Chandlers Ford, Hampshire, UK -- Two disabled people from Islington, Steve Harrison and Valerie Garnham, who have been in receipt of Direct Payments will have this service replaced by inferior, and far more expensive, agency care funded by the NHS. This is all because a change in the law means people can no longer be funded by the NHS and social services, only one or the other, and the NHS cannot legally provided Direct Payments.
"It is very rare for me to lose my head...but this time its war!" says Hampshire born social care veteran George Baker, "My family and I spent years, literally years, fighting to get the Direct Payments I need to live independently and it works great! Now however, it looks like, at the time of my next review, they might get taken away and replaced with agency care funded by the NHS. Why I hear you ask, change something that isn't broke, far from it in fact? Well, for no other reason than an arbitrary and ill thought out change in the law of course, why else would they bother?!"
George even goes as far as to say "I'll tell you something now, it is beyond me how most of the decisions in the NHS and health and social care sector are made and sometimes it even makes me think: You know what - screw the NHS, it's inefficient, ineffective and insanely expensive...let's just have nationwide private healthcare instead...at least then the private businesses might compete with each other and give us more value for money!"
The cost of agency care is often 3 times that of Direct Payments, leading George to remark "I would have thought that even the most heartless and ruthless government would have winced at the prospect of paying 3 times the cost for an inferior service, apparently not! And we aren't talking small numbers here; we are talking 'MEGA BUCKS'! It can cost 10s of thousands of pounds to fund a high maintenance Direct Payments package, so think how much a comparable service would cost from an agency! Moreover, think about how much you pay in tax every year, in the case of a lot of people, their yearly tax contributions might not cover a 5th of the cost of a big Direct Payments package, let alone an agency one!"
He continues "There is already a bill before parliament, which is the result of a widely accredited report by Lord Darzi, which would legalise the use of Direct Payments by the NHS. Unfortunately, assuming the bill is even passed, it is unlikely NHS 'personal health budgets' as they are called, will be rolled out nationally before 2012, meaning we may well have to deal with this rubbish situation for at least 3 years. In my view, if they were used correctly, NHS 'personal health budgets' could be used to great effect and could not only save a huge amount of money, but also pave the way for new and innovative home treatment of people who would otherwise occupy an extremely expensive and much sought after hospital bed."
To help disabled people and their carers get the health and social care they need, George Baker, an 18 year old university student from Hampshire, has written the comprehensive, insider's guide to the UK's Health and Social Care System. Entitled 'The Complete Insider's Guide to British Health and Social Care: How to Secure the Perfect Care Package!', this unique book explains, from start to finish, the process of obtaining the help ill and vulnerable people are entitled to receive, something which has never been done before. George was recently interviewed on a BBC radio station about his book and experiences getting care. He is available for interview, articles and the right speaking engagements. A copy of the book is available for review on request. For free info on getting health and social care, visit George's blog at www.howtogetcare.com/
