With more than 700 people on
self-directed support packages, West Sussex Council is at the
forefront of the personalisation agenda.
The authority was one of 13 pilot sites to trial individual
budgets in 2006 and 2007 to prepare for a national rollout. IB
project lead Jane Goldingham says, although there was trepidation
about what was involved, it was an exciting time "because this was
something that could offer real opportunity for customers".
Goldingham and project manager Ruth Corden took up their posts
in January 2006 and a governance structure was set up. Goldingham
says: "One of our hardest tasks was scoping the project due to the
level of transformation required and support from the Care Services
Improvement Partnership (CSIP) was essential - they organised
network meetings, gave us headline targets and signed off our
initial project plan we worked with them to develop tools and
essential to choose teams that were stable and enthusiastic about
change," says Goldingham.
They met to discuss the scoping of the pilot with these teams
and other main stakeholders - voluntary and independent sector
providers. As their plans became clearer, the team expanded and two
full-time development workers (one focusing on operational issues,
the other on policy), a part-time worker (whose role included
generating user involvement), as well as part-time support and
finance staff were recruited.
S
election
With more staff it was possible to start briefing the three
teams who began to identify individuals they thought would be
interested in piloting IB. Goldingham says: "The people selected
initially were those who were interested in taking more control
over the support they received or those who weren't entirely happy
with the services they were receiving so might be interested in a
new approach."
Simultaneously the IB team had to do a lot of work trying to
scope each of the funding streams. Goldingham says: "We found
streamlining self-assessment wasn't easy because of the
complexities involved within the different streams. We had already
made progress with aligning Supporting People and direct payments
funding and were keen to start with them we had lots of discussion
about integrating grants for community equipment services and
disabled facilities with OT colleagues. Again CSIP support was
crucial - they helped us work through a lot of problems."
The IB team, together with practitioners, started by testing the
In Control programme with older people and found it needed to be
adapted its development is continuing.
There are many elements that contributed to the pilot's success.
It was necessary to have a lot of regular small team meetings to
discuss issues, challenge terminology and thinking. Supporting
staff was key, and development workers ran briefing sessions
covering issues that arose as the project moved forward. It was
also critical to get the views of users, staff, carers and
stakeholders along the way. Indeed, increasing customer choice and
control can be difficult for some staff. West Sussex's executive
director of adults' and children's services, John Dixon says: "The
enormous cultural shift required to reform social care into an
enabling system away from one of paternalism cannot be
underestimated and is something that we have given a high
priority."
Empowering
And what about user satisfaction? West Sussex ended up with
about 100 people using IB, including Stephen Page, a wheelchair
user with multiple schlerosis, who found the effects of switching
to IB immediate. "I had help from the Independent Living
Association in Worthing. Straightaway I was involved in the process
of recruiting a PA, I could be as involved as I wanted to be, which
I found enormously empowering."
Overall he's delighted with the flexibility of IB. "It's been
amazing because I have lots of things I'm still interested in and
IB means I can still do those things. I have been able to continue
writing my poetry, run poetry workshops, pay for someone to take me
out to the theatre or the opera I wouldn't be able to do those
things without IB support."
While the final DH report has yet to be published, the
government is clear that expanding choice and control is the
direction of travel, a sentiment Dixon shares. "The pilot has been
a great success and has demonstrated a real potential to transform
the lives of disabled people. Hearing people speak of 'having the
world opened up to them' through having a personal budget brings
home the positive change that self-directed support is having
it."
The findings from the two-year pilot is expected to be released
by the Department of Health later in the year.
What works
● Identifying customers and carers willing to share their
stories. This is a powerful way to deliver and get the message
across to the public, staff and providers.
● Team managers and champions in each team who recognise the
potential of personal budgets and are empowered to find
solutions.
● Bringing the "market" along with you on the journey.
● Willingness to reflect, learn and change, and sharing
experiences with other local authorities.
More on
individual
budgets
This article is published in the 26 June issue of Community Care
magazine under the headline 'The world opened up'