Employing a personal assistant (PA)

You could employ your own PA so that you control what, when and how tasks will be done for you and who will carry them out. You may find this helpful as you can get to know your PA well over time.

Mr. A wanted continuity of care with a male carer, with his personal care in the mornings as this was the worst time of day for him. He wanted the same person each time, so they were aware of his care needs and support him ready for work. He hadn’t had good experience with agencies sending in different workers and feeling rushed in the mornings. He now has a direct payment to employ a PA for ten hours a week. He uses a payroll service to calculate wages and tax and has arranged some training using funds from Skills for Care for his new PA.

Here are two videos with Rich and Grace talking about having personal assistants and the difference it makes to them.

Using an agency or day care provider

You may choose to use your direct payment to have support from a care agency of your choice to provide your support, rather than employing a PA. You can ask the agency to provide certain members of staff, although this can't be guaranteed. You can also use it to buy days at a day service provider.

Ms. B has a direct payment to buy 15 hours a week support from a care agency to support her with preparing her meals, shopping and going to the gym. The agency invoices her the cost, and she pays them out of her direct payment bank account and keeps the records. 

Mixed package of support

You could choose to have a mixed package of support that can include some of your support organised by us, for example day care, and the rest you could choose to take as direct payments.

Mr. C and his family wanted an agency to come in to support who had knowledge about dementia. They sourced a specialised dementia service, which wasn't on the department’s list but was still within budget. The family paid for this service out of Mr C's direct payment bank account. Mr. C also attends day care

Other ways of using a direct payment

Everybody’s situations and goals are quite different, and therefore so is their support. Direct payments are a way of being creative and flexible. This can include, for example, equipment, memberships or online group sessions. You can also use a direct payment for respite, such as a break in a care home.

Miss D has a direct payment to pay for the travel expenses of community volunteers to assist her in term time whilst at college. She also uses it to purchase some online mindfulness sessions, as she couldn’t attend her mental health support group due to the Covid lockdown.