Arranging care and support
Knowing how to arrange care and support can be a challenge, especially if you’ve not done it before. We’ve put together some information and guidance in the hopes that you find it useful
Arranging it yourself
If you’re arranging your care yourself, either because you plan to fund it yourself or you have been given a direct payment to help towards the cost of your care and support, then you can reach out to your chosen care provider to talk to them about what you’re looking for.
We always offer to come and visit you in your own home, or for you to visit us in our office, to discuss what you’re looking for further. We believe it’s important to be honest at all points in supporting people. That’s why we will never tell you we can do something that we can’t.
These visits are entirely non-obligatory, and we encourage you to have a think afterwards about what you’ve heard and if you feel we’re the right fit for you. So you won’t be pressured into making an ‘on the spot’ decision – we know it’s important to be confident about who it is who visits you.
Can I have a trial period?
Of course you can! Many people we support have trialled us before deciding that we’re the right fit for them.
If you receive a direct payment
The process is more or less the same if you have a direct payment. If you have a managed account (for example through Disability Focus), then we send invoices to you for you to check that there are no anomalies. If all looks okay, then you can forward these on to your account manager for processing.
Want to find out more?
Local authority & NHS Continuing Health Care involvement
If the local authority is involved with arranging your care, then they will contact the care providers on their contact lists to see which ones have the availability to meet your care needs.
After being assessed, if you are found to have an ‘eligible need’ for social care, then a package of care will be built with you to match your needs. This will then be communicated with care providers who have a contract with the local authority, through Care Direct Plus.
When we receive a referral with your package of care from the local authority, we look at what it is you need and any specific requirements you have. If we have suitable availability and can meet your specific needs, we will reply to the council with our offer. The provider whose offer is most suitable for what you’re looking for will have their offer accepted.
Similarly, if NHS Continuing Health Care are involved with your care, then your package of care will be communicated to all local care providers via Care Direct Plus. The process from our perspective is much the same.
NHS Continuing Health Care has a different set of eligibility criteria than the local authority, so being eligible for one may not mean you are automatically eligible for the other. For information and support about the assessment process for NHS Continuing Health Care, you can visit Beacon’s website. Beacon is an independent organisation that provides free information and advice: