From “someone mentioned Direct Payments” to something that runs itself.

One thing to hold on to throughout. Oakline helps you navigate and manage this process. Decisions about eligibility, assessed needs and funding are made by your local authority or the relevant NHS body. We do not make them, influence them or hold the funding.

1. 01 You and Oakline

   Tell us about your situation

   A conversation, not an assessment. What support is needed, who it is for, what has happened so far and what is worrying you most. If you have paperwork, it helps; if you have nothing, that is fine too.

   • No forms to complete beforehand
   • No medical details required at this stage
   • We will tell you if the right help is somewhere other than Oakline
2. 02 Oakline explains

   Understand the options available

   We go through the routes that exist: council-funded social care support, NHS-funded arrangements such as a Personal Health Budget, self-funded support, and the different ways support can be arranged once funding is agreed. We include the options that do not involve us.

   • What a Direct Payment is and what it allows
   • Employing a Personal Assistant compared with using a care provider
   • Where the rules vary depending on who is funding
3. 03 Your local authority or NHS body decides

   The relevant authority assesses needs and eligibility

   Your council or the relevant NHS body carries out an assessment and decides whether you are eligible, what your needs are, and what will be funded. This step is entirely theirs. Oakline has no role in the decision and cannot influence it.

   • We can help you prepare and think through what to describe
   • We can explain the terminology used in assessment paperwork
   • We cannot attend as an advocate or appeal on your behalf
4. 04 Oakline explains

   Understand the arrangement that has been approved

   Once a decision has been made, we go through it with you properly: what has been agreed, what the funding covers, the conditions attached, what records you will need to keep and what is expected of you.

   • What the money can and cannot be used for
   • What happens at a review, and when reviews usually happen
   • Which responsibilities become yours
5. 05 Your decision

   Choose how your support is arranged

   Within what your plan allows, you decide the shape of it: employ a Personal Assistant, commission support from a care provider, or combine the two. We set out the trade-offs honestly, including the ones that make our own involvement smaller.

   • Control and flexibility against administrative responsibility
   • What happens when someone is unwell or on holiday
   • What is realistic for the hours and area involved
6. 06 Oakline recruits, you choose

   Recruit and select your support

   Where you are employing someone, we design the role, advertise it, sift applications, arrange interviews and run pre-employment checks. You meet the shortlist and you make the appointment.

   • Your personal details stay out of the advert unless you want otherwise
   • Right-to-work, DBS and reference checks where they apply
   • Trial shifts where appropriate and agreed
7. 07 Ongoing

   Oakline handles the administration and stays available

   Payroll runs, records stay current, training is arranged and kept up to date, and you have a named contact for the questions that come up. When a Personal Assistant leaves, we start recruiting again.

   • Payslips, PAYE, pension duties and holiday calculations
   • Records organised for reviews and audits
   • Replacement recruitment whenever it is needed