In January 2017, Adult Services set up a pilot scheme called 'Your Choice' to test an approach to changing care at home. The new approach focused on personal outcomes, rather than a traditional care timetable.
Through the Vale of Glamorgan Domiciliary Care Providers' Forum, we identified a local home care agency to provide the care for the pilot scheme.
You can review the 'Your Choice' policy here:
Your Choice Policy - July 2023
Throughout the pilot, we have seen:
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Benefits to the wellbeing of the people using the service as they have more control over the care that they receive to meet their needs
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'Your Choice' has been used in a discerning and creative way to unlock new opportunities at no additional cost to the authority
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The social work teams have benefited from the 'Your Choice' pilot with a reduction in admin work to create care timetables
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Increased benefit to the care agency with higher job satisfaction rate for care workers
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Under the Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act, Local Authorities must work in partnership with residents and/or their representative to identify and meet their needs in a way that matters to them. This is otherwise known as Outcome Focused Practice
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Before the 'Your Choice' pilot, social workers would have an outcome focused conversation during an assessment. They would then produce a Care and Support plan that would meet the person's needs and outcomes in that moment. This would be in place for 12 months before an annual review, which did not allow for any flexibility - especially when a person's needs changed. This would require a social work review to produce a new Care and Support Plan. This activity can take several weeks to organise and create uncertainty for the person receiving care
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'Your Choice' offers greater flexibility to those who want to change their care to meet their outcomes from week to week. As 'Your Choice' focuses on personal outcomes, the person receiving care can negotiate directly with their care provider, without social worker involvement. This is a result of social workers developing a 'Your Choice Care Bundle' during the assessment stage
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The 'Your Choice Care Bundle' consists of the total number of weekly hours that a social worker determines a person needs. The number of care hours allocated to a person will depend on their needs, what support they need at home, and their personal outcomes. (The 'Your Choice Care Bundle' of hours is not designed to deliver services that sit outside of an individual's eligible need or risk assessment)
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'Your Choice' sets up a more trusting and equal relationship between the person receiving care, the social worker, and the care agency. An 'Introductory Meeting' is set up between all three parties, where the person's eligible needs are made clear, personal outcomes are confirmed, and a Care and Support Plan is completed