Adult Social Care Assessment and Care and Support Planning (Adults)

The assessment process

A professional, such a GP may refer you for an assessment. You can also contact us yourself, or ask a relative or friend to do it for you.

To be eligible for an assessment we need to confirm:

· you are over 18 years old,

· appear to need care and support, and

· are a resident of Peterborough

The aim of the assessment is to identify what needs you may have and what outcomes you are looking to achieve to maintain or improve your wellbeing. An assessment looks in detail at your situation and what is important to you. It helps us understand your strengths and abilities and what care and support you might need to stay independent, safe and well. Together, if one is necessary, we can work out a care and support plan.

The assessor will either complete your assessment with you, or you can get support to complete it yourself. It is a two way conversation. With your permission, we might ask the opinion of other professionals who know and work with you. We will also take account of the needs of your family or carer and assess them separately if they ask us to.

The assessment will focus on:

· exploring your current circumstances

· your strengths and abilities

· what's working well

· what's not working so well

· what you would like to change or achieve

· if you need any help what help you need

Any information you give us will remain confidential. We will not share this with anyone else without your permission. Other than in exceptional circumstances where the law says we must show it to someone else.

The assessment considers some areas of your life, which include your current situation and what has lead you to your assessment:

· your health

· your safety

· your physical abilities

· your mental health

· how you look after yourself on a daily basis

· your involvement in your community

· who supports you, if anyone

· what your needs are

It will bring together a summary of your needs and the outcomes you want to achieve. The assessor will look at whether there are any risks to you and your wellbeing and agree with you how they can be best managed. They will also look at how to help you prevent and delay the need for care and support. They will give you their professional opinion. Your assessor will determine whether you are eligible for support from the council.

Adult services - online form

Telephone 01733 747474

How to determine if you're eligible

In order to determine whether you are eligible for social care support from the council we have to look at all the information in your assessment and follow the eligibility criteria set out by the Care Act 2014.

The Care Act 2014 says

‘In considering whether an adult with care and support needs has eligible needs, local authorities must consider whether:

• the adult’s needs arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness
• as a result of the adult’s needs the adult is unable to achieve two or more of the specified outcomes
• as a consequence of being unable to achieve these outcomes there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing

An adult’s needs are only eligible where they meet all three of these conditions.'

Paying for care

If you have assets and/or savings of more than £23,250 you will have to pay the full costs of your care. If you have assets and/or savings between £14,250 and £23,250, you are likely to have to pay for some of your care.

If you are eligible for support we will ask you to complete a financial assessment questionnaire. This will help us work out how much you can afford to pay towards your care.

You can find out more about paying for care on the Money Matters pages.

We can arrange a personal budget for you. This is the total amount of money needed to provide the activities recorded in your care and support plan. It includes the amount you will need to pay and the amount the council will contribute.

Your personal budget can be paid either directly to you as a Direct Payment, or can be managed by us or by other specialist organisations on your behalf.

If you are paying for all of your own support we can still give you advice and help you to organise your care.

If you have to pay for the full cost of your care and ask us to arrange your home and community care for you, we will charge an arrangement fee to organise this on your behalf.

Sourcing care

If you are sourcing care privately we would recommend that you find an agency through the Guide to Independent Living from Care Choices, working in partnership with us.

You can also search this site for local care providers.

The Care Quality Commission website can tell you about providers’ standards of quality and safety.

Organising your own care

If you arrange your own care and support, you do not need to be assessed by the council. If we are funding your care, we must be involved in arranging it.

Even if you are not eligible for financial help from us and are therefore paying the full costs of your care, you may still contact us to ask us arrange any non-residential services for you. In this case, we will charge an administration fee that covers our costs of doing this on your behalf.

What is a care and support plan?

A care and support plan identifies:

• the things which are important to you,
• your strengths and existing support,
• your options for remaining independent,
• and the additional support you need to meet your needs

Planning your own support

Lots of people plan their own support. You can create your own care and support plan. There are also independent support planners who can help you. Here are the main things to think about.

What do you want to achieve?

• What do you enjoy doing?
• Do you have activities or hobbies you want to continue?
• What is important to you?
• What could be made easier?
• What do you struggle with?

Solutions

• What are your strengths? What personal skills, experience and knowledge do you have which can help you to remain independent, safe and well?
• What support do you already have in place?
• Which other support networks could you use? This includes family and friends, local community groups, or paid for services
• What additional support do you need to be able to keep doing the things you enjoy?

Getting support from Peterborough City Council

If you are eligible for support from us , you can still create your own care and support plan. You can get help from family friends, a service provider, a key worker, or an independent support planner. They must act in your best interests. We will check that the plan will meet your needs.

Alternatively, we can help you to create a care and support plan. We will:

• look at the needs identified during your care needs assessment
• look at the support available from your family, friends, carers and local community
• plan the support which will meet your needs
• identify how much this will cost
• offer you advice and information to help you prevent or delay the need for care in the future

You will have choice and control around how you meet the needs which were identified in your care and support plan.

Disagree with something?

If you don’t agree with something, or you’re not happy with the decision made about your care and support plan, please discuss this with your social care worker.

If you are still not satisfied you can contact the Complaints Team to make a complaint.  Find out more on the Compliments, comments and complaints page.

Reviewing

We will usually review your support after 6-12 weeks, and then annually. You can invite anyone you think should be involved, and let your social care worker know in advance.

Your social care worker can also help organise an advocate, if you have difficulty expressing your views.  You can find out more about advocacy on the Information and Advice page.

You, your carers, the council and service providers can request a review at any time if:

• your needs have changed
• the support no longer meets your needs
• you want to make a major change to your care and support plan
• there are unmanageable risks in your care and support plan

Contact us

Contact Adult Social Care

If you need to contact Adult Social Care please:

Complete our online form

Tel: Adult Social Care: 01733 747474 

Email:  adultsocialcare@peterborough.gov.uk

Postal address: 

Peterborough City Council

Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY