Does anyone have any experience of using personal budgets for people with very complex needs. It seems to be acknowledged that the RAS does not calculate costs for people with very high needs. I
am talking about people who will require high cost packages of £2000 per week up to £5000 per week. How do we make SDS work with this group of people? How does this work in your local authority?
I have had to just speak directly to the managers responsible for the budget and talk them through the SAQ because the RAS is not fit for purpose
The problem is that these are peoples' lives that have to be fed into the RAS system and it's never going to be equitable because different user groups, actually different individuals have different needs.
Hi CB
Thanks.
Absolutely - the RAS is not fit for purpose but there is no real guidance for IB's which are well outside the RAS limits. What concerns me is that ths RAS is still being used for complex needs and coming up with a wholly inappropriate figure which is a fraction of the budget that is needed.
We need to develop a reliable and consistent approach in my view which keeps the service user and family at the centre of the process and comes up with a realistic budget
Julian..
Hi
I currently work as a support planner and our RAS has been amended a few times as initially it was too generous but now its way too narrow with what it allows. When you have someone already receiving a high level of care and the RAS comes out at almost half it is totally unworkable. We have a process where there is a contingency but this has to go to panel for approval. All the jargon about being able to access activities socially is just not feasible with this process in complex cases anyway.
Watch this space I think....
It seems I am having a similar experience. Just this week I had one such case with a RAS just not providing 'enough'. We know what service we need and it's quite a particular situation which really does have a unique support plan. Logically it makes complete sense for this individual and there's no doubt about the need and positive impact it would have - but the RAS doesn't even come close :(
So I have to wait another few weeks for those at a higher level to make another decision.
It is enough to make you resentful of the whole process which was supposed to augur in a 'brave new world' of person-centred planning.
CB and Boingboing
I am surprised that there hasn't been more of an outcry about this.
We are starting to get some families questioning the process but very few service users with complex needs are able to question the process themselves
All I am seeking is some transparency and consistency which is supposed to be an integral part of SDS.
Thanks for your comments - it is good to know that it is not just us on one level although quite sad on another.
Julian.
IB's- Individual budgets?
SAQ- Self-assessment questionnaire?
SDS- self-directed support?
RAS???????? what does this mean?
Resource Allocation System - really, I'm afraid my heart isn't in explaining it any further but it's how you get from a SAQ to money. The idea is that it will be an equitable system. The practice is that all RAS are broken fundamentally. People can't be fed into processes as easily as the accountants would like.
I have a few complex cases, though nothing approaching the figures you quote! We have a weekly Panel and anything over £100 a week has to go up for their approval, If a SAQ / RAS does not produce the result that the service user would actually need, we ask for it to be considered as an exception, and it's usually worked for me, sometimes a bit of negotiating, but not very different to the old system. The panel is multi-disciplinary, which is useful when the cases have a community health component, as the more complex ones usually do.
It's just thelaborious process of putting everything into boxes and then having to talk outside the box that brings out the farce in it...
Hi Andy
Rigt on first 3.
RAS means Resource allocation system A service user will fill in SAQ and when this is inputted into computer RAS software with each question giving amount of points the points amount will generate an amount of money which is the RAS, this will be conveyed to SU and a support plan will be put together bu SU as they will know how much they can expect to receive. There should also be in place an easy appeal procedure to the amount if it is found that no way does it cover the support plan and that exceptional circumstances need to be understood