Short-term planning is endemic in social care for adults with learning disabilities and this is costing local authorities and the people themselves dear, a report has found.
The study of senior local authority decision makers by learning disability charity FitzRoy found that 42% of local authorities plan social care for adults with learning disabilities by planning just a single year ahead.
Cost is the overriding consideration when making these decisions, deemed influential by the vast majority (94%) of commissioners. Three quarters (73%) admit that cost is disproportionately influential and 64% say they are often under pressure to cut costs at the expense of good quality service.
The report, A Plan for Life, also reveals that local authorities are ill-prepared for the wellbeing provisions in the Draft Care and Support Bill. FitzRoy is calling on the government to publish guidelines alongside the Act to help local authorities understand and measure wellbeing, and to ensure its consistent application.
In addition, the Fitzroy report reveals that more than a third of local authorities are unaware that the Draft Care and Support Bill, when enacted, will create a legal obligation for them to promote individual wellbeing. Additionally, 25% do not feel prepared to fulfil this duty, and 44% do not have a clear strategy in place to promote wellbeing.
While 55% do not have a formal means of measuring the quality of life of adults with learning disabilities, three quarters (74%) said a universal measure would improve placement stability and 67% agreed it would reduce long-term costs.
Galliford adds: “With the introduction of new wellbeing measures, local government has a steep learning curve ahead of it. This could be a great turning point for social care and we are calling on the government to help define wellbeing as clearly as possible, and to help put individuals at the centre of social care decisions.”
Extracted from online article published 06.01.2014 on Learning Disability Today website.