Adult Social Care and
Health can arrange services to help you with
daily living tasks and remain as independent as
possible by completing the Community Care
Assessment mentioned above. However, some
people may wish to assess their own needs and
see if there are any services which may be able
to help them. These services may not be
provided directly by ASCH, they may signpost to
other services.
Click here to open the Self Assessment Form.
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Telephone 01744 675 615 |
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Carer Information Resource
Social Care & Assessments |
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Please click on the headings below to go to each section: Aids, Equipment and Adaptations Under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000, Carers aged 16 or over who provide a regular and substantial amount of care for someone aged 18 or over have the right to an assessment of their needs as a Carer. If you have parental responsibility for a disabled child, your needs as a Carer will be assessed as part of a Family Needs Assessment. If there is more than one Carer providing regular care in your household, each is entitled to an assessment. The Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act 2004 placed a duty on Local Authorities to ensure that all Carers know that they are entitled to an assessment of their needs, and to consider a Carer's outside interests - work, study or leisure - when carrying out an assessment. The Care Manager is the person who will carry out assessments for you and/or the person you care for. The assessment should provide you with the opportunity to talk to the Care Manager about your circumstances and identify services which will support you as a Carer. These are some areas you may wish to consider:
You can either have your Carer's Assessment at the same time as an assessment for the person you care for (joint assessment) or you can make arrangements to speak with the Care Manager separately at another time If you are unsure how an assessment will benefit you, use the 'Carer Checklist' - (click here for a copy). This will allow you to reflect on your caring role, and any areas in which you would benefit from support
This is an assessment for the person you care for. It is often the first step to accessing help and support. The Care Manager will look at the individual's needs and abilities and will fully involve them in the assessment. They will take the family's needs into consideration and family members can be present if the cared for person wishes. The types of services which may be identified include
Care Managers now discuss Personal Budgets. This is an allocation of funding to enable those with assessed needs to make informed choices about how best to meet their requirements for personal, domestic and community support. The amount of money available will be agreed following the assessment of needs and the drawing up of a Support Plan. Plans can be completed with the help of friends, family, the Care Manager or with the help of an advocate or brokerage service. They can be as detailed or simple as the person wants it to be. When your Support Plan is agreed by a social care professional, the Local Authority will then decide how much they will contribute to the personal budget, and whether there will be any contribution towards care costs by the person requiring support. Payment for services which may be identified during an assessment will be decided by carrying out a separate financial assessment. If the person being assessed does not wish to disclose financial information they will be asked to sign to confirm that they will pay the cost of services. The financial assessment will look at the assets and savings. The house they live in is not included in the financial assessment for community services. If there are savings over £ 23,000 they will be required to pay the full cost for services. Services such as Meals on Wheels, Careline and Transport services to day centres have a flat rate charge and are paid by all who receive the service For more information click here to visit 'My Life, My Choice' website Who is eligible for services? - click for information There is a National policy on eligibility criteria for Adult Social Care Services. There is a framework within which an assessment should be based, which should look at an individual's ability to remain independent in the long and short term if help was not provided. Factors that make up the framework are autonomy, physical and mental health and safety, the management of daily routines, home environment, and family and community life There are four bands of priority, Critical, substantial, moderate and low. ASCH are required to use these bands, but can set a line based on resources under which they do not have to provide services. Anyone below the eligibility line should be provided with information or advice or referred to another agency Domiciliary Care Services These are the services which can be put in place to enable someone to live independently. This may be a service to assist with personal care, to ensure meals and medication are provided, or to meet other needs identified during assessment. Domiciliary Care Providers - Click for listCharges for non-residential services - click for details Fairer Charging Policy - Explains how financial assessments are carried out, what is considered during the assessment and what is disregarded - click for detailsResidential Care If you and the person you care for are considering a move to full time residential care you will find sources of information and support in the Planning for the Future section of the pathway. Care Homes Resource Directory - Lists local Care Homes registered with CQC, those with contracts with ASCH and also the funding levels ASCH will pay for homes - click for documentCharges for residential care - Explains how financial assessments are carried out, what is considered during the assessment and what is disregarded - click for document Your Choice in Care - Describes what to consider when choosing a care home, how Care Assessments are carried out, who is eligible for funded care and the level of care a person has the right to expect - click for document
Aids and Equipment To obtain aids, equipment or adaptations to the home, you will need to request an Occupational Therapy assessment from Adult Social Care and Health. To do this ring the Contact Centre (see bottom of page). They will refer details of the person requiring assessment to the OT department, who will contact them, or you, within three working days to conduct an initial assessment, by phone. If, after the initial assessment, a person is not eligible for services, they will be provided with alternative sources of information about how to obtain aids and equipment. There are 3 levels of equipment provided by St.Helens Council Simple Aids to
Daily Living -
These are items of equipment that are fundamental to independence -
raised toilet seats, shower chairs, chair raisers etc. St Helens
Council and Halton and St.Helens PCT have introduced a prescription
service for the provision of community equipment. This means that
where service users have been assessed as eligible for equipment
provision, the prescription can be taken to a local accredited
retailer who will exchange it for the items of equipment required.
ONLY SIMPLE ITEMS ARE AVAILABLE ON PRESCRIPTION.
Click here
to go to website for further details of accredited retailers If the assessment is for bathing needs, the person will be offered an assessment via the bathbus - a facility whereby an OT assistant will visit the property and assess the person's needs using various bathing equipment to ensure suitability. Intake team - If the person needing assessment is experiencing difficulties with many aspects of daily life and small aids and adaptations can benefit them, they will be referred to the intake team, an OT assistant will contact them to arrange an appointment to visit their home. Long Term Team - If the person needing assessment has complex needs and requires assistance in many areas and may require major adaptations, equipment or rehousing, they will be referred to the long term team where an OT will contact them to arrange an appointment. There is likely to be a waiting list for this type of assessment. Adaptations (permanent changes to the home - ranging from minor fittings to major installations and property extensions) - Minor Adaptations costing under £400 such as a stair rail or grab rails needed for hospital discharge can be completed within 48 hours if necessary. Most jobs will take between 7-56 working days. Major Adaptations (over £400) are funded on a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) which is subject to a financial assessment. A Provisional Test of Resources form is completed first, this form will calculate any contribution the person may have to make towards the cost of the adaptation. If it turns out they will need to fund the full cost of the adaptation, they can still get advice and support from the Occupational Therapist and the Technical Officer in deciding what adaptations will meet their needs. Children's Services - There is a specialised Paediatric OT within the service who deals with children aged from 0 - 19 Duty Officer, Occupational Therapy: 01744 676522 Assessment Officers, Occupational Therapy: 01744 676500/ 01744 671682 Team Manager, Occupational Therapy: 01744 676520. Senior Practitioner, Occupational Therapy: 01744 676504. Paediatric Specialist, Occupational Therapy: 01744 676340. Direct Payments Direct Payments - Frequently Asked Questions Direct Payments can be paid to people who have had Community Care Assessment and have been assessed as requiring personal and social care needs. Instead of Social Services putting in services, they are provided with money to buy support. This enables people to have more control and choice over the way their needs are met. People who take up Direct Payments can decide how, when and by whom their support will be provided. This might be by employing their own personal assistant, the Direct Payments team will provide advice and support to do this. Carers who do not live with their Cared For person can be paid for their care through Direct Payments. If there is already a Care Manager in place, speak to them about accessing Direct Payments. How to request an Assessment If you wish to request an assessment you can do so via the Contact Centre Advisors (Social Services) who are on duty from 9:00am-5:00. They can be contacted by telephone on (01744) 456600, e-mail to contactcentre@sthelens.gov.uk or personal visit to the Contact Centre, Wesley house, Corporation Street, St. Helens WA10 1HF.
In all cases the information required will be: Name, address and Tel. No. of the person requiring assessment Marital status Who they live with Type of property, owned or rented GP and any hospital doctors currently providing treatment The type of care given and/or received What type of services they would like to access Initial assessment may be carried out over the telephone. After an assessment there will be a Care plan agreed, which will indicate the level of support required and how this will be put into place. It will be signed by the person who was assessed. The care plan can be reassessed at any stage, and can be challenged if you or the person you care for disagrees with it. Emergency Duty Team - 0845 050 0148 - Social Work Service operates outside normal office hours (Mon-Fri 5pm to 9am, and all day Sat, Sun and Bank Hols). Operator will pass details given to the Emergency Duty Social Worker, who will then telephone the caller to discuss the problems they face, and agree on a course of actionCrisis Resolution Team - 01744 621688 - Provide out of hours service for Mental Health Service Users and Carers RAPID RESPONSE TEAM - 01744 621724/0779 533 2677 - A service for 18+ age group operating between 10am and 8pm 365 days a year. The team have to respond to referrals within 2 hours. This service may be suitable if the person you care for experience sudden illness and then need support to stay at home, and is also suitable if you suddenly became unable to care e.g. need admission to hospital. Services offered will include home care, overnight care, residential or nursing placements. Support is available for 7 days on this scheme, with no cost. After this time usual assessment criteria apply. Referral can come from GP, including Rota, or other medical or Social Care staff. Whilst every care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information provided to Carers, St.Helens Carers Centre do not undertake any liability for any error or omission. The products and services listed are not necessarily endorsed or recommended by St.Helens Carers Centre |
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