Independent living at home
Ensuring that older adults and people with disabilities can live independently in their own homes is a fundamental aspect of effective adult social care.
2023 marked forty years of independent living in Hampshire. An opportunity to celebrate and a timely reminder of the need to continue to pursue opportunities to strengthen people's independence, choice and control.
Helping people to stay living at home by ...
making sure carers have access to the support they need.
Anyone can find themselves in a caring role at some point in their life – whether as a young carer or in older age. A carer is simply someone who supports and/or cares for a relative, friend or neighbour, who is living with a disability, long-term illness or has additional daily support needs.
Our aim is to work in partnership with carers to establish and coordinate easily accessible support across Hampshire:
- Identifying those who help or support family, friends or neighbours
- Giving carers timely access to information and help offered in local communities, by health and social care services, charities and government organisations
- Assisting carers to incorporate their caring role into a healthy and fulfilling life
We will continue to measure our success through the impact changes have on carers' experiences. Steps we have already taken include:
- introduced better systems for recording interactions with carers
- training staff in how to involve carers in planning support for their loved ones
- worked with carers to commission a countywide Carers Support Service due to launch in autumn 2024
Are you helping someone? If so, you could be a carer and have access to support to help you in your caring role. Connect to Support Hampshire – information and advice for carers.
The Conference shone a light on the hard work that has gone on over the past 40 years to create the Direct Payment Scheme, the Personal Assistants in Care market and how some disabled people live side-by-side with their local communities contributing and integrating.
Independent Living continues to increase integration, choice and control of disabled people. The Conference plotted the story so far and also began to look at the future and how Independent Living could be improved. The challenging financial position for local authorities and the cost of living crisis threaten to undermine the work of the last 40 years and it is our shared responsibility to ensure this doesn't happen.
Find out more about the Hampshire Personalisation Expert Panel.
Helping people maintain their independence ...
giving you money and providing advice so you can arrange your own care and support.
Direct Payments
Direct Payments are designed to put people in control of their own lifestyle by paying them money so they can arrange care services, or buy equipment for themselves, if they have been assessed as eligible for them.
In response to feedback, we've brought our direct payments support service in-house which means we have more control over how it is developed to benefit residents in the future. Working in co-production through the Direct Payments Framework Board, co-Chaired by a resident with lived experience of direct payments, guidance and resources have been strengthened.
Recipients of direct payments are now able to monitor and manage their account online using the Virtual Wallet platform, which is akin to an online bank account offering residents a secure, practical and efficient means of managing payments directly, or with the support of approved family or carers.
Bethany's story
Bethany used her direct payment to fund her personal assistant in care. She was guided through the process to understand her choices and has successfully hired a personal assistant using The Hampshire PA Finder website . Bethany found the experience positive and empowering and is feeling confident about the future. A personal assistant in care is someone who provides support to individuals with disabilities or older adults, helping them with daily activities such as personal hygiene, meal preparation, and mobility, to enable them to live independently.
Helping people live life to the full by ...
sharing information about technology that helps them to live independently.
Adult Social Care continues to innovate to reduce costs, prevent demand and improve outcomes through the delivery of Technology Enabled Care delivered in partnership with PA Consulting and Argenti Care Technology.
Over the course of this ten-year partnership, 40,000 people have benefited from care technology as part of their social care package, with an additional 4,500 new users in the last year alone.
Hampshire has a network of 46,000 family, friend, and neighbour responders ready to help service users – last year 6,195 emergency calls were received where a responder was called, avoiding the need for emergency services.
Find out more about care technology for you or a loved one.