What happens at a care assessment
After the initial assessment
Once you've completed your initial assessment, we can let you know if you need further help or not.
If the person seeking support does need help, we will refer them to our PRIME enablement service.
The service offers short-term support to help people regain their confidence and independence. It can also help them gain new day-to-day skills for living.
If you need a more complex assessment, we will find a person with an appropriate level of knowledge and skills to work with you. This is usually someone like a social worker.
We aim to complete the assessment of need within 28 days.
If you disagree with the assessor's decision
If you disagree, you can ask the assessor to explain their decision again so you are clear about the reasons for it. You can also ask them to call again when you have someone there to support you. If you still don't agree, you can ask us to reconsider our decision.
If you're not satisfied with the outcome or our service, you can make a complaint or ask for a second opinion.
Help and advice
You're also entitled to help from an independent advocate if you:
have difficulty participating in the assessment
have difficulty with other parts of the process
don't already have someone who can act as an advocate for you
If we realise that this may be the case, it's our duty to arrange an independent advocate who can act on your behalf.
After the care assessment
At first, our assessor will work with you to create a care and support plan. This will include all your needs and things you want to achieve.
These are often called outcomes.
For each outcome, it will show the things you will arrange yourself and the things you'll ask someone to do for you. It will also list any money, services or equipment we have agreed to provide for you.
We will send you and the organisation or person helping you a copy (with your permission).
Paying for care
If you qualify for support we will conduct a financial assessment to decide whether you have enough money to pay towards your care.
How much you pay depends on your income and outgoings. We also look at the amount of savings you have.
If you have more than £23,250 in savings and capital, you will have to pay the full cost of any support you need. You can still ask for an assessment of your care needs but you will not qualify for any funded support from us.
If your savings and capital drop below £23,250, then we would expect you to pay a contribution for your services.
You can find out more on our paying for care pages, including information on financial assessments, budgets and extra support.
Contact Adult Social Care
There are many ways to contact the adult social care team, both online and over the phone.
We encourage people who can contact us online to do so, as it helps to free up phone lines for emergencies or for those who don't have access to or the skills to use computers.