Monitoring Urgent or Interim Support and Services (Carers)

1. When to Use this Procedure

This procedure should be used whenever you are monitoring urgent or interim support that has been provided outside of a personal budget. This includes support provided to a carer who is;

1. Waiting for an assessment of need;
2. Waiting for a reassessment of need;
3. Waiting for a review of the Support Plan; or
4. Experiencing a short term change in circumstances.

This procedure should not be used when you are carrying out a statutory review of a Support Plan.

2. The Purpose of Monitoring Urgent and Interim Support

The purpose of monitoring urgent or interim support is to;

1. Ensure that the support is meeting urgent needs as intended;
2. Establish that the urgent support being provided is still appropriate and proportionate to meet urgent needs;
3. Establish the need for continued urgent support;
4. Offer any information and advice to prevent, reduce or delay the need for Support; and
5. Gather any information to support prioritisation for assessment, reassessment or review.

3. Who should be Involved

The monitoring of urgent and interim support should involve;

1. The carer with urgent needs;
2. Anyone else that the carer requests is involved; and
3. With the carer's consent anyone else that you feel needs to be involved.

Monitoring when the carer has substantial difficulty engaging

If a carer has substantial difficulty being involved in monitoring activity you must take all reasonable steps to ensure their involvement.

You must;

1. Ensure that you have provided information in an accessible way, or that the carer has an appropriate person to support them to understand it;
2. Arrange to monitor the urgent support/service in an appropriate format so that it is accessible. This is likely to be face to face, unless the carer's difficulty arises when engaging in face to face communication;
3. Consider whether the carer has an appropriate person to support their involvement and, if not, whether the advocacy duty applies.

4. Monitoring Urgent and Interim Support

When to monitor urgent or interim support

The urgent and interim support should be monitored to the timeframe that was agreed when it was arranged unless there is evidence that this is no longer appropriate or proportionate (for example if the carer's urgent needs or circumstances have changed).

You should use supervision effectively to discuss and agree the need for continued monitoring.

Gathering information and consulting with others

When monitoring urgent support/services you should make effective use of any information that is available about;

1. The effectiveness of the support being provided;
2. The carer's needs or circumstances.

Information could include;

1. Records of contact with the carer or support provider in between formal monitoring activity;
2. Records relating to safeguarding concerns or enquiries.

The method of monitoring urgent or interim support

The method of monitoring urgent or interim support should be proportionate to the nature of the support being provided, and the needs and circumstances of the carer. It could include;

1. Face to face visits to the carer;
2. A meeting involving the carer and the provider of the urgent support;
3. Telephone contact with the carer and the provider of the urgent support;
4. E-mail communication.

The method of monitoring should be agreed with the carer whose urgent needs are being met.

Recording monitoring activity

Any on-going monitoring activity carried out should be clearly recorded. In particular you should record;

1. Whether the urgent support is meeting urgent needs as intended;
2. Whether there have been any issues with the urgent support;
3. Whether the carer still has an urgent need for support;
4. What other options have been discussed to meet urgent needs (from a strengths based approach);
5. Whether any changes to monitoring activity are required.

Decision-Making

Whenever a decision is made to increase, reduce or continue urgent or interim support you must consider and record;

1. The rationale for any decision made to continue, increase or reduce urgent or interim support/services;
2. How you have given regard to the carer's views and the impact of the decision on their Wellbeing; and
3. Where the urgent support is provided to the person with Care and Support needs, how you have given regard for their views and the impact on their Wellbeing of the decision.

5. Actions and Next Steps

Continuing urgent or interim support/services

If monitoring evidences a continued need for the same urgent or interim support/services you should;

1. Check that funding arrangements are in place;
2. Confirm on-going arrangements with the provider of the urgent support;
3. Notify the financial assessment team (if the carer or cared for person is being charged and support is extended beyond the original timeframe agreed); and
4. Agree future monitoring arrangements.

If funding is not in place to continue the urgent/interim support you should use the urgent and interim support procedure to request additional funding. Click here to access it.

Increasing urgent or interim support/services

If urgent or interim support/services are not meeting needs as intended and there needs to be an increase in support you should refer to the procedure for urgent and interim support, which includes how to decide which support to provide and how to request funding for urgent or interim support. It can be accessed by clicking here.

If funding is agreed you should;

1. Confirm increased arrangements with the provider of the urgent support; or
2. Make arrangements for urgent Support with the provider;
3. Notify the financial assessment service (if support is chargeable and the Local Authority intends to charge); and
4. Agree future monitoring arrangements.

Reducing urgent or interim support/services

If urgent or interim support/services need to be reduced (for example if urgent needs have reduced or a carer is able to meet some needs) you should;

1. Confirm new arrangements with the provider of the urgent support;
2. Notify the financial assessment service (if the carer or cared for person is being charged for the support); and
3. Agree future monitoring arrangements.

Changing the provider of urgent or interim support

If the monitoring conversation identifies that the current provider of urgent support is not working as intended you will need to;

1. Explore the issues; and
2. Wherever possible, reach an agreement about how best to resolve them.

This should be done in an open way using a strengths based approach and should involve;

1. The carer with urgent needs;
2. Anyone else that the carer has asked you to involve;
3. Where support is being provided to the cared for person, the cared for person;
4. The person or organisation to which the issue relates (unless the carer has refused consent to do so); and
5. Anyone else that you feel needs to be involved (with the carer's consent).

When a decision has been made to change the provider of formal services you should use the Care Brokerage Procedure to;

1. End the current service; and
2. Arrange a new service.

Ending urgent or interim support (where non-urgent needs exist)

If urgent or interim support/services are no longer required you should;

1. End arrangements with the provider of the urgent support;
2. Notify the financial assessment service (if the carer or cared for person is being charged for the support);
3. Agree future monitoring arrangements; and
4. Explain to the carer what to do if their needs become urgent before any planned Care and Support process begins; or
5. Where urgent support was being provided due to a change in circumstances, explain to the carer what to do if their circumstances change again.

Ending urgent or interim support (where no appearance of need exists)

If the carer's needs have changed to the point where there is no longer any appearance of need they are no longer eligible for Care and Support from the Local Authority.

In this case you should;

1. Agree a date that the urgent support will end;
2. Cancel the urgent service being provided;
3. Provide information and advice about ways to reduce, prevent or delay the development of needs in the future;
4. Where a likely need in the future exists, agree how the carer's situation will be monitored;
5. Notify the financial assessment service (if the carer or the cared for person was being charged for the support);
6. Explain to the carer what to do if they have needs for support in the future; and
7. Close the case.

Click here to access the checklist for closing a case.

Reprioritising review, assessment or reassessment

There is a need to reprioritise the need for assessment, reassessment or review if;

1. The carer's needs have deteriorated or reduced;
2. The carer's situation has deteriorated or improved;
3. The level of risk has increased or decreased (to the person or a carer);
4. The person being cared for is at risk of abuse or neglect.

Where this is the case you must clearly record what has changed and notify your line manager or the person responsible for prioritising allocations.

Consideration should then be given to the need to reprioritise allocation to carry out the required Care and Support function.

Click here to access the procedure for allocating work, including when to allocate work and how to allocate.

The provision of information and advice

The duty to provide good information and advice and to consider ways to prevent, reduce or delay needs for Care and Support applies at all times.

It is vital that you understand your duties in relation to the above. Please use the links below to access further information as required.

Click here to read about the duty to prevent, reduce or delay needs.

Click here to read about the duty to provide good information and advice, including the duty to make sure that information and advice is accessible to the person receiving it.

Click here to access the general information and advice procedures, including access to local and national information and advice resources (general and specialist).

Prevention Services

Under section 2 of the Care Act the Local Authority must take opportunities to provide directly (or provide access to) prevention services whenever these may be of benefit in preventing, reducing or delaying needs for Care and Support.

If, following a review you feel that a prevention service may be an appropriate service for the carer you can use the links below to find out about how to access different services.

Click here to access the Care Technology procedures.

Click here to find out about accessing the Occupational Therapy service.

Click here to access the procedures for Minor Works and low level equipment.