‘Game changing’ payments on offer to Shropshire social care recipients

People who receive social care support in Shropshire are being encouraged to consider payments that enable them to choose how and when they receive their support – with one person calling them a ‘game changer’.

‘Direct payments’ are payments from Shropshire Council instead of care services. They’re available to any adult who has been assessed as having relevant eligible needs. They can give people greater flexibility and choice in how they receive the support that best suits them.

There are currently 555 recipients of direct payments in the Shropshire Council area, but many more people are eligible, and the council wants to make more people aware of direct payments and their benefits.

Direct payments money can be used in a variety of ways to meet a person’s eligible goals, eg. to employ a personal assistant (PA); buy support from a care agency; for transport costs; to buy equipment; membership of a group or club; or support for unpaid and family carers.

Shropshire Council has just launched a Personal Assistant (PA) recruitment website to help those people with a direct payment find a suitable PA and help PAs look for work much more easily. The Shropshire PA noticeboard site is at https://shropshire.panoticeboard.org.uk/.

There are three videos on the site featuring local people who have a direct payment explaining how they use their payment and receive support.

In the first, Rich says that direct payments give him freedom, flexibility, and choice. Using his payments, he has employed a team of personal assistants that offer a personal service and enable him to live the life that he wants, a life full of excitement and surprises.

In the second video, Grace says that direct payments enable her to pick and choose what works for her, and to choose what she does, where and when. She says that direct payments are a ‘game changer that gives me so much more freedom’.

And in the third, PA Oliver explains his role.

Cecilia Motley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for adult social care, said:

“Direct payments offer the flexibility to provide care and support in a different way, recognising that everyone’s needs are unique, and offer a wide range of benefits to those who receive them.

“We know not all eligible people are aware of direct payments, so we want to raise awareness and encourage more people to take up this way of receiving the support that best suits them.

“In short, we want to ensure that people are aware of direct payments, can access information easily, and know where to go for help.

“But we also want to make people aware of the chance to become a personal assistant to someone who receives direct payments and encourage them to contact us if this opportunity is of interest.”

The new website is in addition to an existing site that offers lots of information about Direct Payments and how to get started. Go to Direct payments in adult social care | Shropshire Council.

For more information about direct payments visit the Shropshire Council website or see this new leaflet.

Further information

There are opportunities for employed Personal Assistants (PAs) to access free training at Careskills Academy, where they can access over 80 virtual CPD accredited social care courses online, to gain the training, skills, and knowledge necessary to do their jobs.