Review

A statutory requirement of the Care Act 2014, people in receipt of a Personal Budget and any eligible carer’s are entitled to a review no less than annually, with a ‘light touch’ review taking place 6-8 weeks after any new Care and Support Plan commences, or changes to any existing plan begin.

A review is a method of evaluating how effective the Care and Support Plan has been in supporting the person or carer to meet their Outcomes. It is not a review of the person’s eligible needs or funding. Where a review is requested by the person, family member, carer or provider because there has been a change in the person’s eligible needs this is called a Reassessment.

Reviews should be proportionate to the nature of the support being provided. In some situations a telephone review is appropriate, but in others, it is not.

Example: P has a 15-minute domiciliary care call each morning to support her with a shower. She has no other support need. P has no issues with capacity and is able to have a conversation about her support on the telephone. There are no issues with the support being provided. In this instance, a telephone review may be proportionate.

Example: P has support for 8 hours each day. P has severe learning disabilities and finds verbal communication difficult. P requires the support of an advocate to engage in the review process. In this instance, a review meeting would be proportionate and a telephone review would not be appropriate.

It is a legal requirement of the Care Act that people who have substantial difficulties, or lack capacity to engage in the review process are provided with an opportunity for Advocacy support.

A review can be completed by any suitably skilled person.