Fair and Affordable Care Policy Consultation - Easy Read

About this survey

Bristol City Council supports local adults to live independently.


But we also have to be careful with how much money we spend, because everything costs more than it used to.


This booklet is called the Fair and Affordable Care Policy.


It explains how we will support people in a way that:

• Is fair

• Does not cost us more than we can afford.


Please respond to this survey by Monday 30th October.

• Lives in Bristol.

• Is over 18.

• Needs us to support them to live independently.

This includes people who:

• Have not had support before, and are getting a new assessment.


Assessments are where we see if someone needs us to support them to live independently.

If the assessment says that you need support, then we have to give you that support.


• Have had support before.


• Get direct payments - this is money from the council that lets you choose and pay for your own care.


This information affects young people who are moving from children's services to adults’ services.

This information does not affect people who get services from NHS Continuing Health Care.

This is care and support that is paid for by the NHS.

What we will do

Assessments

To get this care and support, the person must:

• Have a physical or mental impairment - this means they have a disability or an illness they have had for a long time.

• Not be able to do some daily tasks, like washing, dressing or looking after their home.


• Not be happy or healthy, because they cannot do these daily tasks.


We will help people think about:

• What they can do for themselves.


• The support they can get from their friends and family.


• The support they can get in their local area.


We will try to agree with you what support you will get.

Often, the best way to care for someone is to support them to live at home.


If you want to stay at home, we will try to help you to do this, like by:

• Giving you a direct payment to pay for a personal assistant.

A personal assistant is a person who comes to your home and supports you to do daily tasks.

• Giving you equipment that means you do not need as many carers, like equipment to help you pull yourself up.

• Giving you technology that means you do not need carers to visit as often.

Technology is gadgets and equipment that help people.


But it might cost a lot more for you to get support in your home, than in a care home.


If that happens, we will need to look at other ways of supporting you, like:

• Care homes.

• Supported living - this is where you live in a place that also provides support.

We will look at what is right for each person.


We must show that the service we provide:

• Meets people's needs.


• Gives people their rights. These are things that every person should have by law. Like the right to be safe and the right to be respected.

If you do not agree

If you do not agree with what we decide, you can ask us to change our decision.


You can do this by making a complaint.


If you do not agree with how we want to help and support you, we can give you a direct payment.


You can use this to choose and pay for your own care.


You can also use your own money, added to the direct payment, to pay for more expensive services.

We call this a 'top-up'.

Being fair

It is very important that we are fair to everyone.


We will check these rules at least once a year, to make sure we are being fair.


When we do this, we will talk to people who are affected by these rules.

What do you think?

We want to know what you think of this information.


This will help us make sure that it is right for the people of Bristol.