Care and support plans in Wales

What is a care and support plan?

The outcome of both a care needs assessment and a carer's assessment is a care and support plan. This states the care and support needs, and also outlines how these needs can be met. For example, it may show that a person with dementia needs prompting and support to eat, and therefore that a care worker should visit the person in their home to help them at mealtimes, or that the person with dementia might wish for this support at a local day centre.

A carer's care and support plan may be slightly different, as it may state things needed specifically for the carer, for example manual handling and lifting training or help with having a break. A carer's assessment may also lead to changes in the care plan of the person they care for, as sometimes a carer's need is best met by providing services to the person they care for. An example would be respite care, such as a 'sitting' service, that allows the carer to have a break. Although it is there to help the carer, it is actually provided to the person with dementia and therefore forms part of their care plan.

If someone is eligible to have their care needs met by the local authority, their care plan will also mention their 'personal budget', and how much they have been allocated to spend on meeting their needs. 

How care and support are arranged

The main ways that care and support, including items and equipment, can be arranged are as follows:

• The local authority provides the support directly.
• The local authority arranges for a care provider, such as a home care agency, to deliver the care.
• The local authority makes a direct payment to the person or their carer to purchase their own care and support.
• There may be a combination of the above.

In the past, local authorities would simply have arranged services for people who were eligible. This is still possible, but nowadays they encourage people to choose and organise their own care through a personal budget. For more information see 'Direct payments' below.

The local authority must provide a person with information about where to get care and support locally. This information is available for anyone, regardless of whether they are funding their own care or not. Local care agencies and charities may also be able to provide this information. Some of these pay for a brokerage scheme to help people find the support they want. The Care and Social Services Inspectorate Wales (CSSIW) lists all registered domiciliary (home) care agencies.

Some services, such as community nursing, are arranged through the GP, either directly or after discussion with social services.

Direct payments

If a person's care is funded by the local authority, they may choose to receive this funding in the form of a direct payment. A direct payment is money that a local authority gives to someone to spend on meeting their own eligible care needs. The money can be spent on a wide range of products and services. Direct payments allow people to make their own choices about their care.

The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 allows people to use direct payments to pay for long-term residential care as well as other services.