You may have seen the article in Disability News Service highlighting limits being imposed on CHC funding in Southampton
https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/care-crisis-anger-over-ccgs-unacceptable-policy-on-residential-care/
The CCG guidance states -:
Home care packages in excess of eight hours per day would indicate a high level of need which would be more appropriately met within a residential placement. These cases would be carefully considered and a full risk assessment undertaken.
Persons who need waking night care might generally be more appropriately cared for in a residential placement. The need for waking night care indicates a high level of supervision day and night.
This also seems to be the case in other areas as well and there are similar policies in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, South Gloucestershire, Hampshire and East Sussex.
Southampton when asked about this policy by DNS replied “The policy is currently undergoing a review which will be completed within the coming months and we understand that a number of CCGs are reviewing their policies to include similar guidance for the future.”
To have CCGs trying to restrict support for independent living for people with high support needs in this way is very worrying and having consulted with legal experts we are keen to support a legal challenge against these policies.
If anyone is now or likely to be in the near future affected by limits on CHC funding and would be interested in considering a legal challenge please email us at mail@dpac.uk.net
And now Rochdale Council…..
There is a Rochdale council consultation [pdf] which seeks a £1.4m saving by “transforming” supported living provision and replacing it with a range of residential care and other services – Read more : Clock turned back on rights for people with a learning disability
are you specifically looking for people in these areas?
Hello Judith, We are looking for people facing this in any area. We’ve given Southampton and Rochdale as examples of what councils are doing but sadly we expect that more councils will be making similar announcements.
This is a terrifying policy decision by local authorities. The care sector is in financial melt down and they still advise that those disabled people who require 24 hour care be placed in a care home. Where are they going to get the care homes from? There are clearly not enough care homes and the added difficulty in finding and keeping staff is also problematic. Where do these disabled people go? To some kind of prison? This is all our futures. To put severly disabled people in care is extremly dangerous and ill thought out. It clearly is putting lives at risk, once again in order to save money. This is getting beyond belief. I know how I would feel in that position. It sickens me to the core that these so called human beings can so easily condenm disabled people to an existance in a strange place, away from their home, family and friends. This is not a good message at all for disabled people. A legal way of locking them up and throwing away the key. They will have no say in their future. Please fight this all the way.