Direct Payments deliver better quality of life!

Direct Payments are a great way of improving independence and giving greater choice to people who are eligible for care.  Elizabeth Whitaker* explains how this simple system has transformed her mother’s life.

Introduced in the early 1990s, Direct Payments are funds paid directly to the users of care services, so that they can choose the support that is relevant and helpful to them. Users can either choose to manage their direct scheme themselves, or nominate a friend or relative to do it on their behalf. According to Elizabeth Whitaker, her mother, who became paralysed on her right side and lost the power of speech following a stroke in 2006, has benefited enormously from using the Direct Payments Scheme.

Elizabeth was working in the USA when her father became ill with incurable leukaemia. She returned home to help her parents and it was shortly after this that her mother suffered a massive stroke. “Obviously I knew I had to stay in the UK, but I could not be at the hospital with my mother and at home with my father at the same time.”

Adult Services suggested that Elizabeth’s parents be assessed for Direct Payments, so that Elizabeth could buy in the care services she needed to meet her needs and continue living at home. This could not have come at a better time for her mother, who faced the prospect of going into a nursing home. “I was adamant that she should be able to return to her own home,” says Elizabeth.

She opened a separate bank account for the Direct Payments, and pays carers’ invoices directly from this account. In this way, she says, it’s very easy to keep tabs on the money. “My advice to other people would be to give it a try. It doesn’t have to be complicated – there is support and advice, and very little paperwork.” By choosing Direct Payments from the start, Elizabeth was able to adjust the level and type of care to suit her mother’s needs. “At first we used just one agency,” she explains, “but then I decided to look at my options.” She contacted an organisation called Southampton Centre for Independent Living (SCIL). “It’s run by and for disabled people. They have been delightful to turn to whenever I’ve had questions about Direct Payments.”  SCIL provided information on the different care providers in her area, and Elizabeth now has a range of carers helping her to look after her mother.

“Direct Payments give the individual the decision-making power. By shopping around I have found reliable agencies and I also have a highly qualified self-employed carer who provides help from time to time. It’s marvellous, because I have the flexibility of employing her for certain sessions. In this way I’ve been able to have carers come and work with my mother’s physiotherapists, so the carers have actually been part of the rehabilitation process. Now, when it comes to moving, handling and positioning, they know what to do because the physios have shown them. It has made such a difference to my mother’s life, giving her a quality of life and health benefits that she would never have had otherwise.

Crucially, it has also meant she can continue to live here at home.”Further informationFor more information regarding Direct Payments please visit www.hants.gov.uk/direct-payments.

Further information regarding Southampton Centre for Independent Living visit www.southamptoncil.co.uk or call 023 8033 0982.

* In this article, the interviewee’s name has been changed to protect her and her mother’s privacy.