My partner gets a direct payment and needs support getting out of the house and into the community. He has been assessed for needing support to get out and about. He has a very important hospital appointment coming up soon for a biopsy, and he needs at least one PA to attend to assist him with his wheelchair transfers and also with communicating with the staff. We’ve been told by his social worker that we cannot use his direct payment to pay for this kind of support and if he needs help to attend health appointments, we have to get funding from the NHS. Is this true?

Yes. The distinction is between getting ready to go to a hospital appointment, which is social care, and getting TO and being supported at the hospital appointment which is not. There is case law to support that distinction being drawn.

The council is unlikely to know where the justification for that line is, though, so we would advise that you ask for them to put the reasons for the decision in writing, so that you can take legal advice, and to address the fact that you have no means or time to get that support out of what is supposed to be an integrated system, instead of helping you to secure it for your partner.