Social Policy and Its Application to Social Services Provision

In1948, the Nation Health Services separated both older people and disabled people into two categories one group who they thought was sick and the other group for the people needing care and attention. The people who were thought to be sick were placed in hospitals and the people who were thought to need care and attention were placed in residential homes. The local authorities were able to charge for the individuals using th residential homes even if they were deemed as sick or needing care and attention but

Human Rights Act 1998 – individuals’ rights should not be contravened and independence, choice and inclusion are paramount. It is also acknowledged that some individuals require constant supervision due to their conditions/illnesses.

As part of assessment of the older adult and other population’s module, I have been asked to write a piece on a person centred care model. As the name implies person centred care is delivering individualised care which meets the needs of that particular person, be they religious, emotional, physiological needs etc. As a person they are entitled to respect, dignity, compassion and autonomy, which are central to the concept of person centred care. ”The rights of individuals as persons is the driving force behind person centred healthcare” (McCormack, 2003). In 1991, the UN made explicit the Principles for Older Persons; these include independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment and dignity. These principles are closely

The NHS and Community Care Act 1990 states that wherever possible services should be provided in the community or in the home as a large amount of money was being spent on residential and care homes for the elderly. The Local authorities must carry out an assessment of needs and must arrange for the care or provision. Also the local authorities were encouraged to purchase care from a mixed economy, including statutory, private and voluntary sectors to encourage competition and increase choice. (Classroom notes, 2014) / (Patient, 2015)

Care Act 2014- Came into effect in April 2015 and is the most important reform in care in over 60 years. The Care Act brings together and modernises existing legislation and should also help the public to understand why things happen in a certain way. The Act main aims are to put people in control of their own care, to delay or even prevent the need for care, to promote the physical, mental and emotional wellbeing of the person and their carer and to introduce a fairer system of care and support.

|practice and outcomes in adult protection work 2005; Dignity in Care Initiative; Human Rights in |

All people are unique, individual and different. But fundamentally all humans on the planet have a fundamental human right to make the choices they want about their life and the way they live it. In the social care setting, this means the people we support too. However, although not providing support in a person centred way takes away and individual’s rights, it also means we are not meeting the needs if the people we support and it means there are no established boundaries of what the people we support need support with and what they can do for themselves.

The Care Act replaces most current 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; the new obligations on local authorities; and how local authorities should charge for both residential care and community care.

The Community Care and Health Act 2002 brought this about; the Act stipulates that local authorities must make available direct payment to those who utilise community care services. Riddell, Ahlgren, Pearson, Watson, MacFarlane, no date).This is money which is paid directly to a person in need of care to employ someone of their own choice to support them in their daily living (Age Concern, no date). The negative factor of this payment is that it is not regulated. It is difficult therefore to monitor and asses if the person is receiving the care they require (Somerset City Council, 2011).

Person centred practice are ways of commissioning, providing and organising services rooted in listening to what people want, to help them live in their communities as they choose. These approaches work to use resource flexibly designed around what is important to an individual from their own perspective and work to remove any cultural and organisational barriers. People are not simply placed in pre-existing services and expected to adjust, rather the service strives to adjust to the person. Person - centred practice is treatment and care and considers the needs of the individual.

Person-centred practice may include that the individual needs an advocate or social worker to act on their behalf. They must be allowed this choice. This will enable the client to be treated with the values and beliefs they wish. If the client has difficulty communicating there are various ways to communicate as was discussed in Unit CU2941. If the client is hard of hearing, sign language may be used. If the client speaks English as a second language, an interpreter may be used. This is all arranged around the client’s person-centred practice and must be included in their every day care. If they are not capable of giving consent, then they must have a mental capacity assessment and their care must be centred around their best interests. They are given an informed choice.

A2 Health & Social Care – essay on the provision of care in the UK

Between the 80’s and 1990, it gradually became a community care system managed by local councils and from 1990 until today, health and social care have grown bigger and have swiftly moved completely to the community and private care sector with private sector dominating. Also, until 1980 voluntary sector homes received public funding from local authorities in addition to means-tested payments by the residents themselves. From 1980, means-tested board and lodging supplementary benefit allowances became available for residents of all independent sector homes, which encouraged the expansion of the private sector. I have carefully analysed the last 30 years of management of health and social care in the UK, and I can confidently say that most of the significant changes that has made health and social care what it is today occurred in the last 30 years. I can also say that I have identified the change from institutional care (before 1980) , to community care(1980-1990) and then community and private care dominated by private care(1991 until today) to be the most significant change that has occurred in the management of health and social care in the UK in the past 30

Hi Kendra you made a point about things falling through if Multicausality wasn’t considered. Mandell & Schram (2012) stated “even though we have collected all the data we could about a person, we still end up with a best guess” (pg. 81). But what if you only guess at two different aspects of the client’s life? By limiting the scope of what the possible causes may be is a disservice to your client. A good visual to understand a person problem is the pie chart on page 85. It systematically looks at each part of a person’s life and separates out the areas that contribute to the person’s problem.

The funding mechanisms for social care services enable service user’s access to a range of services to support themselves in their own homes, institutional care and hospitals. In terms of finances a legislative framework was introduced, resources were transferred from the National Health Service and the Department of Social Security to local authorities, and social work departments were given a key role in the planning, assessment and commissioning of community care services.