Campaigners and Commission coalesce on care

By Sunil Peck

The government's efforts to personalise social care services are failing to improve the lives of many disabled people, a report has found.

The report, by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), looked at the quality, range and availability of social care services in the public, private and voluntary sectors.

It found that in general, the care services available to people who are entitled to support are better than they have ever been.

But it said that despite steady improvements, people with high support needs still experience an inflexible 'one-size-fits-all' model of care that is not geared towards their individual needs.

CSCI Chair Dame Denise Platt commended the government's ambition to transform the social care system. But she said that there was "a long way to go" to turn the government's policy into practice.

Dame Denise said: "People who need social care should be seen as individuals, first and foremost. The support they receive should be tailor-made, allowing people to live their lives as they choose."

She added: "If we get it right for people with complex needs, it is likely that we'll get it right for everyone."

Heather Honour, Director of the Learning Disability Coalition, said that the increase in social care spend had failed to keep up with demand for services.

She added: "The harsh reality of this funding shortfall is being felt by people with a learning disability and their carers across
the UK, with some of our most vulnerable citizens having their support services reduced or withdrawn completely."

Sue Bott (pictured), Director of the National Centre for Independent Living said that it was "relatively good news" that more than seventy three thousand people were receiving direct payments and almost five thousand were in receipt of individual budgets. But she said that those figures were "tiny" when set against the overall number of people receiving care services.

She said that more social care professionals needed to put service users at the heart of what they do and also that service users needed more support to access information about what they are entitled to.

She said that the high number of people in residential care made it difficult to avoid the conclusion that some people are there against their will.

Care Services Minister Phil Hope thanked CSCI for a "comprehensive" report.

He added: "We are investing over £500 million to tailor more services to individual needs. We will help councils spread best practice quickly so that more can share the benefits of personalising services."