A charity is voicing concern over cases of vulnerable people having care funding reclaimed after they were unable to spend it as normal due to covid.

The Self-Directed Support (SDS) Collective, which uncovered 16 of these cases after a small online survey, warns the true scale of the problem could be higher.

In one example highlighted by the group, a woman caring for her at-risk husband, received a bill for “just shy of £11,000” after cancelling visits from care staff due to infection fears.

“This couple are now concerned that social services will think they are coping without the regular support and have worries for future assessments,” the Collective says.

“They were offered no support to consider any alternative uses of the SDS budget.”

Some care services were halted during the pandemic, either because of staff shortages or because the care user was worried about infection risk.

As a result some people were unable to use their personal Self-Directed Support (SDS) budget – and the unspent amount is now being “clawed back”.

This is despite guidance from the Scottish government that councils should be more flexible with Self-Directed Support funding during the pandemic.

The policy, which came into effect in 2014, was hailed as a potential game changer but six years on it is still not applied consistently. 

Experts discussing the policy at an online seminar hosted by healthandcare.scot warned the pandemic has served to "massively exacerbate" existing faults.

Problems with payments being clawed back relate to SDS option one, which sees an individual given their own budget they can use to directly manage their own care, and option two, where funding is allocated to an organisation and the person is in charge of how it is spent.

In another experience raised in the report, one mum told how her son’s SDS-funded swimming lessons and football training came to an ‘abrupt end’ when lockdown kicked in.

But a subsequent request to use the unspent budget on home gym equipment was denied by the local authority.

 “Taking away people’s unspent resources, without consultation, at this uncertain time, takes away a lot more than money,” the SDS Collective report states.

“It robs people of their opportunity to make plans for the future and lacks compassion.”

“…The huge extra amount of stress and burden this places on supported people, carers and families, must not be underestimated.”

The group is calling on the Scottish government to ensure that national rules are being followed across the country.

Meanwhile local councils are being asked to be more flexible with the kind of spending that is allowed in current circumstances.

Councillor Stuart Currie, health and social care spokesman for COSLA, which represents local councils, said: “The SDS Collective report sets out concerns in relation to the recovery of funds from people who are in receipt of direct payments. 

“This process to recover accumulated funds would normally be undertaken by Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships and may not be linked to a review of supported people’s care packages.

“COSLA and Scottish government jointly agreed the Covid-19: Guidance on Self-directed Support which sets out flexibilities that can be applied locally to ensure that support can continue to be provided for people throughout this period.”

 

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