Who can help me with my care needs?

Personal assistants (PA)

Many people use their direct payment to obtain help from a PA. Finding the right people for you is the secret of success, but can be the hardest part.

There are many ways that people have successfully found PAs:

• Via Glos Assistance website
• Job Centre advert
• Advertising in a local paper
• Local church advert
• Noticeboard in local University or College
• Local sports club (if you have a particular interest)
• Word of mouth/recommendation

Tip: Interview as many people as possible to get the right ‘fit’ (some people prefer to do this away from their house) and be clear about what you want the PA to do for you.

Self-employed or employed PAs

If the PA you find is self-employed, they will simply give you an invoice for payment for the hours they have worked.

If the PA you find is not self-employed, you or the person managing the direct payment will need to become their employer. This may sound complicated but you will be given lots of support – you will not be on your own.

We will pay for someone to give you employment advice and run payroll. You will need to ensure that timesheets are completed and sent to the Support Provider in a timely manner, and the direct payments team are only a call or click away if you need our help.

If you are not using a Personal Assistant you can still have a Direct Payment. You will need to talk to us about your needs.

For more information please ask your Social Worker or Social Care Practitioner to pass your details to the direct payment team and we would be delighted go through things in more detail with you.