The Social Care System: Part 2 - What Are The Main Problems?

Haven't read Part 1? Read it here.

Before I wrote these posts, I asked several people about their views on the live-in care crises, and one person said "Lack of suitable carers, this seems to be a national problem...I think the problem is also exacerbated by Social services presuming that my friend can move in with her parents everytime [sic] the care package fails and stay there for many months." - This leads me to my first comment on the main issues...

On Monday, 03 October, my mum had a conversation with my social worker and because the company that I found aren't a “Social Services approved company”, my social worker said that if I want to go with them, I'll need Direct Payments (explained above). I was concerned about this due to my lack of life skills, however, I think it's the best option I have now because every one of the previous companies that I have come across don't have experience with younger people who have physical disabilities, whereas this one does.

If the customer cannot afford to pay for their care themselves, Social Services provide the funding to pay the carers; this can either be via Direct Payments to the customer so that the customer can pay the carers or the agency themselves with the Direct Payments, or Social Services can pay the agency directly without the customer's input. Now, don't get me wrong, I am incredibly grateful to have funding for my care, but I wish I had more support from Social Services in finding a care provider. I feel like I have little to no support in this sense, and it is incredibly infuriating because I just want to be able to live happily in my own home, but I can't find the right carer and I feel like I'm stuck in a rut because of this. I would like to see Social Services working closely with the client, communicating and visiting them to find out exactly what their needs and wants are so that they can have the best care right from the start. To put it into perspective, my Social Worker has only spoken to me on the phone once or twice, or we've communicated via email... I have never met her in person, and it makes it more difficult to get my point across because if you haven't met me, it's difficult to understand my needs and how my body works. This also means that my Social Worker can't get accurate knowledge of how my disability affects my day-to-day life. I feel like I have had virtually no practical support from my Social Worker, which is more than frustrating! It also feels like Social Services are just there to throw money at the situation and "tick a box"... - This is one of my main issues.

There's not even enough funding going into the social care sector, so there is not enough staff behind the scenes, which makes recruiting more difficult! The lack of care staff is a national issue and the government (or whoever is in charge of live-in care companies) really should put more effort into recruiting carers with more varied skills and training. It would be even better if the carer's training could be specialised to fit their customer's needs because everybody is different, and although this will take more time, it would be better for the customer and the carer as they would know how each other moved and operated, so there would be fewer surprises and misunderstandings. Again, this is another one of the main problems that I am having. I know that this may not be possible though, because there isn't the staff to train carers with each customer. This makes it very difficult to find the right carer that has knowledge about physical disabilities and knows to treat you like a normal adult.

I don't know the ins and outs of how Brexit (Britain's exit from the EU) affects live-in carers, but I think it's to do with getting visas approved and having the right to legally work in the UK. I can't go in-depth about this one because I don't know enough about it, so I am just doing a brief paragraph. Please don't take my word for it.

Join me next time for Part 3...