How to ask for an assessment
You can ask for an assessment from adult social care where it appears that you may have need for care and support. You can ask for this yourself, or someone can ask for this on your behalf (such as a friend, family member or professional).
You can contact Call Derbyshire on tel: 01629 533190.
Your assessment starts from when you first have contact with us. Often this is telephone contact with staff at Call Derbyshire or within our assessment and triage team.
You'll be asked about how you currently manage your day-to-day arrangements, what you are experiencing difficulty with and what you think might help you.
As part of this process, you'll be given information and advice which could improve your wellbeing, connect you to local support networks and prevent, reduce or delay your need for ongoing care and support. This may include identifying simple equipment including readily available technology, community-based services and other local agencies that may be able to help you.
Often, this early conversation is sufficient to enable people to resolve their need for care and support in a way that best suits them.
How to complete an online self-assessment
Our information finder can support you to access information tailored to your situation. By answering a few questions about what you, or a friend or family member, are having difficulty with, you will be directed to the right areas of our website for your situation.
If your answers suggest that you could be eligible for further support, you will be prompted to complete an online self-assessment. This information will be reviewed by one of our professionals who will assess your needs.
Assessment through a personalisation and prevention team
If this early conversation has not resolved your need and identifies that you may be eligible for statutory support from us, you will be referred for a more detailed assessment from a social work practitioner based in your local area.
This practitioner will complete the assessment with you and depending on the outcome talk you through any next steps. This may include telephone or video contact, and/or face-to-face contact in your home or in another community setting. We aim to complete this within 28 days of your initial contact with us.
The assessment provides an opportunity for you (and, if required, a family member/s or nominated representative) to engage in a more in-depth discussion with one of our skilled and trained workers.
This will look at your particular circumstances, how you manage your day-to-day life activities, what strengths skill and resources you can call upon and what might assist you to stay independent and in control of your life.
Any information will be in confidence subject to certain limitations which we will discuss with you. For example, if you have health, social care or housing needs, or if there are safeguarding concerns we may need to share your information with other agencies.
We will always ask you first unless we need to act quickly to protect you from harm.
As part of this assessment, we will provide further information and advice if we feel this may prevent, reduce, or delay your need for ongoing care and support and/or improve your wellbeing.
We will seek to agree the outcome of any assessment with you
Following your assessment, we will provide you with:
- a copy of the assessment
- information and advice about what options are available to meet your needs, including whether you are eligible to receive funded support through adult care
- for those eligible for funded support under the Care Act 2014 what the next steps are including producing a care and support plan
- for those not eligible, a rational as to why you are not eligible for ongoing funded support
Eligibility for ongoing support from adult care via a personal budget is based on the criteria set out in the Care Act 2014.
Advocacy
If you have significant difficulty engaging with the assessment process and have no appropriate family carer to help you, you may be entitled to the services of an independent advocate. You can talk to the adult care worker who is doing your assessment about this.
Considerations in an assessment
We consider:
- the physical health and safety of you and your carers
- the mental health and mental wellbeing of you and your carers
- your ability to look after yourself, for example feeding, washing, using the toilet
- whether you're supported, or are alone
- the security and adequacy of your current living arrangements
- your ability to manage your money
Assessment length
If the assessment is straightforward, it may be as little as an hour. If your circumstances are more complicated, then more than one visit may be needed.
Prepare for your assessment
You'll get the most out of your assessment if you think through any issues before we visit. You'll be sent a copy of the pre-assessment factsheet attached to this page in the post to fill in before your assessment. You might like to make notes about the things that are most important to you.
Everyone's different, but some things you may wish to think about could include:
- how you look after yourself and your personal needs
- the people or relationships that are important to you
- the things that are important to help you stay healthy and safe from harm
- the things that enable you to stay in control of your life
- the things that enable you to stay, or get involved, with your local community
- your work, leisure and learning
- the support you feel your carer or carers may need
These things will help you to identify any achievements (we call these outcomes) and goals you'd like. These will be recorded in your support plan. We have a duty of care to ensure that you stay safe from neglect or abuse.
People that can be involved in your assessment
A social worker will carry out your assessment with you.
In some situations, we may need to introduce you to people with special skills, such as an occupational therapist, a nurse or another health worker.
If you have a carer, you are welcome to have them with you at the assessment. Your carer(s) can also request an assessment of their own needs.
If you need translation or interpretation services, please tell us. Also let us know if you need specific communication support to help you with your assessment.
Assessment outcome
Your worker will look at the results of your assessment and decide whether you meet the conditions to receive care services. The worker will use a nationally set framework to assess your eligibility.
Once your eligibility has been determined and your needs agreed, the next step is to work out how to meet them and help you be more independent.
A personal budget will be calculated to determine the funding available from us for your support needs.
A support plan will then be developed with you and this will detail what you want to achieve.
Change in circumstances
Your needs and the support given to you will be reviewed at least annually. This is to make sure that the help you get is still appropriate. If there are changes affecting how you manage, you can ask for a further assessment.
If you disagree with your assessment
If you disagree with any part of the process, you should discuss this with your assessor.