Valuing Medway People
Planning better services for people with learning disabilities in Medway
Choices for people
Click to go to different sections on the page -
1 - Person Centred Planning
Person centred planning (PCP) and approaches was an important part of the government’s
plans in Valuing People (2001) for people with learning disabilities.
Person centred planning is a way of supporting people to work out what they want, the
support they need and helping them get it. It involves continual listening, learning and
actionand helps the person get what they want out of life.
Being 'person centred' or using a 'person centred approach' means making sure that
everything we do is based upon what is important to a person from their own perspective.
Person centred planning discovers and acts on what is important to a person.
Click here to see what happened at our Person Centred Planning Sharing Day
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- Person Centred Planning Wheels.
We have made 3 new person centred planning tools.
Have a look to find one that is right for you:
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2 - Money and Direct Payments
MONEY 
Everyone needs money. Some people with learning disabilities have jobs and get their money that way. But others need money from the Government, called ‘benefits’ to pay for the things they need.
Benefits
Benefits can be very hard to understand so it’s best to get someone to help you. There is some useful information at the Department of Work and Pensions website.
You can also contact your local Benefits Agency office. It is at Crown House, Brook, Chatham ME4 4LQ. The telephone number is 01634 810200.
Direct Payments
If you need someone to help to care for you at home the Council may be able to arrange the care you need. You might be able to use Medway Council’s Direct Payments Scheme, which gives you money so that you can arrange and pay for your own care or even employ someone yourself to help you. Direct Payments let you arrange the care that you want and put you more in control of how you live your life.
Your Care Manager will tell you more about this or you can look at the Council’s website.
You can find an Easy Guide to Direct Payments by clicking here.
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3 - Individual Budgets
What is an individual budget?
Individual budgets put people in the centre of planning their own services, recognising that they are the person best placed to understand their own needs and how to meet them.
Individual budgets put the person who is supported in control of deciding what support or services they get.
People who want an individual budget can have support to help them organise it, from a broker, advocate, friend or family member.
- Let people know how much money there is for their support.
- Make assessment quicker and easier and mean people have to give out information fewer times.
- Bring together different kinds of support or funding from more than one agency letting people use the money in a way that best suits their own needs and situation.
- Allow people to keep the services they already have and add more, using Direct Payments.
Click here to go to a website about individual budgets
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Everyone needs money. Some people with learning disabilities have jobs and get their money that way. But others need money from the Government, called ‘benefits’ to pay for the things they need.
Benefits
Benefits can be very hard to understand so it’s best to get someone to help you. There is some useful information at the Department of Work and Pensions website.
You can also contact your local Benefits Agency office. It is at Crown House, Brook, Chatham ME4 4LQ. The telephone number is 01634 810200.
Direct Payments
If you need someone to help to care for you at home the Council may be able to arrange the care you need. You might be able to use Medway Council’s Direct Payments Scheme, which gives you money so that you can arrange and pay for your own care or even employ someone yourself to help you. Direct Payments let you arrange the care that you want and put you more in control of how you live your life.
Your Care Manager will tell you more about this or you can look at the Council’s website.
You can find an Easy Guide to Direct Payments by clicking here.