Informal Care Flashcards
What ACT is the present structure of social care set out under?
1990 Community Care Act
What does the Community Care Act (1990) state in terms of social care?
to assist people such as:
- dependent elderly
- physical and learning disabilities
- long term mental health problems
to live as independently as possible
either in their own homes or in residential care
What important distinction must be made in SOCIAL CARE?
care PROVIDED IN the community
carried out by the statutory community services
care PROVIDED BY the community
‘informal care’
What is meant by ‘INFORMAL CARE’?
aka care provided BY the community
based primarily on kinship obligations between members of immediate family
reality of community/social care policy have made informal care predominant
Which organisations are responsible for commissioning social care?
CCG - clinical commissioning group
SSC - social service department
these organises jointly asses the local need and produce an annual COMMUNITY CARE PLAN for meeting these needs
Which groups are now involved directly in formulating the ‘NEEDS ASSESSMENT’? Why was this provision introduced?
individual service users and their carers
provision introduced to:
- reduce readmission rate
- major shift towards focus on service users + carers
What was a final requirement of the COMMUNITY CARE ACT?
in-patients in hospital in need of community care must have these in place when discharged
therefore patients can not be discharged until these care packages are in place
e.g. discharge planning
What is the downside of a discharge planning requirement?
became a ‘bed-blocking’ issue for many hospital patients
actual reality of this is poor especially for the elderly.
These shortcomings have been cited in many reports e.g. Mid-Staffs scandal
What does receiving SOCIAL CARE usually mean in terms of service provision?
Long term care/support
What is defined as LONG TERM CARE/SUPPORT?
Any service which is provided with the intention of maintaining quality of life for an individual on an ongoing basis
This has been allocated on the basis of eligibility criteria
i.e an assessment of needs has taken place, and is subject to regular review
In 2017-18, what was the total number of clients receiving long term support?
857, 770
What has been the trend in long term support supply/demand over the last 5 years?
Steady decline in number of clients receiving long term care/support
AND SIMULTANEOUS
steady increase in requests for long term (adult) social care
= ~ 5000 requests/day
What is the age breakdown for people receiving long term social care?
[community based support]
18-64yr (84%)
>64yr (62%)
[residential-based services]
remainder of clients
What kind of support is included within RESIDENTIAL-BASED SERVICES for adult social care?
- private residential homes
- nursing homes
- local authority provided residential care homes
What proportion of the total social care funding is used in LONG TERM SOCIAL CARE?
in 2017-18
long term care = £14 billion
this equates to 77% of the total social care budget