The Rowan Organisation (Hillingdon)

About this provider

The Rowan Organisation is a user led organisation (ULO), registered charity and Company Limited by Guarantee which provides support to disabled people, families and children, older people, carers and people with health needs from birth to end of life in order to maximise their opportunity for independence. We have developed a range of services to support the use of Personal Budgets, Direct Payments, Personal Health Budgets and any other funds that may be available to service users. We offer a free initial consultation which provides the opportunity for each person to select the elements of support which they consider to be essential for them to make effective use of the funds available to them. This ensures that the support provided is tailored to each individual’s circumstances but in addition at all stages our staff will support them to develop the skills and knowledge that will enable them to act more independently in the future.

The services we provide include:

• Direct Payment /Personal Budget/Personal Health Budget Support
• Support Planning
• Brokerage
• Payroll Services
• Managed Accounts (3rd Party Accounts)
• Pre-Paid Cards
• Information and Advice Line
• Recruitment Line for the recruitment of Personal Assistants (PA’s)
• DBS Vetting Agency
• Training

The Rowan Organisation has been involved in delivering Direct Payments Support since DP’s were introduced in 1997. The majority of the schemes that we operate have been made available to all potential user groups as they were made eligible by subsequent legislation. Prior to 1997 we had been providing a Third-Party Payment Scheme in Warwickshire since the early 1990s and as such have over thirty years’ experience of supporting people to use funds provided by the Local Authority.

More recently we have been supporting the development of Personal Budget Schemes in a number of the areas in which we work, this includes Personal Health Budgets for CCGs and NHS trusts. These services include support planning, brokerage roles and the development of local resource directories which ensure that customers are fully informed about the resources that are available to them. In particular we have been approached to provide managed accounts for people who are transferring onto “Continuing Health Care” (CHC) funding, so that they can continue to employ their own staff through CHC funding, this is an essential factor for increasing choice and control.

We have developed a number of Direct Payments Support Services which have been targeted at specific user groups; in particular this has included support for groups that were under-represented in the take up of Direct Payments. This includes support to people with learning difficulties and people with mental ill-health which has included the use of advanced directives for people with fluctuating conditions, so that they can still retain control of decisions that affect them even when they no longer have the capacity to make those decisions.

If a Personal Assistant has already been identified, we can provide efficient remote support to ensure that the responsibilities of being an employer are met.

This will include:
• Support with drawing up job-descriptions and person specifications
• Advice on purchasing Employer’s Liability Insurance
• Support with Contracts of Employment
• Advice on setting up a Payroll Service and pension responsibilities
• Advice on rates of pay and other associated costs
• Advice on a contingency plan to cover disruption of normal arrangements
• Access to sample documentation and guidelines