How You Can Get Direct Payments To Buy Your Home Care

Context

If you live in Thanet and receive domiciliary care through social services, you will be more than aware of the controversial change that came into effect in 2014. 

Home care in Thanet, like home care throughout Kent, is provided by a number of private companies under contract with Kent County Council (KCC). Until last year, KCC worked with over 120 providers throughout Kent. On the 2 June 2014, this was reduced to 23. In Thanet there are now just 3 home care providers. You can see the providers for each area in Kent here. Bridget Warr from the UKHCA is on record as saying that her concern "...is that what we'll end up with is vulnerable people not getting the support they need at the time they need it."

No-one at KCC could have imagined that the move to reduce providers would be met with universal acclaim. So why do it? Well let's look at things from KCC's perspective. The social care pot is finite. And as with other local government services; it is a finite pot from which savings had to be made. To add to the Council's burden, social care needs continue to increase. Working with fewer providers will save the council about £2.7 million per year. The council has stated that the care and length of visits that people receive will remain the same. You can read more on the changes made by KCC here. 

Perhaps the most controversial aspect of this change is that, if you are a Kent Social Services’ customer, you may feel that you have been given little or no choice about which company will be supplying your home care. This, however, is not the case. You do have a choice: and that choice is to ask for a direct payment.

Direct Payments

If you receive home care through Social Services, you probably had little involvement with how your home care provider was chosen. Everything would have been done for you, and there’s not too much wrong with that so long as you are happy with the service that you are being provided with.  

However, if you want to take control over who provides your home care you need to request to receive direct payments. If you receive direct payments it means that you are given a sum of money that allows you to purchase your care from whichever company you choose. In the usual course of events, if, after an assessment of your care needs by Social Services, you qualify for care to be provided, you have a right to receive direct payments. All you have to do is ask; indeed, you should be informed that you have the right to receive direct payments. For more information; go to this page.

Direct payments work in a very straightforward way. KCC pay an amount of money into your bank account or onto a Kent Card. The Kent Card is a Visa debit card and you can find out more details here. You then use this money to buy your care from a provider of your choice.

If you should like further advice about direct payments, or, indeed, any aspect of domiciliary care, please do not hesitate to contact me. My contact details appear below.

Garry Costain is the Managing Director of Caremark Thanet, a domiciliary care provider with offices in Margate, Kent. Caremark Thanet provides home care services throughout the Isle of Thanet. Garry can be contacted on 01843 235910 or email garry.costain@caremark.co.uk. You can also visit Caremark Thanet's website at www.caremark.co.uk/thanet.