Dementia Support Line
Organising care plans and financial support
Once it is decided that someone has needs that make them eligible for support, the health and social care trust HSCT has a duty to provide sufficient support to ensure that these are met.
- Assessment for care and support in Northern Ireland
- Assessments of need for people with dementia in Northern Ireland
- Carer's assessments in Northern Ireland
- You are here: Organising care plans and financial support
- Reviews and complaints
Assessment for care and support Northern Ireland
Care plans for people affected by dementia in Northern Ireland
If the assessment shows the person with dementia has eligible needs, the HSCT must provide sufficient support to ensure that these are met.
The person who carried out the assessment should write a ‘care plan’. This describes which services will be provided. The person with dementia and their carer should be closely involved in the development of the plan.
The care plan should include:
- the needs that have been identified
- the desired outcomes and how they can be met
- a risk assessment
- a plan for dealing with emergency changes
- the result of any financial assessment
- the support that carers are willing and able to provide
- the support to be provided to meet the assessed needs
- the date on which the plan will be reviewed.
A carer’s support plan outlines things that are specifically for the carer, for example, manual lifting and handling training (which could help you to use a hoist) or having a temporary break from caring. The results of your carer’s assessment may also lead to changes in the care plan of the person you care for.
Sometimes, a carer’s need is best met by giving services to the person they care for. An example is respite care, such as a paid carer coming to spend time with the person, which allows the carer to take a break. Although it is there to help the carer, the actual care is given to the person with dementia as part of their care plan.
For more information, see our guidance to Respite care in Northern Ireland.
How care and support is arranged
The main ways the HSCT arrange care and support are:
- giving the support directly
- arranging for a care provider, such as a homecare agency
- making a direct payment to the person or their carer to buy their own care and support.
Care and support can also be arranged as a combination of these options. How this will be arranged is usually discussed in the assessment and should be in the care and support plan.
You can also get information from local care agencies and charities. The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority lists all registered homecare agencies.
Some services, such as community nursing, are arranged through the GP. This can be done directly or after a discussion with your HSCT’s adult services or social services department.
Financial support
If an assessment shows that support is needed, the HSCT looks at how best to put this in place. They will first carry out a financial assessment.
Not everyone will have their care and support paid for by their local HSCT. The trust will carry out a financial assessment to decide on both:
HSCTs can charge for the services they arrange. They usually don’t charge for services provided in a person’s home, but there are some exceptions, such as the following:
When a financial assessment is required, only the person receiving the services will be financially assessed. The HSCT will calculate the cost of the services to be provided, then financially assess the person using the regional charging policy to see how much the person can contribute to this cost. The HSCT must provide a breakdown of how they calculated the charge.
If the person with dementia needs to move into a care home, the HSCT will assess the person’s income and savings according to national rules.
If you think the charges are wrong, you may want to get further advice and information. You can make a complaint about the charges by following the HSCT complaints procedure.
For more information, see our guidance to financial assessments in Northern Ireland.
A person with dementia or a carer may choose to receive a direct payment for their care if the HSCT funds this. This is for the person to decide, not the HSCT.
A direct payment is money that the HSCT gives someone to spend on meeting their own eligible care needs. The person can spend the money on a wide range of products and services. Direct payments allow people to make their own choices about their care.
The HSCT must support people managing a direct payment. This could be through voluntary or charitable services. The HSCT must be satisfied that the person is willing and able to manage a direct payment, either alone or with assistance.
The person may consent to receive direct payments but is not able to manage them because they lose the capacity to do so. In this case, the HSCT may continue to make direct payments. This is only if an ‘authorised person’ is prepared to handle them instead.
The authorised person must:
For more information see our guidance to Direct payments in Northern Ireland.