Adult Social Care - advice appreciated

[Deleted User]

Forgive me in advance if I get any of the wording wrong. 

A charity my mum works with mentioned last year that she should ask for an assessment from the adult social care team at the local authority. Sorry can’t remember the exact name of the assessment. 

I contacted them but the advisor refered  her to another local organisation which to be honest is inappropriate, they offer no support, they seem to offer more life skills courses and integration into the community type stuff. That’s not what she needs. 

I know there are very knowledgeable individuals on this forum and very caring ones to that, therefore I wondered if anyone could advise on my next option? 

calcotti

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/social-care-and-support-guide/help-from-social-services-and-charities/getting-a-needs-assessment/
https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/care/arranging-care/care-needs-assessment/
https://www.gov.uk/apply-needs-assessment-social-services

[Deleted User]

Yes that’s what it’s called. I think I need to insist this time that’s what I am wanting them to carry out. 

poppy12345

Although due to the curent circumstances this may not be done at home in person.

elsien

There should be an online portal on your local authority website where your mother can start the process off. You need to be clear about what conditions she has that impact on her wellbeing. Covid has delayed things for a lot of people - those coming out of hospital are being prioritised and there is a backlog in many areas so there is some pushback by local authorities against new referrals. 
Your mum is legally entitled to an assessment if she has the appearance of eligible needs. However having eligible needs doesn’t mean that the local authority has to meet them themselves - signposting for information or to other organisations is permissible in some circumstances. And any services offered will be means tested.  But the assessment is the starting point, 

If the local authority decide that someone  is not eligible for assessment they need to give a reason (I think in writing, but I would need to check) so the decision can  be challenged, 
This is an easier version of the process.
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/how-a-local-authority-care-needs-assessment-works

Snow_Igloo

hi there. adult social worker here 
i wonder what happened as councils have to accept referrals (they have a duty under the Care Act 2014) if a person may have a eligible need and has a condition which impacts upon those needs. 
I wonder perhaps if your mum just didnt speak to the right person in the council. Perhaps check on the 
https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council to identify which council it is before calling them? Sometimes people live on the order of areas so it is important to be clear about which council you are approaching. 

elsien

Could have been when councils were considering enacting the Care Act easements if it was last year. 

And there can be a bit of a gap sometimes between what should happen and what does happen. 

Snow_Igloo

elsien said:

Could have been when councils were considering enacting the Care Act easements if it was last year. 

yeah thats true but when we were preparing at the council i worked out we were about to keep lists of all individuals who this would apply to, so that we could ensure that when this was all over (haha) we could go back and support the people in our communities.  It still wouldnt change the duty to assess but how services are provided I thought? 

[Deleted User]

Thanks everyone. 

I totally understand that covid might have an impact on the length of time taking, fully expected that. 

Again, thanks for the link. 

It was a mixture of me and her who spoke to someone. I have the correct council as she gets HB and CTR so I knew who they were provided by. 

They have a specific team who you get in touch with, I’m thinking they might of misunderstood and maybe I need to make clear what it is we are wanting. 

elsien

Say she wants a Care Act assessment and specify what physical/mental health conditions she has and what areas of her life this affects. That should get things started. 

[Deleted User]

elsien said:

Say she wants a Care Act assessment and specify what physical/mental health conditions she has and what areas of her life this affects. That should get things started. 

Thanks I’ll get on to it tomorrow.