My Support, My Choice – major report on people’s experiences of Self-directed Support. (October 2020)
Research published by the ALLIANCE and partners Self Directed Support Scotland (SDSS) found that the majority of participants accessing SDS in Scotland believe that it had improved their social care experience.
“My Support, My Choice” (MSMC), a project funded by the Scottish Government, includes vital evidence, analysis and recommendations for improvement to SDS/social care in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on people’s experiences.
MSMC asked people questions about how they got information about SDS, how much choice and control they had over their social care, communication and relationships with social work, care staff recruitment, training and quality, and their access to independent advocacy, advice and support.
Between November 2018 and February 2020, we heard about the experiences of 637 people via a survey, interviews and focus groups.
The report makes several recommendations, many of which echo other independent reviews of SDS, including:
Targeted work is needed to ensure all population groups can exercise their right to make a meaningful choice between all four SDS options, particularly women, people with learning disabilities, Black and minority ethnic people, people with experience of homelessness and people living in rural areas.
There is a pressing need for local and national public bodies to improve systematic and robust disaggregated data gathering and intersectional analysis about people who access and apply for SDS/social care.
Action is required to ensure that SDS budget cuts and tightened eligibility criteria do not negatively impact the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people on low incomes who access or are applying for SDS/social care.
Improvement is needed to guarantee short waiting times – for a needs assessment, review, or for support to be put in place – to help people avoid unnecessary stress and anxiety, deterioration in their physical and mental health, and from reaching crisis point (with the potential for more serious and expensive intervention later on.)
People value and use independent advocacy, advice and support organisations, and these services need sustainable resources to continue their important role.
This main MSMC report is part of a suite of MSMC reports. In the coming weeks thematic reports will be published exploring the experiences of people with learning disabilities, Black and minority ethnic people, people with lived experience of mental health problems, blind and partially sighted people, and women as users of SDS.
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