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Social Services assessments: care
If you find that you, or a relative or friend, need some assistance to live at home, you may be able to get help from Newcastle City Council. If you apply for help, Adult Services at the Council will need to carry out an assessment to identify your needs and how they can best be met. This is known as a Social Services assessment.
Adult Services can provide a range of support services that may help you, including:
- Home care to help you to wash, get dressed, or prepare food;
- Day services, so that you can take a break from home by going to a day centre or club;
- Short breaks, if you might benefit from an overnight stay at a centre for rest and recuperation;
- Meals at Home, which provides meals to your home if you find it difficult to prepare your own food; and
- Equipment and adaptations to your home, which will help you to live independently.
A Social Services assessment can also look at the options available to you if you need permanent 24-hour social care (within a care home), or if you need social and nursing care (within a care home registered to provide nursing care).
What is a Social Services assessment?
A Social Services assessment is sometimes known as a Community Care assessment, a Residential Care assessment, or a Carers assessment. A social worker will talk to you to find out about how you manage from day to day with personal care and household tasks. You can talk about what help your family, friends, district nurse and other people give you, and what extra support you may need.
The assessment is used to answer three questions:
- Do you have needs that result from your disabilities or health problems?
- Are your needs of such a level that you are eligible for social care services from the Council?
- If you are eligible, what will Newcastle City Council do to meet those needs?
The assessment can take place at home, in the social worker's office, or before you are discharged from hospital, whichever suits your circumstances best. If it is necessary to involve other people to establish your needs, your permission will be needed before this can go ahead. You may prefer to have a family member or friend with you during the assessment interview.
If members of your family or friends are helping to care for you on a planned basis for a substantial amount of time per week, they may also qualify for an assessment of their own needs. For further information on this, visit our section on Looking after someone.
Sometimes you might want to say things about your care but find you don't feel comfortable doing this yourself. If so, you can ask for an advocate to help you by contacting Newcastle Advocacy Centre using the details given below. An advocate is independent and does not work for Newcastle City Council.
Applying for a Social Services assessment
You, a relative or a friend can apply for an assessment of your needs by contacting the Adult Social Care Direct Team using the details given below.
People apply for assessments for different reasons. Some examples are listed below:
- You may be at serious risk of harm. If so, you can ask to speak to an emergency duty social worker and a visit should be arranged on the same day that you ask for help.
- You, or someone who cares for you, may be in need of support at home.
- You may be interested in getting equipment to help you to do tasks around the home. If so, the Equipment Direct Service could be involved in your assessment. For further information about equipment to help you with your day to day living, visit our section on Equipment and aids.
You may need to see a specialist, for example an occupational therapist, in order to identify how best Adult Services can help you. Depending on the urgency and the level of your needs, Adult Services will arrange the appointment for you.
Preparing for a Social Services assessment
It is a good idea to think about your needs before the assessment, so that you are ready to discuss them fully with the social worker.
Some people find it helpful to keep a diary for a week before the assessment, recording what they do, how long it takes, and what help they receive, as well as what they would like to be able to do if they had the necessary help. If you decide to do this, take care not to overlook things that don't happen every week. It may also help to talk your needs through with someone that you are close to, such as a relative or friend.
You may be asked to complete a form before the assessment to say what you think you need help with. Adult Services may not be able to offer you assistance with everything you identify, but this process will help to define your needs in a way that you are comfortable with.
What to expect from a Social Services assessment
Adult Services will follow an established procedure in order to carry out your assessment. They will discuss your needs with you to find out which services will best support and assist you.
You can expect the following to happen:
- You will be given a named contact who will co-ordinate your assessment and any services that are provided afterwards. This person will act as your Care Manager.
- You will be asked about your wishes and your needs, and these will be included in any decisions that are made.
- You will receive a full explanation of the criteria used to assess your needs, and you will be able to talk this criteria through with your Care Manager.
- You will be offered advice and information about the range of services available, and about any equipment or adaptations to your home that you may need.
- You will be given information on how to access other agencies or services who could assist you, for example, voluntary agencies or health services.
- If you have someone caring for you, their views will be considered.
- You will be informed of any charges you will have to pay.
- You will be informed of any decisions that will be recorded in your Care Plan.
- You will be told how you can challenge any decisions if you are not happy with them.
Information about you will not be shared with anyone else without your permission. However, there may be some instances where information will need to be disclosed to other parties under Newcastle City Council's established policies and procedures.
For further information, visit the Newcastle City Council website.
The cost of services
Your Social Services assessment, and all of the information and the advice that you are given, will be provided free of charge. Your financial circumstances will be looked at as part of your Social Services assessment. This is known as a financial assessment. Depending upon the results of the financial assessment, you may be asked to make a contribution towards the cost of the services you receive. For further information, visit our section on Social Services assessments: financial.
You may wish to use Direct Payments to pay for the help and support that you need. For further information, visit our section on Direct Payments.
You can read more about financial assessments, and the charges for the various services available, on the Newcastle City Council website.
What if I am unhappy with my assessment?
If you feel that something has gone wrong, or you do not like the way you have been treated, you should talk to your Care Manager or the Adult Social Care Direct Team. If you prefer, you can ask a friend or relative to do this for you. If this does not resolve your problem, you can make a complaint. For further information, visit our section on Complaining to Adult Services.
There may be times when you are told you are not eligible for any services. If this happens, you can ask Adult Services if they can provide you with details of other organisations that may be able to help you.
Even if you don't qualify for assistance from Adult Services, the information from your assessment will be useful, as other organisations will be able to take it into account when they discuss your needs with you.
Other useful information
Age UK's factsheet Local authority assessment for community care services
Contact Information
Adult Social Care Direct Team
Shieldfield Centre, 4-8 Clarence Walk, Shieldfield, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE2 1AL.
Telephone : 0191 278 8377 (Social Care Alerts) or 0191 278 8156 Safeguarding Advice, Telephone Helpline : 0191 232 8520 If you need urgent help out of office hours, Fax : 0191 278 8312.
Email : scd@newcastle.gov.uk
Newcastle Advocacy Centre
Newcastle Council for Voluntary Service, MEA House, Ellison Place, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8XS.
Telephone : 0191 235 7013, Fax : 0191 230 5640.
Email : advocacy@cvsnewcastle.org.uk
Article last updated February 15, 2012 11:09 am
