Department of Health Projects
Background
As a registered charity HASCAS is able to apply to the Department of Health (DOH) for funding for specific projects which are in line with the published national priorities for health and social care.
Each year the DOH publishes its priorities and invites voluntary and charitable organisations to submit applications for projects which will assist the successful implementation of the priorities. The Secretary of State for Health, through the Section 64 General Scheme of Grants(S64 of the Health Services and Public Health Act 1968), has power to make grants to voluntary organisations in England whose activities support the Department of Health’s policy priorities. Section 64 grants represent the greatest single source of financial support that the Department provides to the voluntary sector.
Projects
HASCAS has undertaken several projects funded through this source of funding and details of these are given in this section of the website. We have applied for two further projects this year which have passed the first stage of the assessment process and we very much hope that they will be successful when the results are announced in January 2008.
These two projects are about:
- Improving the care older people receive in residential health and social care settings. The description used in the Section 64 Application states that it “ will be an action orientated training programme, designed to deliver change at the front line of care delivery to vulnerable client groups in a variety of care settings from domiciliary care to high dependency units. The project plans to use tried and tested delivery methods with established core skills and competencies to ensure maximum value for money to avoid reinventing the wheel.”
- Increasing the numbers of service users being offered and using Direct Payments/Individual Budgets by developing a set of outcomes agreed by service users and producing an audit tool for local authorities to understand the costs and benefits of Direct Payments and its effect upon the local social care market. The description in the Section 64 Application states that the project will “develop a tool to measure the outcomes of Direct Payments for users and methods to help them and LA staff assisting them to maximise flexibility and choice. A model will be created to help LAs understand the costs/benefits of devolving budgets to clients, and to take account of the potential for destabilisation of the local social care market. The key aim is to help Las increase Direct Payments.
