Working with Professionals

This page is dedicated to professionals that Wiltshire CIL works with within Wiltshire Council, and other professional organisations.

Information on Wiltshire CIL and Direct Payments for Wiltshire Council Staff

Guide to Support Planning for Wiltshire Council Staff 

We have regular sessions where we can introduce new Wiltshire Council social care staff to our services and explain how we work.  These take place at our offices in Devizes.  If you would like to book a session please email Mary.

Wiltshire CIL run a support and advice service for people using a direct payment to fund their care, including My Life My Choice – a support planning and community connections service and advisory support.

Wiltshire CIL DOES:

  • Encourage people to self-manage their direct payment with the help online; office resources and their peers.
  • Provide access to a banking service and payroll service.
  • Support and advise recipient on all aspects of having a DP including setting up a budget and all aspects of employing a PA or using an agency.
  • Respond to ongoing questions and queries from DP recipients, social workers, nominated or authorised persons.

Wiltshire CIL DOESN’T:

  • Manage the Direct Payment
  • Review the Direct Payment
  • Make payments/assess contributions

Click here to view the Process Map for the Social Care Team and Wiltshire CIL

What we do for Professionals
In addition to working informally with professionals within Wiltshire Council, the Voluntary Sector,the NHS in Wiltshire and beyond to assist Independent Living, this section describes a number of formal ways we have established to work with professionals.

Training
Wiltshire CIL offer a training and consultancy package, enabling other organisations such as GP surgeries, local community champions and care agencies to adopt an asset based, person centred approach in their work.

Initial 1 day training session
Sessions can be tailored, but can include:

  • What is Asset Based Community Development and how can we apply it to the people and communities we work with?
  • What is wellbeing?
  • Establishing rapport for rich conversations
  • Understanding outcomes
  • Using the Wilts CIL support plan and structured conversation guide
  • What does dignity really mean for a disabled person?
  • What do we do about risk?

Sessions are lively and interactive, with stories to illustrate how this approach can work and opportunities to apply the techniques taught through practical sessions.

Supporting materials include:
My Life My Choice (MLMC) toolkit: Support plan and structured conversation guide.
MLMC bank of ideas – containing examples of support plans and ways in which people have identified and used their assets.
Make Someone Welcome contacts: this includes a database of the groups who have signed up to the campaign and an idea of any training and support that groups have received.

Facilitators: We have trained and experienced facilitators, two of whom are disabled people.

We are happy to discuss your needs and offer a bespoke package to include 1:1 support, i.e. shadowing support planning visits.

Social Work Student Placements
Wiltshire CIL offer students studying for a Social Work degree the opportunity to work on a one-to-one basis with Direct Payment recipients to assist them to plan their support effectively.  It is a unique opportunity to work with service users after their assessment, to utilise resources in a community, as well as spend their allocated budget.

Formal Research
Evaluations and reports on issues relevant to disabled people and carers.

Linking with those working nationally in the areas of Personalisation and Self Directed Support
Wiltshire CIL continues to develop a number of innovative projects in relation to supporting people choosing to use Direct Payments to purchase their own support.  This is of interest to national organisations such as the King’s Fund, Skills for Care, Disability Rights UK, the National Centre for Welfare Reform and Think Local Act Personal.  We continue to develop links with these organisations to learn of Good Practice elsewhere.

We have a monthly e-bulletin showcasing our new way of working.  If you want to sign up please email Mary.