Finding the Right Support for You

Your Case Manager will have discussed with you the options available when looking to meet your identified health needs. This information will have been used to calculate the amount of funding you will receive.

Where it has been identified that you require some form of personal support, the most popular ways of meeting this goal is by either instructing the services of a Care Agency, or employing your own Personal Assistant (PA). 

Receiving support from a Care Agency can often be the most straightforward way of meeting your care needs.

As the PHB holder or Authorised Representative, you are able to choose from any registered Care Agency in your area that can help to meet your identified health needs, within the budget allocated to you.

Employing your own Personal Assistant affords maximum flexibility but does require more oversight and involvement than other types of support, as you legally become the employer of the individuals that provide support to you.

Whilst at first this can sound daunting, many individuals find that employing Personal Assistants provides ultimate control over how support is delivered and they benefit significantly from the freedom this brings.

As the PHB holder or Authorised Representative, you are in control of the recruitment and employment process, and are responsible for ensuring that the arrangements you make comply with both your PHB agreement and any relevant employment legislation. 

**Our Independent Living Advisors are on hand to guide you through this process and advise on the steps that you need to take to ensure the arrangements you make are safe and in line with your PHB agreement**

If you choose to receive support from a Care Agency, it is the Care Agencies responsibility to find a suitably qualified individual to provide support to you.


The Care Agency will be the Employer and they will:

·       Produce an invoice each period for the support that has been provided
·       Obtain insurance for their workers and complete all appropriate safeguarding checks
·       Be registered with an appropriate supervisory organisation, e.g. CQC 
·       Manage salary and payroll
·       Be responsible for employment rights like holiday and sick pay
·       Sort out any issues, i.e. misconduct or performance issues
·       Send a replacement if the allocated individual is ill
·       Have a pool of individuals to provide 24-hour care 


Other considerations when receiving support from a Care Agency
 
Whilst receiving support from an Agency can often be a simpler way to meet your care needs, there are some other considerations to take into account.

These include:

·       Whilst the Carer that the Agency sends should always be suitably qualified, the Agency may not always be able to send the same individual each day. If consistency and familiarity with the carer is important to you, it is vital that you discuss this with the Agency and make them aware.

·       As the Agency may not be able to send the same Carer each day, there could be some variation in how the individual completes tasks and supports you. Whilst the support they deliver will be in line with your support plan, if you have particular concerns around how tasks are completed, it is important that you discuss this with the Agency and make them aware.

·       Whilst the Agency will agree to deliver a set number of hours of support, they may not always be able to guarantee to come at a set time. If you have specific or set requirements, it is important you discuss this with the Agency and make them aware.

If you choose to employ a Personal Assistant to provide support, you have the flexibility to recruit individuals that you feel can best help you to meet your care needs.


As you are the Employer, you are able to:

·       Tailor the support your employees provide
·       Choose the hours that they work
·       Ensure continuity of support and build a working relationship with the individual
·       Recruit to meet your individual requirements i.e. skills, personality


Other considerations when employing a Personal Assistant
 
Whilst receiving support from a Personal Assistant provides the most control and flexibility, it does mean you take responsibility as an Employer and need to consider additional factors including:

·       You will need to arrange cover for your personal assistant when they are unavailable due to sickness or holidays

·       You take on the responsibility of being an employer

·       You are responsible for the recruitment process, which can take time to complete successfully