service user’s level of need, the service user, or their nominated representative, is responsible for compiling their support plan that describes how the personal budget should be spent in order to meet their needs and desired outcomes. This is in significant contrast with the previous prescriptive care planning approach. The ethos of support planning is that service user is empowered to describe not only what care they need to meet their physical needs, but what outcomes they wish to achieve in order that they can live fulfilled and socially engaged lives. The very essence of self-directed support is that the service user should be able to exercise choice and control, which in turn demands a market-led approach to service provision for adult social care.
I worked for two years as a project manager on Cambridgeshire County Council’s in Control project that oversaw the introduction of self-directed support (SDS) for all adults in receipt of non-residential social care. I therefore have an understanding of the principles involved in SDS and how it affects service users and their families, providers of care services and how it is operated within a local authority and its NHS partners.
I must stress that I am not a qualified social care practitioner, nor can I be considered an expert in this field. However, I am able to discuss the principles of SDS and how an organisation might go about marketing itself as a provider of services to people with personal budgets. I also maintain a wide range of contacts within Cambridgeshire County Council and its NHS partner trusts.
The services that I could offer in this area include:
- An initial discussion highlighting the main principles of self-directed support, including:
- how an indicative budget is arrived at;
- the role of support planning as compared with the previous care planning approach;
- the role of the care manager;
- how a personal budget can be spent.
- Market research into how the organisation’s services could be configured to provide an attractive range of support services that will be attractive to people with a personal budget.
- Marketing activities to ensure that the organisation and its services has a market presence, especially with those who support services users in their support planning.
- Assisting organisations in their discussions with local authorities (not just Cambridgeshire County Council).
If you think I might be able to help your organisation to develop its products or services in this area , please contact me for a preliminary discussion.
Ken Lingley 