Adults
Breaking Point:
Families of children and adults with severe or profound learning disabilities love the people they care for. They care for them willingly but they need help to do so.
Breaking point happens when these families don’t get the help and support they need.
It is the crisis point that happens when families are so worn out by the pressure of their caring role and they don’t get the short breaks that they need, that they feel like they can’t care for their son or daughter anymore.
What does Mencap want to change?
We want people with a learning disability and their families and carers to get good short breaks from their local authority or health and social services trust.
Direct Payments:
Direct payments create more flexibility in the provision of social services. Giving money in place of social care services means people have greater choice and control over their lives, and are able to make their own decisions about how care is delivered.
Fair Access to Care Services:
This guidance provides councils with a framework for setting their eligibility criteria for adult social care, and should be implemented by April 2003. Implementation will lead to fairer and more consistent eligibility decisions across the country. The framework is based on individuals' needs and associated risks to independence, and includes bands - critical, substantial, moderate and low. When placing individuals in these bands, the guidance stresses that councils should not only identify immediate needs but also needs that would worsen for the lack of timely help for eligibility
Health Action Plan:
A Health Action Plan is a personal plan about what a person with learning disabilities can do to be healthy. It lists any help people might need to do those things. It helps to make sure people get the services and support they need to be healthy.
Improving the Life-chances of Disabled People:
Key Points
This report sets out an ambitious programme of action that will bring disabled people fully within the scope of the "opportunity society".
By supporting disabled people to help themselves, a step change can be achieved in the participation and inclusion of disabled people.
The report proposes that the Government should set an ambitious vision for improving the life chances of disabled people. ‘By 2025, disabled people in Britain should have full opportunities and choices to improve their quality of life and will be respected and included as equal members of society’.
www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk (.pdf)
In Control:
In Control's mission is: to change the organisation of social care in England so that people who need support can take more control of their own lives and fulfill their role as full citizens: the complete transformation of social care into a system of Self-Directed Support.
Independence Wellbeing and Choice:
This Green Paper sets out a vision for adult social care over the next 10 to 15 years and how this might be realised. It invites everyone to give their views on the vision and the ideas set out in the document, as well as to contribute new ideas to the debate.
www.dh.gov.uk (.pdf)
Individualised Budgets:
An Individual Budget is designed to provide individuals who currently receive services greater choice and control over their support arrangements. The government is committed to piloting individual budgets with a view to rolling them out nationally should they prove successful. The individual budgets pilot project is a cross government initiative led by the Department of Health working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department of Communities and Local Government.
Learning Disability and Mental Health:
www.direct.gov.uk/MentalHealth
www.direct.gov.uk/HealthAndSupport
Mental Capacity Act 2005:
As you may know the Mental Capacity Act 2005 became law in England and Wales on 1st April 2007. The Act will have a fundamental impact on the way that services are provided for vulnerable adults.
What is "mental capacity"?
"Mental Capacity" refers to the ability to take decisions for yourself about your own life. Some people have difficulties in making such decisions. This is called "lacking capacity".
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been introduced to ensure that, as far as is possible, all adults can take decisions about their own lives.
Other people, e.g. a family member, or a staff member, must help the individual to make decisions for themselves.
No one should be stopped from making a decision, just because someone else thinks that decision is wrong or bad.
The family member or staff member can overrule the individual if they think that the individual "lacks capacity". However, there are strict rules and checklists governing the circumstances in which this can happen.
The decision that someone lacks capacity can be taken by anyone who cares for the individual. It is not restricted to a highly qualified professional such as a psychiatrist. Therefore all staff members and family carers who are paid to support a family member must know exactly how the Act works.
How the Act will be implemented:
- There will be new lasting Powers of Attorney and Deputies
- There will be a new Court of Protection
- There will be a new Office of the Public Guardian
- There will be a new criminal offence of failing to protect someone who lacks capacity
- There will be a new Independent Mental Capacity Advocate Service to help people who may lack capacity and who do not have anyone who can protect them
- There will be a new Code of Practice to tell people how to work within the Act
Explanatory Notes to Mental Capacity Act 2005
www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/en2005/2005en09.htm
Department of Constitutional Affairs – Publications
www.dca.gov.uk/men/cap/legis.htm
Our Health, Our Care, Our Say:
The Our health, our care, our say White Paper sets out a vision to provide people with good quality social care and NHS services in the communities where they live. NHS services are half way through a 10-year plan to become more responsive to patient needs and prevent ill health by the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Social care services are also changing to give service users more independence, choice and control.
Valuing People:
Valuing People is the government's plan for making the lives of people with learning disabilities and their families better.
You can find out about these things on this website:
- what Valuing People is about
- papers and links to help local people make Valuing People happen
- what is happening across the country
- who the Valuing People Support Team are and what we do
Working Opportunities for people with learning disabilities:
What does Valuing People say?
That more people with learning disabilities should get the chance to do all kinds of work, if possible getting paid.
Objective: To enable more people with learning disabilities to participate in all forms of employment, wherever possible in paid work, and to make a valued contribution to the world of work.
It is thought that less than one in ten people with learning disabilities have jobs.
People don't think people with learning disabilities can achieve, so they don't get training and help to find jobs. Helping people find jobs is not seen as important.
The rules about benefits can mean that people lose out if they get jobs. It can be difficult to move from 'supported employment' into other paid jobs that people might want.
The Government wants more people with learning disabilities to have jobs.
