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Lifetime care award

CDV Adviser
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I have a client that requires 24 hour care and will do for the rest of his life. His condition will never change. Is it possible for the LA to provide a lifetime care decision to remove the need for reviews? If so, can anyone point me in the direction of guidance please.

Thanks

CDV Adviser
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Nestor Financial Group Ltd

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Does anyone know the answer?

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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Information and advice resources - Age UK

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Not sure to be honest. Our factsheet How to get care and support says:

“Your care and support plan must be kept under review (section 27 of the Act). Guidance expects reviews at least
every 12 months and a light touch review at 6–8 weeks after a new or revised care or support plan has been introduced and services commenced. Each case must be reviewed in line with its individual presenting issues so there may be exceptions to these basic requirements. “

Section 27 is written in quite a prescriptive way - “A local authority must—

(a)keep under review generally care and support plans,”

ClairemHodgson
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and i should have thought one benefit of a review would potentially be that better care might be available - not perhaps in terms of actual bodies, but in terms of the way care might be delivered, and if care includes OT involvement as it should, better tech/aids/etc ......

neilbateman
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Somewhere in the DoH Guidance it states that assessments should be reviewed. 

Peoples’ care needs do change (eg your client’s might increase with age or an illness), it also ensures that poor care practices are picked up, helps ensure that the LA is not being over-charged, acts as a basic safeguarding process and as Claire indicates, other needs can be addressed.  Also models of delivering care do change over time.

Of all the battles to fight, stopping LA’s carrying out reviews of care packages is not one unless it’s part of a deliberate cuts agenda and the law is being applied wrongly.

CDV Adviser
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Thank you for the replies. I thought it a slightly odd request but I think the family just want to be left alone.

neilbateman
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Phil R - 27 January 2017 04:17 PM

Thank you for the replies. I thought it a slightly odd request but I think the family just want to be left alone.

Which is perfectly understandable given the amount of scrutiny, probing and humiliation people are subjected to these days - ESA re-assessments, PIP, compliance interventions, etc. 

If only the wealthy getting taxpayer subsidy on taxes, investments and other handouts for the best off were subjected to such a level of scrutiny.

Paul_Treloar_AgeUK
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The statutory guidance does flag up light-touch reviews being possible, although written from the perspective it seems of the service user making a request.

13.6 However, there are occasions when a change to a plan is required but there has been no change in the levels of need (for example, a carer may change the times when they are available to support). In addition, there can be small changes in need, at times temporary, which can be accommodated within the established personal budget.

13.7 In these circumstances, it may not be appropriate for the person to go through a full review and revision of the plan. The local authority should respond to these ‘light-touch’ requests in a proportionate and reasonable way.

However, for the reasons noted by others, the requirement to review is, in general, a good thing for many reasons.