Health, Great Britain Department Of

A shared approach to improving the care and support for people with dementia, their families and carers receive following a diagnosis. The declaration sets out: a shared commitment to joint action across government, health, social care, the third sector and all other relevant partners; the ambition to deliver better quality post-diagnostic care; and the need to deliver integrated and effective services that meet the needs of people with dementia and their families and carers.

In November 2009 important changes to the Direct Payments scheme were introduced. New regulations extend the scheme to people who lack the capacity to consent, and to people with mental health problems who are subject to mental health and certain criminal justice legislation. Guidance for councils on direct payments has been updated to reflect these changes. This leaflet sets out these changes and explains where to find more information.

The aim of this revised guidance is to assist councils with adult social services responsibilities to determine eligibility for adult social care, in a way that is fair, transparent and consistent, accounting for the needs of their local community as a whole as well as individuals’ need for support. It replaces Fair Access to Care Services: guidance on eligibility criteria for adult social care which was issued in 2003, and has been written in the light of recommendations made in the Commission for Social Care Inspection’s review Cutting the Cake Fairly.

Guide giving information about services for disabled people available from government departments and agencies, the NHS, local government, and voluntary organisations. Covers every need, including housing, money, opportunities for holidays and leisure, and many more. Includes phone numbers, publications and a list of organisations.

The guide is to help Partnership Boards write plans on ‘housing and support’. Partnership Boards have to write these plans by winter 2002/3. This guide has ideas to help them do this well. The ‘housing and support plans’ will give people with learning disabilities more choice about: where they live.who they live with.and who gives them support. Some of the different types of housing and support the guide talks about are: supported living, living in small ordinary houses, village communities,and living with family and relatives.

This strategy sets the government agenda for supporting carers over the next 10 years ranging across the span of government’s responsibilities. Short-term changes are to be implemented over the next three years, and longer-term priorities are identified for the next 10 years. The strategy addresses breaks, personalisation of services, income, information and advice, the workplace, training for the workforce, access to employment, emotional support, the health of carers and the specific needs of young carers. .

This document sets out recommendations for guiding the development of mental health nursing, with the core aim of improving the outcomes and experience of care for service users and carers.

Direct payments are crucial to achieving the Government's aim to increase independence, choice and control for service users and their carers through allowing them the opportunity to arrange their own personalised care. The Health and Social Care Act 2008 extends the availability of direct payments to those people who lack the capacity to consent to their receipt.

Across Government, the shared ambition is to put people first through a radical reform of public services, enabling people to live their own lives as they wish, confident that services are of high quality, are safe and promote their own individual needs for independence, well-being and dignity.

Information on what the changes introduced by the Care Act will mean for carers and the cared for. The resource provides an explanation of care and support in England and outlines key elements of the act, including: deferred payment agreements; needs and eligibility; support for carers; and cap on care costs.