June 2018 (IL01)
A guide to Adult Social Care
What we can offer
As Adult Social Care our role is to make sure adults (aged 18 or over) and their carers (including young carers) who need care or support in their daily lives can get the help and advice they need to live as independently as possible.
Anyone can ask us to look at their care and support needs, and if they are likely to need some help we will look at how best we can assist you to get the support you need within your local community. We may carry out a social care needs assessment with you if we need more information about your needs in order to provide the right level of support. We have to give priority to people with the greatest need for our support, so the support you will get will depend on your level of need.
If we are not able to provide you with support or funding we will give you information and advice relevant to your circumstances and tell you about other organisations or assistance that may be available.
The first step – contacting us
If you want to ask for support or advice from us, please contact Health and Social Care Connect (HSCC), ourcustomer contact centre. They will always offer free advice and information.
There are many different ways that you can contact HSCC, including by phone and email. Full details are given at the end of this leaflet.
You can also access advice and download information leaflets from our website at eastsussex.gov.uk/socialcare
If it seems likely that you need support we will have a conversation with you, usually over the phone to find out what sort of support you need. We may be able to provide you with some support or information based on this phone call, but if you need further assessment we will arrange for a social care needs assessment, to look in more detail at of your care and support needs and how these impact on your wellbeing. We will then work with you to find ways of meeting these needs. Alternatively we may invite you to a clinic appointment to discuss your needs face-to-face.
If you use sign language we can offer you an interpreter for your assessment. We can also give you our documents in other formats (for example, in Braille, on audio tape or CD, or in large print) if you ask us.
To find out more about what support we can provide please read our factsheet ‘Who qualifies for our support’.
Whatever your situation, we want to assist you to get the most appropriate support as soon as possible.
Please contact Health and Social Care Connect if you:
- think you need support to live independently in your own home
- are looking after someone else
- have a physical disability or find it difficult to get around
- have sight, hearing or communication difficulties
- are worried about your own or someone else’s mental health
- have a learning disability (sometimes called a learning difficulty)
- are affected by domestic abuse
- are experiencing abuse, neglect or exploitation
- have a long-term medical condition
- have psychological or neurological difficulties (problems with the nervous system) after a brain injury
- are affected by alcohol or drug use, or
- are living with HIV or AIDS.
We will give you the information you need, even if we don’t need to stay involved. This can include advice and information about other organisations that can help you.
Our advice and information is always free, and you do not have to pay for an assessment of your needs. However, if you receive certain types of support from us you may need to pay towards it, depending on your circumstances. A financial assessment will determine this. Elements of your care,such as some equipment and reablement (see page 6), may be provided free of charge.
Dailyliving equipment or adaptations
We will work with you to help you stay independent. As part of this we will consider whether there is any daily living equipment that might help you or any adaptations that could be made to your home.
Daily living equipment helps you carry out your daily activities, such as washing and dressing and includes things like commodes and bathing equipment. We can tell you where you can find the right equipment for your needs, and if your assessment shows that you need daily living equipment some items are provided free of charge through our Integrated Community Equipment Service (ICES).
We can also offer advice on adaptations that could be made to your home to help you manage more independently. This could be anything from grab rails to a major adaptation such as a downstairs bathroom. We can arrange for adaptations to be completed where you have eligible support needs.
We don’t charge for minor adaptations that cost less than £1000. For adaptations that cost more, you may qualify for a Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG) from your local district or borough council, or you may have to pay, depending on your financial situation. You can see more about this at gov.uk/disabled-facilities-grants or you can ask Health and Social Care Connect to send you the information.
Occupational Therapy clinic
You may also like to find out if there is an Occupational Therapy clinic near you. The clinics offer advice on managing at home, and canprovide some equipment and small adaptations to support you. The clinics will also be able to offer advice for carers, and undertakecarers’ assessments where appropriate. Please contact Health and Social Care Connect to find out more.
Specialist support for sight or hearing difficulties
If you have sight or hearing difficulties, or are deafblind, we may be able to recommend and provide equipment or other support (such as mobility training) to help you manage in your home and the community. If we can’t provide the equipment we can give you advice on where to buy it yourself.
We can also help you register with us as deaf, hard of hearing, blind or partially-sighted. You do not have to register, but doing so may mean you are entitled to certain benefits. There is no charge for registering. We can also put you in touch with local partner organisations offering services for people with sight or hearing problems, including employment support, advocacy (someone to speak on your behalf) and advice about equipment.
Reablement
Reablement is a short-term service that helps you get back daily living skills that you may have lost because of illness or disability. For example, support after you’ve come out of hospital. Reablement is provided by a number of different professionals, who work with you to help you get back your confidence and daily living skills.
The support you receive can be in your own home or, if necessary, in a residential centre. We aim to be flexible in what we offer to meet your needs.
Reablementis time limited, wherever the setting.It’s normally for between two to three weeks, but occasionally for up to six weeks. You will not be charged for the period of reablement. But you will be charged for any care and support you may need after this. What you will need to pay will be determined by a financial assessment.
The cost of support
Information and advice is free, but we do have to charge for some short-term and most long-term care and support services – the amount you pay will depend on your financial circumstances. We have criteria we have to follow to work out whether we can give you financial assistance and how much you will need to pay. Any contribution you are required to pay will apply from whenever your care and support begins.
There is more about this in our leaflet ‘What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support’.
Choice and control over your care and support
If you qualify for long-term support and financial help from us, you will have choice and control over how to meet your care and support needs. From working out your care and support needs, to deciding what support you get, you’ll be able to have your say at every stage.
As part of this, we will provide you with a personal budget for any chargeable support that qualifies for financial assistance from us. Your personal budget is the total amount of money needed to provide that support, including the amount we can pay and the amount you will need to pay. We work out your personal budget according to your care and support needs, as identified by your social care needs assessment.
You can choose how much control you want over your personal budget. You can manage your budget and plan and organise your support yourself, or we can manage this for you. Alternatively we can support you to identify someone (for example a carer or family member) to support you with managing your budget and arranging support. You don’t need to use your personal budget for support that is provided free of charge.
If you do not qualify for financial help from us you will not receive a personal budget, but we will still give you information and advice and can help you to organise your support. (There’s more on page 13 about how we can help people paying for their own support.)
Supporting you to live in your own home
Most of the services we arrange aim to help you stay in your own home. The following are just some examples of ways you could find the right support for you.
Help at home
If youare finding it difficult to manage at home you may need help with personal care, such as washing and dressing, or you may be having difficulty with household tasks.
This kind of support at home can be offered byapproved home care providers. You can find these within our directory of care and support services at eastsussex1space.co.uk or from Health and Social Care Connect. Our approved providers are independent organisations that are registered and checked by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Employing a personal assistant (PA)
Many people use their personal budget to pay for a personal assistant, as this gives them more choice and control about the kind of support they get and over who comes into their home.
The support could be anything from help with personal care to taking you out – anything that would help meet the needs identified in your social care needs assessment. Some personal assistants work independently, and some through an agency. You can also find an approved PA through the Support with Confidence scheme (see page 10). You can ask Health and Social Care Connect or your social care worker for more information.
Like most other types of care and support, if you choose to have a PA you will be financially assessed to decide how much you are required to contribute.
You can also get in touch with the following specialist organisations who help people manage their personal budgets or employ personal assistants:
People Plus
Phone: 01323 414674
Email:
Website: ils.peopleplus.co.uk/ILS/SitePages/Home.aspx
Vibrance
Phone: 01273 025 687
Email:
Finding out what support is available
Whether you are using a personal budget or paying for your own support, there are several other sources of information you can access:
Support with Confidence scheme
The Support with Confidence scheme can help you find care and support services that you can trust from people, businesses and organisations that have been checked and approved for quality, safety and staff training. There are also independent financial advisers who have been approved for the scheme. More information is on the website at eastsussex.gov.uk/supportwithconfidenceor you can ask Health and Social Care Connector your social care worker for a leaflet.
East Sussex 1Space
East Sussex 1Space is an online directory of care, support and wellbeing services. It contains information about the support available in your area, from formal health and social care organisations through to local community groups and initiatives. Service providers of all kinds are included in the directory, visit eastsussex1space.co.uk
The Supporting People programme
Supporting People helps adults aged 16 and over (single, couples and families) to live independently and to find, or stay in their own home. Help is available for managing money, claiming benefits, developing domestic or social skills, keeping safe, finding supported housing for people with learning disabilities and mentalhealth problems, finding services for young people and young parents, for homeless people and women needing women’s refuges.
For more information please visiteastsussex.gov.uk/supportingpeopleor contact Health and Social Care Connect.
Are you considering long-term accommodation such as residential care or supported housing?
We understand that you’ll want to think very carefully before deciding to move permanently into residential accommodation. Please contact us as soon as possible so we can offer you advice, including advice on paying for your care. We can tell you more about alternative options that might meet your needs such as sheltered housing schemes, or Extra Care schemes which have 24-hour on-site care staff. Please contact Health and Social Care Connect for more information.
Paying for residential care
If, following a social care needs assessment, we agree that your needs are best met in residentialcare, we will carry out a financial assessment to see how much you will need to contribute - everyone has to pay something towards the cost of residential care and, depending on your financial circumstances, you may have to pay the full cost yourself. The person who carries out your social care needs assessment will tell you more about this. If you have to pay the full cost, we can provide additional information about sources of financial advice. For more information please see our leaflet ‘What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support’.
Residential care options
You can find a list of local homes at eastsussex.gov.uk/socialcare/leaving-home/care-homesand you can also get information from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the organisation that regulates health and social care services.
Care Choices Ltd produces directories of care services and includes advice on choosing a care home.
Phone: 0800 389 2077
Email:
Website:
How we can help if you are paying for your own support
If you do not qualify forfinancial help and are paying for your own support, you are still entitled to a free assessment of your care and support needs with us.
You are also able to receive any services that are provided free of charge (for example some items of equipment to help with daily living) if these will help you live more independently.
We will still provide free information and advice, and put you in touch with other organisations that provide the kindof support you are looking for, including advocacy services. There is more information about advocacy in our factsheet ‘Independent advocacy - Someone to speak up for you’.
If you are paying for your own support and your circumstances change, you can ask us for a financial assessment. Please let us know as soon as possible if, for example, you expect your savings to fall to the capital threshold (£23,250) as a result of paying for your care, so there is time to review your situation before things become difficult.
If you look after someone else
You are a carer if you look after, help or support someone who wouldn’t be able to manage everyday life without your help. As a carer you have a right to ask for a carer’s assessment, where we will look at your situation and see if you qualify for support yourself. We normally offer clients and carers a shared assessment.
A carer’s assessment looks at how your caring responsibilities affect your life, including your health and wellbeing, and the different types of support that could be available to you. It allows us to find out about your needs andthe needs of the person you care for, and helps us identify things that could help you in your caring role. For example, having a break from your caring responsibilities.
There is some support specifically for carers, including support groups, information, advice, trainingand the East Sussex Carers Card (for emergency respite and some local discounts). There is no charge for these.
If you are a carer, there is more information about the support you can get, from us or from other organisations, in our leaflet ‘Do you look after someone?’ There is also information about carers’ assessments and services for carers on our website: eastsussex.gov.uk