Need some advice on how to get the right carers for my sister who has Down’s syndrome. We are having quite a few problems with the care that she is receiving in supportive living which we arent getting anywhere with the constant meetings. When we feel it’s going well we then have a set back! Does anyone have any ideas??
Dear Franky, Your experience with your sister’s care sounds very frustrating. I work for Mencap’s information and advice team and family members often say the same - that they have to attend a lot of meetings but find it hard to achieve the changes that their family member needs. You say you are looking for advice on getting the right carers for your sister. The Voluntary Organisations Disability Group have recently published a resource called Top 10 Tips When Choosing a Support Provider, which I thought you might find useful: https://www.vodg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017-VODG-Top-10-tips-when-choosing-a-support-provider.pdf. You will know that sometimes people choose to employ care workers directly by using Direct Payments (see: https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/social-care/care-and-support-planning). There is a toolkit for people wanting to do this here: http://www.employingpersonalassistants.co.uk/. If things don’t change for your sister, you might also find our tips on challenging social care decisions useful: https://www.mencap.org.uk/advice-and-support/social-care/challenging-decisions. I do hope that things go better for your sister. Best wishes, Miriam
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