09 December 2009 – Disabled people to get right to control services
Jonathan Shaw, Minister for Disabled People, said:
From late 2010, the Right to Control will be tested in around eight local authorities in England.
To read the government’s response to the Right to Control consultation, visit
www.odi.gov.uk/right-to-control
The funding streams included in the Right to Control test areas are:
- Access to Work
- Work Choice
- Independent Living Fund
- Non-statutory housing related support (also known as Supporting People)
- Disabled Facilities Grant
- Adult Community Care will also be joined up in the test areas. This funding could be used for help within the home or to provide equipment.
Disabled people taking part in the Right to Control trailblazers will have a legal right to:
- be told how much support they are eligible to receive
- decide and agree, with the public body, the outcomes they want to achieve, based on the objectives of the funding streams they access
- have choice and control over the support they receive and
- be able to choose how they receive the support.
Local authorities can apply to become a Right to Control Trailblazer from today, where the scheme will be tested. A ‘Prospectus for potential Trailblazers’ is available from the Office for Disability Issues’ (ODI) website: www.odi.gov.uk/working/information-la.php
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Carers, patients and clinicians in Scotland are to give the GMC their views on new guidelines for doctors treating patients at the end of their life.
We want to encourage everyone to give the GMC their views on this difficult subject which most of us will have to face at some point in our lives, whether as a patient, carer or health professional.
Carers, patients and clinicians in Scotland are to give the General Medical Council (GMC) their views on new guidelines for doctors treating patients at the end of their life.
The GMC is holding a series of events across Scotland next week as part of a UK wide roadshow to ensure that everyone from doctors to community groups has a chance to have their say on the GMC's draft guidance, End of life treatment and care: good practice in decision making before it is issued to Scotland's 19,500 doctors next year.
The events taking place in Inverness, Edinburgh and Glasgow will bring together patient and faith groups, nursing staff, doctors, academics and medical students. Topics for debate include:
- providing support to patients, carers and their family
- managing pain and symptoms
- the importance of team working in delivering good quality care
- how medical students learn about care at the end of life
- dealing with advance requests for, and refusals of, treatment
Anyone can have their say on the consultation. Answer questions online at: www.gmc-uk.org/end_of_life_care
Jane O'Brien GMC Assistant Director of Standards and Fitness to Practise said:
"We want to encourage everyone to give the GMC their views on this difficult subject which most of us will have to face at some point in our lives, whether as a patient, carer or health professional. We are holding meetings across the UK to ensure that everyone has a chance to have their say on the guidance.
"Every day, patients and carers all over Scotland face making difficult decisions with their doctors about end of life care. Our guidance supports doctors by setting out the ethical and legal principles that should underpin practice in this area and lets patients know what they can expect from their doctor."
Professor Jim McKillop, Deputy Executive Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Glasgow said:
"The challenges faced every day by patients, their families and doctors around end of life care are complex and emotive. Clear guidance which has been developed after extensive work and wide consultation will help those faced with these difficult decisions to come to an ethical and legal decision which serves the best interests of the individual patient. Medical students will benefit from reflecting on the implications of the guidance for their future clinical practice."
Roy Kilpatrick, Chief Executive HIV Scotland said:
"HIV Scotland welcomes the GMC consultation. Deaths from HIV are thankfully fewer than before, but many of the concerns of patients and carers remain every bit as real. At the very heart of the best care for those going through the terminal stage in an illness is communication and full involvement in decisions. Respect for our wishes when we all come to die is a considerable support for everyone involved and these events, which aim to gain the views of the public in Scotland, are a major step towards good end of life care."
The guidance is expected to come into force in Spring 2010.
The government has unveiled plans to extend direct payments to disabled adults, providing them with more choice and control over the state funding and services they receive.
Disabled people will receive direct payments in areas where currently they are not available by drawing together resources from different funding streams to better meet their needs.
The scheme will be trialled from late next year in eight trailblazer areas, which are yet to be chosen.
Right to control scheme
The plans, contained in Making Choice and Control a Reality for Disabled People, form the government response to the consultation on the right to control scheme.
Funding streams to be included in the pilot areas are Access to Work, Work Choice, the Independent Living Fund, Supporting People and the Disabled Facilities Grant. Community care for adults will also be included.
It means, for example, that a disabled person who needs support from a specialist disability employment programme will be able to decide how this is provided and who carries it out.
Disability living allowance, attendance allowance and employment support allowance will not be included.
Co-locating pilots
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said it would be looking to co-locate right-to-control pilot sites and personal health budget pilots.
Minister for disabled people Jonathan Shaw said: "Disabled people are the experts in their own lives and that is why, through the Welfare Reform Act, we have put this legislation in place. This new scheme could have an impact on every area of disabled people's lives."
The DWP said individuals could choose to continue receiving the services arranged on their behalf or have a combination of the two options.
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