Supporting Choice and
Control
The role of support
organisations
Jess Wade and Ann Allcoat
Self Directed Support Scotland
Funded by, but separate from,
the Scottish Government
A national membership organisation which
actively promotes Independent Living by
supporting, working with, and championing the
aims of self-directed support
Disabled People’s Organisations.
The role of
Self Directed Support Scotland
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Raising awareness of self-directed support
Offer training and resources
User-led organisation
Working with Local Authorities
Supporting members
Supporting and developing new/emerging
Disabled People’s Organisations
Disabled People’s Organisations
DPOs are user-led organisations, i.e. the people
who the organisation represents or provide
services to, have a majority on the Management
Committee and there is clear accountability to
the people who use the service
Standards of Disabled People’s SDS
Organisations
• Work within the Social Model of Disability and
under the philosophy of the Independent
Living Movement
• Peer support based
• Recognise that carers have
their own needs and
requirements as carers
Who can Disabled People’s SDS
Organisations work with?
Disabled People’s SDS organisations can support
anyone who is eligible for self-directed support.
Including:
• Disabled people
• D/deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing people
• People with mental health problems
• People with learning difficulties
• Older people
• Parents of disabled children
• People acting on behalf of those without capacity
What Disabled People’s
SDS Organisations typically do
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Provide independent, impartial information
Peer support
Support to prepare for assessment
Independent information on SDS, including SDS
options, implications, individual budget
• Help develop, agree, and review
support plan
What Disabled People’s
SDS Organisations typically do
• Help with organising and managing support,
e.g. choosing a service provider/agency,
purchasing equipment, recruiting and
employing Personal Assistants
• Payroll support
• Managing Individual Service Funds (when
offered!)
• Learning and training opportunities
Why User-Led?
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Develop appropriate and effective support
Genuine understanding
Real experience
Peer support is an effective way to build
confidence and provide practical advice
• Impartial and independent of providers and
local authorities
Why User-Led?
Experience of direct payments indicates that
support “is more likely to be successful if it is
provided by organisations controlled by disabled
people or people who use social care services”
(Glasby and Littlechild, Direct Payments and
personal budgets, putting personalisation into
practice p187, The Policy Press 2009).
So What?!
• Facilitate genuine choice through knowledge
and understanding
• Facilitate genuine choice through peer
support
• Facilitate genuine choice through practical
support and assistance
• Facilitate genuine choice through training and
confidence building
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Scotland
27 carer-led Carers Centres across Scotland providing
unpaid carers with:
• Information and advice
• Emotional support
• Opportunities to be involved in shaping services
• Other carer-identified services appropriate to the local
community
© Carers Trust
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Scotland
Supporting around 53,000 adult carers in Scotland
• Information
• Welfare benefits
• Training
• Opportunities for respite
• Opportunities to meet with other carers in support groups
and consultations
• 121 support
• Awareness raising of carers’ issues
© Carers Trust
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net
The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in Scotland
PRTC Carers Centres have a commitment to being quality
organisations, demonstrated through external accreditation.
PQASSO
Quality Mark for carers’ services
© Carers Trust
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net
Advice / Support Organisations Capacity &
Readiness Subgroup
• A subgroup of the National Implementation Group
• SDSS and The Princess Royal Trust for Carers in
Scotland are co-sponsors of the subgroup
• Produced a ‘Support Pathway’ to identify services offered
by support organisations at every stage of the SDS
journey
• Have some questions for you …
© Carers Trust
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net
Advice / Support Organisations Capacity &
Readiness Subgroup
In small groups, discuss:
• What support and advice services are available in your area?
• Are you in contact with local support services? How do you
keep up to date? Are the services offered enough?
• Is there a need to develop standards for support and advice
services?
• How could this be approached? What would you want to know
about the quality and standards of services in your area?
• What guidance could be developed for commissioning?
© Carers Trust
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net
Feedback
• Key points
• All will be written up and fed back to the subgroup
Thank You
Jess Wade
Manager
jess@sdsscotland.org.uk
0131 516 4194
© Carers Trust
Ann Allcoat
Development Manager
(Scotland)
aallcoat@carers.org
0141 221 5066
www.carers.org
www.youngcarers.net