Explanation of terms

Here you will find explanations for a range of terms relating to care services.

Approved provider

Many services that provide care in your own home are Kent County Council approved providers.

An approved provider is regarded by Kent Families & Social Care (Adults) to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and providing services to Kent County Council sponsored clients at or below our our ceiling price of £12.36 per hour.

Domiciliary care services may be awarded approved provider status but do not necessarily have a contract with us. This is because despite the fact that they meet our requirements our contracted providers ensure enough provision. An approved provider may be used in cases where the contracted provider is unable to provider the service.

 

Care home

A home that offers 24 hour care including personal care.

 

Care home with nursing

As above, but includes some care that must be delivered or supervised by a qualified nurse. The nursing care element is assessed and paid for by the Health Authority.

 

Care in your own home

Personal care and/or support given by a care worker in your home.

 

Case manager

The person who assesses needs, arranges care and reviews care services for people.

 

Care Quality Commission (CQC)

The organisation which is established by statute and who regulates registered providers of care services that involve personal care.

 

Contracted care service

Many care homes, providers of care in your own home and voluntary organisations in Kent have a contract with Kent County Council. A contracted service means that the care provider agrees to work with us under specified terms and conditions.

The majority of care homes for older people that have a contract with us are our preferred providers. A preferred provider is regarded by us to have a combination of service standards and price that represent best value.

Many care homes for people with a disability have a contract with us which enables them to accept those people who are supported by us.

For further information on, for example, the types of disability the care home caters for, please ask your case manager to access the list of care homes for people with a disability.

Many care homes for people with mental health problems have a contract with us which enables them to accept those people who are supported by us.

Providers of care in your own home may be awarded approved provider status, but may not necessarily have a contract.  Approved provider status means that the service meets KCC’s requirements, but there is not enough demand to award everyone a contract. We advise that visiting a few homes is the best way to find one where you will feel happy and you will get the help you need.  So do try and visit some homes and do ask questions about the things that matter to you.

Services provided directly by us will not show as a contracted provider, as we cannot contract with ourselves! However, these are considered to be preferred or approved providers as appropriate.

Many voluntary organisations offering a variety of services have a form of contract with KCC which enables them to accept service users who are supported by KCC.

 

Direct Payment

The money that service users and carers who are eligible get from Kent County Council to arrange services for themselves to meet their social care needs instead of us arranging services for them.

 

Eligibility criteria

The eligibility criteria are the rules that Kent Adult Services uses to make decisions about who qualifies for help.

 

Preferred provider

Many homes for older people with a contract with Kent Families & Social Care (Adults) are our preferred providers. A preferred provider is regarded by FSC (Adults) to have a combination of service standards and price that represent the best value.

To reach this decision we firstly focus on price. Secondly, we carry out an evaluation visit to the home in order to determine compliance with our quality standards. If both quality and price are satisfactory, the home is regarded as a preferred provider and able to receive referrals from us.

 

Third party top-up

An amount of money usually paid by a friend or family member to make up the difference between what KCC pay and the contract price the home requires. This only applies when people are placed in care homes or care homes with nursing, for older people.

 

Voluntary organisations

A not for profit organisation, often a charity, that provides a service for the benefit of the people of Kent. Voluntary organisations receive some funding from us.