not sure wot to do next...

msraec

Hi Purple12 - its great to have qualified people clarify some of these issues - i certainly didnt realise a brother or sister could potentially be counted as a non-relative so thats great to know should it arise in the future. i want to apologise for my use of the word lazy too, it was inappropriate and unfair - its just my social worker and, if fact, my whole experience with SS has been so positive it baffles me when i hear these negative stories but appreciate alot of it can be simple miscommunication/misunderstanding and, as a manager of a national charity, i should know about lack of funding for services as well as anyone! Demand is always going to outstrip supply for these services and its a horrible job to have to allocate where resources go. I would emphasise to Tran that while the domestic help offered may be inadequate it IS something and its NOT personal.

What SS can offer really must vary vary from one LA to another but for Cardiff i have to say i cant say a bad word about them. I've just had my OT assessment and was again treated with the same respect and dignity and told not to worry about costs if they and i feel certain items would be useful (i guess they have a healthy budget) - im realising im one of the lucky ones and i couldnt agree more - who would want to enter social work unless it was a calling - its not gonna get you rich, it must be hugely stressful and alot of the time im sure you dont get the thanks you deserve for it.

Please keep contributing to the board Purple12, your qualified opinion is invaluable to us service users!

cheers

tran_2

msraec wrote:

hi tran - like i said i get 45mins a week and thats after a fight on my behalf by a v good social worker - most of my colleagues at the CAB were very surprised i got any domestic help at all and they deal with this sort of thing all day long so it gives you an idea of how few people do get anything at all. it probably is unfair and certainly not enough for you by the sounds of it but i think probably in the current climate and with the resources available to SS its not low by their standards. in some areas i would hazard a guess a family in your situation would get nothing at all in terms of domestic help - so unfair but reasonable perhaps?

Thanks for your comments, i take your point about the unfair-but-reasonable position. When i wrote originally i meant does the 2 hours sound roughly comparable to what others get in a similar situation. The 'reasonable' and'fair' were probably a bad choice of words. Having spoken to an acquaintance and asked them, they think we've been very lucky to get 2 hours initially without a fight so she suggested we accept gladly and review the situation in 6 weeks with the social worker. Good advice i thought.

tran_2

purple12 wrote:

Hi
Just wanted to give a quick response to some of the questions here. I'm a social worker working in an Adult Assessment Team but don't want to make any claims to be speaking for Social Services! Not least because the situation is quite different in different local authorities.
The paucity of support offered (2 hours) may be due to the enormous constraints on domestic support. We, for example, can only allocate 1 hour fortnightly for housework and one hour weekly for shopping etc. So even though a friend may help out three days a week it doesn't always collate with hours offered - and I know some councils that don't offer any support with domestic tasks.
If you live with someone, you cannot be paid by direct payments - so the hours that you do would not count. You can ask for a break and that should be offered that. Have you had any contact with with Princess Royal Trust for Carers (https://www.carers.org). My council have very close links with them and provide them with a grant specifically for carers services and I think this is quite a regular pattern.

As for the definition of family as far as Direct Payments are concerned, it is pretty flexible beyond the immediate household but as far as I understand it, it is parent/child/spouse. Certainly an in-law and possibly a brother/sister could receive a direct payment.

Tran, if you believe your partner needs more assistance (aside from what you are providing) you should speak to your social worker and explain why, but they won't be able to take into account what you, in the household, do.


I hope that's of some help anyway! Good luck.

Thanks for your comments purple, it certainally was some help!!

It appears the 2 hours we got was quite generous compared to others so we will accept it. I understand that the amount of help our friend gives us may not collate with the amount of help SS offer us (that is perfectly understandable). I am going to question the social worker about help for my partner specifically and also ask for clear list of who can/can't be paid. I have found a relative who is willing to do the work and is not a ''close'' relative and does not live with us. I am also going to ask about why my partner gets no help himself and if it is possible to arrange breaks now and then.

Just by being able to "talk" it over with people who know something about direct payments has helped and has certainally given me confidence to ask for an explanation that i can understnad from the social worker.

Thank you!!