In Wales, we have a regulation which captures choice, aptly named The Care and Support (Choice of Accommodation) (Wales) Regulations 2015. From my experience, and it is anecdotal, no local authority or Local Health Board consider it when commissioning aftercare supported accommodation. The Care and Support (Choice of Accommodation) (Wales) Regulations 2015
Hi thanks for your reply. Thanks for the link/information. I see very little to no evidence that in practice they actually consider ‘choice’ in England either, even when the issue is repeatedly raised and there are domestic violence/trauma concerns or the specific accommodation is unsuitable/not tailored to the persons needs, but they are breaking the law in this respect again and again, this seems to be the case across multiple councils/trusts/ICBs. Again it should really be something that people should be able to rely on the LGSCO deal with. I haven’t seen any decisions on this. I don’t know if anyone else has. Statements that only one provider in one specific area can be used because the council has a pre-existing contract with them and no other reason (i.e. the persons actual needs/providers limitations aren’t a factor in this), seem to be quite common. The workers deciding whether these things are even initially considered, don’t seem to have any idea what the law is in this respect or many others. I don’t know if anyone has done freedom of information requests on the internal guidance for the council and Trust/CMHT/ICB workers are given in carrying out their duties/making decisions or giving advice/information to patients, but it would be interesting to see how it compares to both what the law actually states and also what is done in practice.
What I have done in trying to address the lack of choice so far:
Educate the commissioning teams and Care Coordinators when ‘expressions of interest’ are submitted and there are replies from various providers. Where there are multiple providers, then I think choice comes into play.
Educate my colleagues, especially where patients have expressed unhappiness with what’s been offered, unfortunately my colleagues are reluctant to pursue, even where there is a choice.
I have recorded the lack of choice in my Social Circumstances Reports hoping that this issue is raised in MHRT, it is not, nor do the patient’s solicitors show any interest. .