Thousands of Adult Social Care users in Cumbria will soon be offered the chance to take control of their own individual care budgets.
Cumbria County Council is just one of five councils chosen by the Department of Health to pilot a ground-breaking scheme called Total Transformation, which will give service users more control than ever before over the services they receive.
Over the next two years, the county council's Adult Social Care department aims to offer half of the 12,500 adults it provides or arranges services for, the chance to take control of their own social care budgets, manage their support and choose the services that suit them best.
Under the scheme, people will be much more involved in the assessment of their care needs, clearer about the resources available to meet those needs and at the end of the process, will be given the choice of a package of care managed by Adult Social Care, the opportunity to manage this package themselves or to take a Direct Payment and develop their own solutions.
People who choose to manage their own budget will be able to pick an individually tailored package of council care services, help from independent providers, or a mix of both.
Total Transformation will build and expand upon an existing scheme called In-Control which is already helping people with learning disabilities in Cumbria to manage their own care budgets.
Councillor Oliver Pearson, cabinet responsible for Adult Social Care in Cumbria: "This new scheme will mean that half of all Cumbrians eligible for support to live their daily lives will be offered the chance to manage their own personnel budget over the next two years."
"Giving service users much greater control over their care is at the heart of the county council's vision for social care in Cumbria and we are delighted that our bid to be included in this important national pilot scheme has been accepted by the Department of Health."
"Individual budgets will help people take control of their lives and choose the services that suit them best. This is all about providing people with choice, empowerment and freedom."
ENDS
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