I haven’t written for a while so I’m sorry for the huge gap of nothing.
I had hoped Jude would be moved by now, but that isn’t the case. In fact, we are no further forward than we were three to four months ago when the request was first submitted.
I don’t think I’d mentioned the fact he’s moving again until now. However, there’s a lot of complexities around the situation and because Jude is still where he is and nothing is sorted yet, I will remain quiet until it’s concluded.
But this has made me think of something I wanted to share with you guys – in case any of you ever feel the same.
The topic is time wasting. Most notably, time wasting from the local authority.
Groundhog Day is a suitable name for how it feels to work with our local authority (LA) in order to get ANYTHING done.
The process seems to go as follows…
We need to have a limitless amount of meetings for this, that and the other. Mostly at the start these meetings are cancelled or postponed multiple times which is hugely frustrating.
Once assessments and reports are completed, the social worker will share your ‘case’ with the social care world via a portal called the ‘framework’.
Basically your ‘case’ will be put on the framework for care providers to look at and potentially put forward their names as potential candidates. The framework is open for an amount of time and once it is closed, the social worker will then scrutinise the offers and share with you the options.
You will have to wait for the ‘framework’ to formally close which is usually 30 days. Though take note – you can argue this down if needs be. We managed to shorten it to a week – though this made no difference after the social work team sat on it for another week, delayed for a second week and then we hit Christmas.
If you can’t decide, or there are bugger all decent options, there needs to be a ‘best interest’ meeting to discuss options (note that this will still be offered even if there are no options!)
Then leadership need to discuss things. Brokerage. Costings negotiations. A rando from ‘senior leadership’ will try to patronise you with a ‘have you heard of the blah blah blah law that we have to follow’. Then if they don’t get what they want, they’ll try to make you start the whole process again.
Isn’t it a joy!
But here are a few tips for anyone dealing with a time wasting local authority.
- Work out why they are time wasting – For us – this happened when Jude initially moved into adult services and we were eventually forced (because of time) to accept a care provider we didn’t want. But surprise surprise it was the one our LA wanted us to ‘accept’.
- Remind them of their statutory and lawful duty of care – Use phrases like “Under the Care Act 2014, the local authority has a duty to…”
- Get things in writing – There comes a point where meetings and verbal communication is no longer good enough. You need to keep a paper trail in case anything goes to court. Local authorities are wary of putting things down on paper as it can be used as evidence. If all the communication is one way, note this down in a timeline as evidence of their lack of action.
- Give strict deadlines – A week can become a month and before you know it, a year has gone by. Email post-meeting action points with deadlines and names of who is responsible for each item.
- Use impactful language – Don’t tell them something is an inconvenience, let them know it’s immoral and unlawful. They can’t shy away from situations they fear are becoming unlawful.
- Escalate – Don’t be afraid to raise complaints, demand someone more senior attend the meeting or even bring in the lawyers.
- Use External pressure – MPs can be useful when you’re at breaking point and no one seems to be listening. Write to your MP or local counsellor for support.
