I need care now - arranging a needs assessment

If you think you have any care and support needs you can contact us to ask for an assessment.

Care and support needs may include such things as difficulty with day to day tasks and carrying out basic personal care activities, i.e. getting in and out of bed or a chair, washing, mobility, preparing food and drink, shopping and cleaning.

We will be able to provide you with information and advice and details of the assessment process.

• You, or a member of your family or a friend on your behalf, can contact our Health and Social Care Hub on 0300 365 1234
• You can ask your GP, or any other health professional or care organisation
• If you are in hospital you can ask the Health Liaison Team

We will talk with you over the phone, if convenient, to find out about your circumstances.  We can then decide if a more detailed assessment is needed. If it is, one of our adult social care practitioners will arrange to meet you for an assessment. 

An assessment simply means we meet you and talk together. We will ask you some questions about your wellbeing and how you are managing in your daily life so that we can think about what help and support you might need. 

You can choose where you feel most comfortable. Many people are happy for us to meet in their home. This can help us see how you are living and whether any equipment would make living at home easier for you. For example, a rail might make using the shower safer. If you prefer you can come to our offices for the assessment.

The assessment will be carried out by one of our trained adult social care practitioners. You can have anyone you want with you for the assessment, such as a family member, a carer or a friend.

If you find it very difficult understanding the process or telling us what you want and you don’t have anyone else who can help you, we can provide an independent advocate to help you.

Please discuss this with us before the assessment, if you can, so that we can make suitable arrangements.

Our social care practitioner will talk to you about:

• Your needs and how they affect your wellbeing – for instance, if you need help with getting washed or dressed or basic day to day tasks

• Your ability to achieve the things that will help you stay independent – for example, it includes things such as whether you can manage to prepare your own meals and work safely in the kitchen and or whether you can manage to keep in touch with and see your family and friends

• Any other circumstances - for example, whether you live alone or whether someone supports you

If you have someone who provides care for you might need support for themselves, then we can carry out a carer’s needs assessment if they want. If you both want we can do a joint assessment and do both assessments at the same time.

Once the assessment has taken place, the practitioner will be able to let you know whether or not your social care needs are eligible for support and which of your needs we can help you with. If we find that you do need help we will discuss how a support plan can be set up. We will then also ask you about your finances to see whether we should fund your care and/or support or whether you should pay for some or all of the charges. If you don’t need a support plan we can still offer you useful information and advice.