Adult Social Care issues

Jamesd49

Hi all. 

@Ross_Scope any update if they will add an adult social care section? I think adult social care issues effect a lot of people who may come to this community, maybe seeing as there is no suitable section then it may put people off asking. 

My issues is still on going and I have no idea what to do, any suggestions? 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @Jamesd49

Welcome back to the community, and I'm sorry to hear you haven't been able to make any progress with this. Did you speak again with the council or go to the ombudsman? 

There is no update about any adult social care category yet I'm sorry to say. As I mentioned previously we are reviewing categories and that process is still ongoing. However you are more than welcome to discuss the subject in any of our existing categories if you want, likewise for anybody else who has a question about adult social care. 

I appreciate it's not as ideal as having a dedicated category, but we very much welcome discussions about the topic and would encourage anybody to ask if they need help.

Jamesd49

@Ross_Scope

Yep I have emailed them numerous times and they just ignore me, the ombudsman are a waste of time, I have spoke to a few law firms but they have stopped doing that type of work. So I am stuck with no help and a council who believes they don't have to help me when the social care act says something else. 

You say - "we very much welcome discussions about the topic"

But how can people discuss the topic/ask for help if there is nowhere for them to put the discussion? I struggled to find somewhere to put my adult social thread and settled for disabled people which ain't the right section which is why I feel there is limited replies/help. 

If you search on the forum for adult social care issues there are a few threads and they are spread around the community which shows people do struggle on where to put it, I imagine a lot of people just don't bother asking as they think they are posting about something which isn't allowed or they struggle to find the right place as they may not get any replies/limited replies and help which is what I have found. 

I am not sure why it is so difficult to make an extra category. 

Lisatho11987777

You can speak to the care inspectorate for England they can advise what to do or the head of social services cab may be able to help and advise to whom you may contact or you can put a complaint into your council 

Topkitten

Sorry, I'm a bit lazy and haven't read all the replies.

I am not surprised that anyone has trouble with Social Care. In the main they are pretty useless especially when dealing with men who need help. I am supposed to be assessed  because of a safety issue but because Reablement made a mistake I have spoken to 4 different Social Workers who all said they would help but have done nothing. My main issue is that I cannot stand at a sink and wash nor carry a bowl about and, because I have crepe bandages on my leg to let me still walk and also to manage the pain, I cannot shower unless I put up with excessive pain to do it. So far In the 5 months or more I have been waiting I have only managed 3 showers in total and feel disgustingly unclean even though I almost never leave the house.

Social Care should be renamed to Social Don't Care (I could think of something less polite too).

Ross_Alumni

lisathomas50 said:

You can speak to the care inspectorate for England they can advise what to do or the head of social services cab may be able to help and advise to whom you may contact or you can put a complaint into your council 

Just to follow up on this, with you being in Wales I assume you are referring to England's version of the Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales, which is the CQC. 

the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects care services in England only. To find out who the health care regulator is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland please click the relevant link below:

• Wales: Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales
• Scotland: The health care regulator is the Care Inspectorate and the regulation of the independent health care sector sits with Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
• Northern Ireland: Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority

Just to avoid any confusion.

Lisatho11987777

Yes sorry @Ross_Scope thats what I meant 

Jean Eveleigh

@Jamesd49

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to respond,  have you got any updates as to what has happened?

Lisatho11987777

I have problems accessing help for my mum who has dementia I have had to do it private I have carers for mum who I used to work with so that was good 

Jamesd49

Jean Eveleigh 

No, as nothing has happened, that's the issues, 

So I am stuck on what to do. 

I am not sure how long I can continue to fight against the system to get what I am legally entitled to, the council refuses to provide me an advocate, which they can't do under the social care act, they refuse to discuss reasonable adjustment. 

Any time I contact the council about anything, whether its my housing bid, adult social care, DHP, they make it so impossible, constantly ignoring me, constantly treating me bad, that I have just gave up, for example in November I rang up to speak to somebody about my DHP (Housing payment), 48hour call back and they never bothered and I can't be bothered to call them to chase it up, cause I know it won't resolve my issue or be a positive experience. 

I know Disability Law suggested that I look into raising a discrimination claim against the council for how they treat me, but I just can't be bothered. 

So yer nothing has happened, when I think back to when I was getting support from my social worker, I was a different person, more out going, more optistimic about the future, less stressed, more active and just a nicer person. At the moment I am a completely different person. 

@Ross_Scope any reply to my message? I did answer the question you asked me. 

Ross_Alumni

Sorry to hear that the council and ombudsman weren't able to resolve your issue @Jamesd49, have you tried going straight to your MP to let them know how you feel about everything?

Regarding the category, as mentioned I acknowledge your frustrations that there isn't one dedicated to adult social care and I'm sorry about that. At the moment we are reviewing categories but we are trying to keep them broad so that the full list doesn't require lots of scrolling for people, our "parents, carers and disabled parents" one being an example of that. 

The "Disabled people" category is currently open and provides a place for conversations about anything relating to disabled people, including discussions that members feel don't fit as well into any other category. Though as mentioned, we have taken your feedback on board about adult social care and this will be considered when naming / re-naming categories.

We could also look at creating a tag for social care, so that members would be able to click on it and be taken to all other discussions that share that tag. These tags can be assigned by moderators and allow for further filtering to find conversations that share a subject but perhaps don't have a dedicated category.

Lisatho11987777

The council  can give you a list of advocates  most advocates are free but if you have access to the Internet and search for voluntary advocates also citizens advice have advocates 

Jamesd49

@Ross_Scope yep tried MP's before and you get a copy and paste response from them saying they will follow it up with that organisation and get back you and they never do, not heard anything positive about my local MP's. 

Any other suggestions? As I am stuck 

Jamesd49

@lisathomas50

Thanks Lisa, there is only two advocate organisation in the town I am in, one only does NHS complaints and the other one does everything including adult social care assessment, but local councils have contracts with advocates to provide support for adult social care assessment, so the referral has to come from the council if you want adult social assessment advocate support, but the council are refusing, when they can't. 

I have tried to speak to the organisation direct and they said because its a contract with the council the referral has to come from the council and self referrals are not allowed. 

So there is nothing I can do if the council refuse to refer me. 

MarkM88

Have you actually followed the local authorities complaints procedure fully and received responses? 

Cress

Can you get help via a different route?
It seems you've been blocked at every avenue ..would contacting gp and asking for help with anxiety maybe get you referred to mental health who may be of more help in any referrals?
I'd certainly be suffering anxiety going through such frustrating attempts at help, to be thwarted each time.
Just a thought...

Lisatho11987777

@Jamesd49 you could get one on line that you can ask for yourself they can still sort things out for you and help you I am an independent voluntary advocate in wales and I do alot of that type of work online and over the phone and get help for people but I only cover wales thats what you need is an independent voluntary advocate as they are for the person they are helping 

Sorry your going through all of this as Mark has asked have you gone through the complaint procedure and as already suggested speak to your mp or you could contact your local councilor 

Have you tried the citizen advice or disability rights 

Cress

Just another thought..
If your gp hasn't been helpful you could self refer to Mind who may then be able to help.
I feel I should put a disclaimer on anything I post stating I generally have no clue so feel free to ignore...lol
Good luck

Lisatho11987777

An advocate is someone who can speak on your behalf you can ask anyone to advocate for you in wales they give you a list of advocates that can help you and you choose yourself don't know realy how it works in England  but online advocay is a good start they could probably find you a local advocate 

If you have a family member or a person you can trust they can also advocate for you to get across to people what help you need and require 

Do you have any voluntary services in your area ?? They maybe can help 

Jamesd49

@MarkN88

Yes I have,  but they refused to accept any complaints. So not much I can do