Direct payments, CP with unsuitable carers

crys

Hi there, my friend has CP and had direct payments removed 5 years ago as one of her carers was scratched by her cat and sued for £20,000. It was not her fault! Is this even legal?!!!

Before and since direct payments she has had very unsuitable carers, the vast majority who don’t speak English which has increased her isolation. She lives in London. Any advice please?

Rachel_Scope

Hi @crys and welcome to the community. I'm so sorry that your friend is having issues with carers and being sued for that much. It must be incredibly stressful.

Our wonderful CP team may be able to help you with some advice 😊 @SaraC_Scope is this something you could help with?

SaraC_Scope

Hi @Rachel_Scope and @crys

Welcome to the community @crys I'll have a look into this and see if I can find some advice and guidance.

Sara

crys

Thanks Sara, Much appreciated.

SaraC_Scope

Hi @crys

I hope you're ok today. I explored direct payments information and what your friend's rights are.

When the direct payments were stopped, did they receive correspondence outlining the reasons for this? If it was because of the incident would the direct payments be reinstated at a later date.

She can ask for a reassessment.

Would contacting the Local Authority be an option, given she is still receiving care? There is the option to make a complaint. If she has a social worker it might be worth speaking to them for support around carers.

I hope some of this information is useful.

Sara

crys

Thankyou Sarah I will pass this on to Jan. Hopefully it will help. Thanks again.