CARE ACT SEMINAR

INFORMATION & ADVICE

Correct as at March 2015

• What The Care Act 2014 says about Information & Advice.

• The importance of providing coherent and effective information that is easy to understand.

• An overview of Services4me and how it can meet some of the requirements of the act.

• The plans for Information & Advice in North East Lincolnshire.

OVERVIEW OF THE SESSION

Information and advice is fundamental to enabling people, carers and families to take control of, and make well-informed choices about, their care and support and how they fund it. Not only does information and advice help to promote people’s wellbeing by increasing their ability to exercise choice and control, it is also a vital component of preventing or delaying people’s need for care and support.

WHAT THE CARE ACT SAYS ABOUT INFORMATION & ADVICE

• Local authorities must: “establish and maintain a service for providing people in its area with information and advice relating to care and support for adults and support for carers”.

• Duty to establish and maintain an information and advice service relates to the whole population of the local authority area, not just those with care and support needs or in some other way already known to the system.

WHAT THE CARE ACT SAYS ABOUT INFORMATION & ADVICE

• The service should also address, prevention of care and support needs, finances, health, housing, employment, what to do in cases of abuse or neglect of an adult and other areas where required. In fulfilling this duty, local authorities should consider the people they are communicating with on a case by case basis, and seek to actively encourage them towards the types of information and/or advice that may be particularly relevant to them.

• Local authorities must also have regard to identifying people that contact them who may benefit from financial information and advice independent of the local authority and actively facilitate those people to access to it.

WHAT THE CARE ACT SAYS ABOUT INFORMATION & ADVICE

• ‘Information’ means the communication of knowledge and facts regarding care and support.

• ‘Advice’ means helping a person to identify choices and/or providing an opinion or recommendation regarding a course of action in relation to care and support

WHAT IS MEANT BY INFORMATION & ADVICE?

People (carers included) who are likely to need information and advice include, but are not restricted to:

• People wanting to plan for their future care and support needs; • People who may develop care and support needs, or whose current

care and support needs may become greater. Under the duty of prevention in Section 2 of the Act, local authorities are expected to take action to prevent, delay and/or reduce the care and support needs for these people.

• People who have not presented to local authorities for assessment but are likely to be in need of care and support.

• People who become known to the local authority (through referral, including self-referral), at first contact where an assessment of needs is being considered

• People who are assessed by local authorities as currently being in need of care and support.

WHO WILL NEED INFORMATION & ADVICE?

• People whose eligible needs for care and support the local authority is currently meeting.

• People whose care and support or support plans are being reviewed.• Family members and carers of adults with care and support needs,

(or those who are likely to develop care and support needs).• Adults who are subject to adult safeguarding concerns.• People who may benefit from financial information and advice on

matters concerning care and support. Local authorities must have regard to the importance of identifying these people, to help them understand the financial costs of their care and support and access independent financial information and advice including from regulated financial advisers

• Care and support staff who have contact with and provide information and advice as part of their jobs.

WHO WILL NEED INFORMATION & ADVICE?

In providing information and advice, local authorities must recognise and respond to the specific requirements that carers have for both general and personal information and advice. A carer’s need for information and advice may be separate and distinct from information and advice for the person they are caring for. This may include information and advice on:

• breaks from caring;• the health and wellbeing of carers themselves;• caring and advice on wider family relationships;• carers’ financial and legal issues;• caring and employment;• caring and education

CARERS AND INFORMATION & ADVICE

The Information and Advice elements of the Care Act 2014 does include the provision of Advocacy. There are separate briefings on this but to confirm, if advocacy is required for an individual, Information & Advice must be available and the person needing assistance must be supported to access this service.

ADVOCACY

• Care Act Information and Advice Workstream Group

• Communication Plan now in place• Rewriting all key documents for service users

and the wider community• Creating an information store via Services4me• Working with community resources in order to

produce I&A in other formats (languages, Braille)

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

• Providing packs relating to adult social care for people who are retiring

• Care Act Messages are being consistent on all partner websites

• Producing specific I&A for self funders• Providing I&A on top ups• Working with partners to have I&A readily

available on housing, transition, wellbeing etc.

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

• Creating a list of Independent Financial Advisors

• Creating a financial advice directory• Ipad Kiosks in more locations• Spreading the word on the importance

of I&A• Aiming to provide a much wider set of

I&A to our community in a coherent and accessible way

WHAT ARE WE DOING?

• An online directory listing all services relating to Adult Social Care within NEL

• Provide Information to staff, Partner Organisations, Service Users and the wider public

• Allows Service Users to view many providers that deliver the same services resulting in choice and control

• Offers specific advice to various client groups such as Dementia and Autism

• A one stop shop for adult social care

SERVICES4ME – WHAT IS IT?

The past 6 months has been pivotal for Services4Me in designing the new Online Personal Budget Manager, re-designing the website to make it mobile responsive for our new devices - as well as focusing on a new Information, Advice & Guidance Portal to filter the vast amount of information available on Services4Me. Now people can search via the following headings:

• Living at home now & in the future• Social activities, getting out & about• Care homes & housing options• Disability & sensory loss• Health, recovery, wellbeing & dementia• Caring for a loved one• Keeping people safe• Getting in touch or getting involved• Financial, legal & benefits• List of providers

SERVICES4ME – THE FUTURE

SERVICES4ME – NEW STYLE!

SERVICES4ME –NEW FUNCTIONALITY!

SERVICES4ME – ONLINE PERSONAL BUDGET MANAGERFrom April 2015, Service Users will be able to have their personal budget via Services4Me personal budget manager. This allows a Service User to set up services via the site, purchase and authorise payments to providers and be in full control of their budget within a safe environment. No physical cash is received by the Service User but it allows an individual to manage their account and authorise all spends relating to their budget. The account can also be used to track services against outcomes and support plans in order to contribute towards a review of an individuals needs and care package.

• Although Services4Me will be the library, other formats must be available to comply with the Act.

• Easy read and pictorial documents need to be produced. • Videos for I&A will be available from April 2015.• I&A in other languages/formats will be available on

request. These requests need to be balanced against the cost so will be on an ad hoc basis but will

be available quickly to meet the Service Users need.

ACCESSIBILITY AND OTHER FORMATS

• Enhance the care self assessment tool already available online via Services4Me.

• Produce a financial self assessment tool so a person knows a rough indication of their charge.

• Prepare I&A relating to the care changes for 2016 – financial changes, CAP, Care Accounts.

• Promote Managed budgets via the personal budget manager within Services4me.

NEXT STEPS……

• Timescales• Local architecture – not just one website so how

do we know where people are looking?• In order to comply with The Care Act 2014 we

must understand, coordinate and make effective all Information & Advice.

• Providing I&A to minority groups within NEL.• Reaching out to the general public – plan for the

future. • Making I&A Personal for every individual that

needs it.

CHALLENGES/BARRIERS

• Keep up to date with all areas of I&A so you become a resource that can be utilised.

• Keep data on Services4Me up to date.• Identify gaps in I&A and feedback to the

workstream Group. • Don’t keep knowledge to yourself – share it!• Identify community resources that can be

utilised.

YOUR ROLE

• Make things personal for an individual. • Make every contact count – give the right

I&A!• Do the “if this was me what would I want

to be told” test!• Take part in Community outreach – if your

area needs a platform tell us!• Feedback to the Working group any ideas

you have on getting I&A out there.

YOUR ROLE

• Most write offs take place due to lack of evidence - this does impact on the ASC Budget.

• When you’ve given I&A, record it on the client file or systems already in place.

• Anything you record on Services4Me, make sure it is accurate and up to date at all times in order to make the searching process easy for the user.

EVIDENCE & RECORDING

• Much greater emphasis on I&A in order for people to make informed choices about their care and support.

• I&A must be personal and individualised to meet need.

• Independent Financial Advice must be offered and readily accessible.

• Other formats must be available when required.

TO SUMMARISE

• Services4Me is the library for I&A in relation to adult social care.

• Systems must be kept up to date so they are giving people the correct information.

• Keep yourself up to date with the changes the Care Act will bring in 2015 and 2016.

TO SUMMARISE

Presented by: Sarah HawkerHead of Business Development & Client

Finance (FOCUS)

For further comments / queries:NELCCG.workforce-FAQ@nhs.net