Why_Do_Many_People_Not_Receive_the_Home_Care_That_They_Need_or_Want_

WHY DO MANY PEOPLE NOT RECEIVE THE HOME CARE THAT THEY NEED OR WANT' In this essay I am going to explain why it can be difficult to obtain home care help and why it is not always what people expect it to be. However, home care help can play a vital part in people’s lives to enable them to keep on living their daily lives from the comfort of their own homes. It can be hard to access services; barriers can prevent people from seeking help in the first instance:   Such as feeling a failure with not be able to cope Not accepting the full reality of what is going on around them Not knowing what costs are involved, Resistance from the person who is being cared for not wanting anyone else to help them Not knowing where to ask for help and who from Not knowing what services are available Or what choices they have other than putting the care user into a care home. The first choice would be contact and enlist help from social services. After contacting social services individuals will have to undergo an assessment of needs and if appropriate a care package is then organised. It sets out a set of services that will meet the needs of the assessment; from this a care plan is developed. A social worker or a community nurse normally writes this and lists what services they are entitled to have, the care plan then sets out what care the individual can expect to receive. This can be a long and drawn out process to get to this stage and there are other factors that have to be taken into account; such as income and wealth. A person’s income is taken into account when they are assessed along with any savings and as a result they could be expected to help pay towards their care or to pay for it all. It can also depend on where you live, e.g. the ‘postcode lottery’, different local councils have their own criteria and budget for people needing social care. Utilising the example of Ann and Angus from Who Cares. It had taken Ann a long time to accept that she needed help from someone outside the family, when she did seek help from social services it took them time to complete the assessment of needs and a long time to get the results of what Angus and her were entitled too. She found the whole process quite stressful not only for herself but for Angus and the rest of the family too. When Ann did receive the results and found out that she was entitled to help it was not what she expected it to be. A homecare assistant Yetunde was appointed to provide support, but Ann felt quite disappointed with what Yetunde was actually there to do and felt that not much was accomplished and felt that the assistance was restricted by the time limit. Yetunde the home care assistant was appointed to carry out what was set out in the care plan and is in attendance for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening, unfortunately there is no room for flexibility from the care plan. The change in Ann and Angus’s routine impacted as well, Ann is not used to having a stranger in the house and having help, these changes take time to adapt too. Ann also spoke to her friend Cheryl about how she feels including after the home care assistant help had arrived. Cheryl told Ann that there are support groups out there that could possibly help and with some optimism Ann contacted a support group about Parkinson’s disease and this has led her to a much wider support network of people who understand what she is going through. They are helping to support her with other services such as a Parkinson’s disease specialist nurse. I believe that Social care can be split into three groups;   1) Where the local authority provides the services for you as set out in the care plan 2) You are given ‘direct payments’ to source your own carer and pay them directly for the services you require 3) You pay privately to an agency for the services you require   There are pros and cons for each of the groups above, some more than others. My investigations have led to me to conclude the following;   | Pro’s | Con’s | Local authority services | Help is at hand Relief Pressure being taken off Supporting networks | Not knowing who is coming Not flexible in times only those set out in the care plan Not much room for complaining | Direct payments | Get to choose who provides your care Stability know who is coming in every day Flexibility in times companionship | Hard to draw a line between friendship and work Limited in the money provided, Not suitable for everyone’s care needs. | Private arrangement | Choice in who provides care even down to the carer to an extent. Pick when you need and want someone there to help More flexibility if you have a bad day every now and then. Complaints dealt with promptly | Costs are very high |   In an ideal world where we all had plenty of money everyone would pick private care. Without assistance from Social Services it would not be possible for people to stay in their own homes to carry on living as normal life as possible. When looking at the five principles of care practice taken from the National Occupational Standards for ‘Health and Social Care’ (Skills for Care, 2005a, 2005b, 2005c);   1) Support people in maximising their potential. 2) Support people in having a voice and being heard. 3) Respect people’s beliefs and preferences. 4) Support people’s rights to appropriate services. 5) Respect people’s privacy and right to confidentiality. Each and every one of these is applicable to each of the services that can be offered. The objective is the same for each ‘enable people to stay in their own homes’. To what level of luxury is down to each individual’s needs and financial state. Ann’s case does prove that there is help out there and that you can benefit from this in the long run, from seeking help from the local authority to, seeking assistance from specialised support groups. But to be under no illusion that the whole process can be very stressful and not always provide the end result you were looking for in the beginning. Ann’s route in receiving help was long and winding but once she got used to Yetunde and she got help from a support group Ann’s whole attitude and state of mind changed. This had also provided a positive effect on the whole family, including Yetunde providing encouragement to Zoe (Ann’s daughter) who started building a relationship with her granddad instead of resenting him all the time. Yetunde brought a lot of help to Ann’s family not only physical but also emotional support.   Getting home care help can be very stressful and hard to achieve, but once you have made that initial contact with social services it will open doors of opportunity and options, you just have to be prepared that it will be a long drawn out process and not to expect miracles over night. Even when help does arrive you still need to be patient and willing to adapt and compromise. Home Care services are there because they really do help, they might not be what you expect them to be or able to do everything for you that you want them to do. Nevertheless help in any way should be appreciated for what it attempts to achieve, having a measure of independence and quality of life by being able to continue living at home. Therefore proving that Home Care help is a valued commodity, within today’s society. Words 1314