| All Wales Strategy |
A strategy developed in the 1980s by the Welsh Office to provide integrated services for people with learning disabilities in Wales. |
| Advocacy |
Helping someone to express their own wishes and preferences. An advocate is someone who supports another person by voicing the views of that person. |
| Assessment |
Process of identifying the health and social care needs of an individual and evaluating their impact so that appropriate action can be planned. |
| Autism |
A condition which is associated with a disposition to behave in ways which suggest that the person finds social interaction difficult. |
| Carer |
A person providing care who is not employed to do so by an agency or organisation. A carer is usually a relative or friend looking after someone at home who is frail or ill; the carer can be of any age. |
| Carer’s Assessment |
A carer’s assessment formally acknowledges the carer’s contribution as a partner in the caring process. It determines the carer’s own support needs, so that they can continue to care. This assessment is carried out by social services. |
| Care Co-ordinator |
Under the Unified assessment process, the care co-ordinator acts as the communication focus for the different professionals involved with an assessment and, most importantly, for the person assessed themselves and their carer. The care co-ordinator should lead the assessment and care planning. |
| Care Manager |
A Social Services worker who has responsibility for assessing need and planning how needs will be met.
See also Care Co-ordinator |
| Care Package |
Services designed to meet a person’s assessed needs as part of the care plan arising from their assessment. Consists of one or more services, which may be residential and/or community-based. |
| Care Plan |
A written statement of the service(s) a person can expect to receive following assessment. Included in the care plan are details about which organisation will provide the service(s), and who to contact if problems arise. |
| Care Planning |
Process based on an assessment of an individual’s needs that determines the level and type of support required to meet those needs and the objectives and potential outcomes to be achieved. Care planning leads to a care plan being written for the individual who should have fully participated in the care planning process. |
| Case Manager |
A professional (e.g. nurse, doctor, social worker) affiliated with a care plan who is responsible for co-ordinating the care of an individual enrolled in a managed care plan.
See also Care Co-ordinator.
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| Commissioning |
Commissioning describes the means by which the local authority and health authority plan, organise and purchase services for people. |
| Community Based Services |
Services provided to support a person living in the community. |
| Community Care |
The provision of services and support to people who are affected by problems such as ageing, mental health, learning disabilities, or physical or sensory disability, and who need such services to be able to live independently in their own homes, or in homely surroundings in the community (including residential and nursing homes).
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| Complex Needs |
A term used by professionals to describe someone who requires the support of a number of professionals / individuals to meet the needs identifi ed in the Care Plan.
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| Day Centre |
Facility, run by social services, health or a voluntary organisation, that provides care, stimulation and activities for people who need support during the day and is thus also a valuable source of respite for carers. |
| Direct Payments |
Direct Payments give recipients the means of controlling their own care at home, giving more choice and fl exibility. They are regular monthly payments from Social Services enabling people to employ their own personal assistants for care, instead of receiving help arranged by Social services. |
| Domiciliary Care |
Services provided to people at home, to assist them in living independently within the community, eg meals on wheels, community nursing, and home help. |
| Domiciliary Service |
Services provided for people in their own homes. They include home care and the services of health workers (e.g. physiotherapists who treat people in their own home). |
| Educational Psychologist (EP) |
An educational psychologist is a qualified teacher who has additional training as a psychologist. Educational psychologists help children who fi nd it diffi cult to learn or to understand or communicate with others. They can assess a child’s development and provide support and advice. |
| Generic |
The grouping of types of people under one heading e.g. disability, age etc. |
| Health Visitor |
Someone who specialises in the care of babies and young children at home. They are based at your GPs surgery and can offer advice, training and a sympathetic ear. They can also help you arrange to get a whole range of other services that might be needed. |
| Home Care |
Care that is provided to someone in their own home. Also known as domiciliary care. |
| Independent Living Fund |
A government agency set up in 1988 to administer funds to support people with severe disabilities living in the community. |
| Keyworker |
Person responsible for co-ordinating the care plan of an individual receiving social care, for monitoring their progress, and for staying in regular contact with the agencies and individuals involved.
See Care Co-ordinator. |
| Learning Disability |
A term describing people who have considerable barriers to learning and who therefore may fi nd activities that involve thinking and understanding difficult. They may need help and support with their everyday lives and education. Some people with a learning disability may also have an additional impairment such as sensory impairment or a physical disability. |
| Multi-disciplinary |
Referring to a team made up of professionals from different specialisms, typically including Doctors, Nurses, Psychologists, Social Workers and Occupational Therapists. |
| Ombudsman |
A representative of a public agency or a private non-profit organization who investigates and resolves complaints made by or on behalf of individuals. |
| Occupational Therapist (OT) |
They visit the person you care for and can advise on and provide special equipment to help with daily life, for example help with the bath, toilet or the stairs. They can teach you the best and easiest way to do things and how to use the equipment they provide. |
| Physiotherapist (Pysio) |
They visit at home and help disabled or ill people with special exercises either to improve things or at least stop something getting worse. Sometimes they assist with special breathing techniques and can advise on special care that is sometimes needed. |
| Primary Care |
Health Care provided to people in the community to maintain their well-being and/or to deal with problems which might otherwise require more intensive intervention eg GP’s. |
| Providers |
Any person, group of people or organisation supplying a community care service. Providers may be in either statutory or non-statutory sector services. |
| Purchaser |
See Commissioning. |
| Referral |
A request for help from someone in need of an assessment, which has usually been written down in brief notes. A referral can also be made by a third party on someone else’s behalf, eg a GP for a patient, or a relative on behalf of a family member. |
| Respite Care |
A range of services that provide a break for an individual and/or their carer. This may take place in the person’s own home, in a day centre or in a setting away from the home. It may be for very short periods of a few hours, or for longer periods. |
| School Nurse |
A school nurse is a medical nurse, based in a school, who provides support for children’s medical needs. |
| Self Advocacy |
Advocating on behalf of oneself, possibly with support. |
| Service Providers |
Organisations of all shapes and sizes which run activities or facilities designed to help people in some way. |
| Service Users |
People who receive health and social care services. They may be individuals who live in their own homes, are staying in care or are being cared for in hospital. |
| Special Needs Health Visitor |
A specialist health visitor has additional training and experience of working with young children with medical problems or disabilities. They can act as a bridge between hospital and community health services in the pre-school years. |
| Speech and Language Therapist |
A speech and language therapist is a health professional specialising in communication development and disorders (and associated eating and swallowing diffi culties). They offer support and advice to parents of children with any type of communication problem. They assess, diagnose and develop programmes of care to help children develop their communication, language and speech, including sign language. |
| Social Services |
Council department which organises social care for vulnerable children and adults.
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| Social Worker |
(also known as a Care Manager/Care Co-ordinator)
Social workers can help people to get the support and services that they need. This can be practical help in your home, benefits money, information about other organisations nearby that could help, a break for you from caring and information about a local carers group. |
| Special Schools |
State schools in England and Wales which are provided by local education authorities for certain children with special educational needs. |
| Statement(ing) of Special Educational Needs |
The process of assessing in England and Wales that a child has special needs which will require special services from the local authority. Introduced in the Education Act 1981 to implement the recommendations of 'Special Educational Needs' (Warnock Report) replacing the previous mechanisms of ascertainment. |
| Supported Accommodation/ Living |
A permanent or temporary home where clients are also provided with general counselling and support by their landlord/lessee or someone acting on their behalf. |
| Supporting People |
New initiative for funding housing for vulnerable people. The system for planning, monitoring and funding all housing related support services. |
| Unified Assessment |
The purpose of Unified Assessment is to develop and integrate the process of health and social care assessment and care provision. It is person centred, avoids duplication and integrates new eligibility criteria. |
| Voluntary Sector |
Organisations, often registered as charities, which operate on a non profi t-making basis, to provide help and support to the group of people they exist to serve. They may be local or national, and they may employ staff, or depend entirely on volunteers. |
| Young Carer |
People under the age of 18 who have to care for someone in their family like a parent, grandparent, brother or sister. |
