April 15th 2024
Independent ‘one-stop-shop’ launched for adult social care advice
Following research that suggests the majority of us will likely be unpaid carers by the time we hit 50, My Care Consultant has launched a new hub to provide social care advice.
Figures suggest that one in four of us will need care at some point in our lives and that one in two of us are likely to be unpaid carers by the time we turn 50. As a result of such statistics, My Care Consultant – an organisation set up to provide the best care advice possible – have launched ‘My Care Hub’, an independent ‘one-stop-shop’, for adult social care related advice.
Jacqueline Berry, founding director of My Care Consultant
From advanced care planning and decision making, to becoming a family carer and needing formal care, the new hub is designed to help carers and those in need of care to navigate the complexities of the UK adult social care systems, often for the first time.
Arguably, the launch of this new service couldn’t have come at a better time. Research published last month by the Kings Fund found that although vacancy rates in adult social care are falling, they are still held at a whopping 9.9%. This suggests that if people continue to leave the social care sector, those that will become unpaid carers by the time they are 50 will need all the help they can get.
Jacqueline Berry, founding director of My Care Consultant, said: ‘We established My Care Consultant in 2016 as an independent, nationwide care navigator service, and the need for quality care related advice has only increased over time.
‘Consumers are having to navigate the plethora of ever complex rules and processes across the UK care systems, at a time when most are trying to address urgent needs, have no prior experience of doing so and are often in a state of stress and anxiety.
‘My Care Hub will enable us to make the extensive knowledge we have built up over time available to a far greater number of people. It will provide valuable support for advice firms, providing an automatic care referral system which will give their clients 24/7 access to much needed online information and guidance.’
In addition, Sarah Morris-Simpson, retail lending, care and proposition services director at Just Group, claimed that the new hub will be able to better identify additional needs of clients and their family members.
‘Research for our annual Care Report consistently highlights that the vast majority of those accessing the care system find it difficult and stressful to navigate,’ Sarah said. ‘Unpaid carers and those in need of care may represent a significant segment of vulnerable clients within an advice firm’s customer base, with the regulatory onus on the adviser to identify and understand the additional needs of these clients and their family members.’
Sarah added: ‘We are delighted to partner with My Care Consultant to provide this truly valuable resource to advisers, ensuring their clients have easy access to accurate social care information and support in one place, presented in a way that cuts through the confusion and complexity.’
Initially, the new advice platform will only be made available to clients of financial advice firms across the UK, although the organisation haven’t ruled out making it accessible to other companies in future.
Images: Jacqueline Berry and My Care Consultant
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