Personalisation (Self Directed Support)
Social Care is changing as part of a national programme to give people more choice and control over their lives. The Scottish Parliament passed a new law on social care support called the Social Care (Self-directed Support) (Scotland) Act 2013. Self-directed Support is also known as SDS and Personalisation. We will use the word Personalisation.
From April 2014, all councils in Scotland must offer Personalisation to people with a wide range of support needs, including learning disabilities; physical disabilities; mental health issues; and some other long-term health conditions.
Through Personalisation, your needs are assessed and if eligible you will be given a budget to spend on your care and support needs. You can spend this budget arranging care and support yourself or you can let the council do this for you. Personalisation lets you have more say in how you get care and support and gives you more control over how the money is spent on the support you need. Personalisation means that there are now more ways for you to get the help to live the kind of life you want to live.
Step 1: Assessment
The first step is to assess your support needs and determine if you are eligible for social care support.
We will ask you some questions about your needs and the support you require. We will give you a form to complete. This form is called a Support Needs Assessment (SNA).
We will consider your strengths and capabilities, the things you can do, as well as the things you might need support with. You should try and identify what matters most to you - your personal outcomes. When we talk about personal outcomes, we mean the things that are important to you in your life.
You can also ask a friend, family member or your support worker (if you have one) to help you fill out the form.
Step 2: Estimated Budget
After you have provided information for your Support Needs Assessment, your Care Manager will discuss your needs with you and complete the assessment.
With this information we will allocate a budget - this is called an estimated budget and will be used to pay for your agreed support.
We will tell you how much your estimated budget is and will ask you about the ways you would like to manage your budget and support.
There are four different Options for managing your budget and you will choose which option suits you best:
Your choices are:
- Direct Payment
- Service User Selected Direct Award
- Council Selected Direct Award
- Any combination of the above
Step 3: Support Planning
This is when you make your support plan (also called an Outcome Based Support Plan). You will look at what support you need and look at how you might organise your budget and decide what option to use.
Your support plan needs to show us how you will be supported to meet your needs and the outcomes you identified in the Support Needs Assessment. You should decide in your support plan what you will spend your budget on.
You can have as little or as much help as you want to make your support plan.
Step 4: Agreeing the Final Plan
Here, we check your support plan to make sure it meets your needs and agreed outcomes. If your support plan is not agreed, you and your Care Manager will be asked to make some changes to it so that it can be agreed. When your support plan is agreed it also means your Individual Budget is agreed.
Step 5: Living Your Life
Your assessment is complete, you have chosen the best way to arrange your support, your plan is agreed and you know your Individual Budget. Your plan has now started, and you are living your life the way you intended.
Hopefully, your plan will work well but if it is not working for you, ask your Care Manager to look at your plan again.
If your supports are not keeping you safe and well, you can get help from your Care Manager.
Step 6: Review
This step is where we review the care and support you receive to ensure it is being delivered to meet your needs and the outcomes agreed in your support plan. You will get a review of your support plan approximately 6 weeks after your plan starts.
This first review lets you make changes to your support plan but only if this is within your budget. Your Care Manager needs to agree to the changes, and they will write it into your support plan. You will get a comprehensive review every two years.
Further Information
For more information on the steps involved in Personalisation, read our Personalisation Guide.
Here are some videos that have been made by Glasgow Centre for Inclusive Living (GCIL) which provide information on service users’ experience of the personalisation process, in their own words.
Cailean’s Story: How having a Personal Assistant helps Cailean, who is on the autism spectrum, to access a mainstream college course.
Susan’s Story: how Susan’s Personal Assistant assists with personal care, household tasks and basic health care support.
Joan’s Story: how Joan is able to maintain employment with support from her Personal Assistants.
Chris’s Story: how Chris has achieved the life he wants though his job, the support of family and his Personal Assistant.