Exploring support for people involved in self-directed care (NToW35)
Background
Following the introduction of direct payments, many people with disabilities are choosing to direct their own support. It is important that these disabled employers are supported so that they can successfully meet their responsibilities as employers in relation to providing adequate training opportunities to their personal assistants.
Knowsley Disability Concern recognised that due to the new ways of working that direct payments have created, there was a need for a fundamental review of the training opportunities available to the personal assistants employed by disabled employers.
Aims/Objectives
The aims of the project were to provide the recipients of direct payments with access to relevant training for their personal assistants. Consultation with the recipients of direct payments would determine what training was required, what is already available and where gaps in training provision need to be addressed. The objective was that wherever possible, training would be conducted in-house and would be delivered free of charge to anyone needing it.
What happened?
A survey was sent to 200 disabled employers receiving direct payments within Knowsley. There was a response rate of over 25% with some recipients indicating that their personal assistants did not require further training and others suggesting that their personal assistants would like to receive training.
The survey also gathered information on the types of training that the recipients thought was needed for their personal assistants and this ranged from training in First Aid to training in disability awareness.
Outcomes
Following a review of the completed surveys, Knowsley Disability Concern has created a training manual with a number of courses running in-house. They have also consulted with the local authority to review their training prospectus. Knowsley Disability Concern hoped to be able to make a number of training modules available for personal assistants including specialised training in areas such as dementia and dispensing medication.
Impact on workforce development and how you can use the learning
In order to be effective, the training available needs to be well advertised. The local authority needs to liaise effectively with the recipients of direct payments so that they know what training is available and how to access it. Any training offered needs to be timely and relevant.
Additional materials
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