About the assessment
A care and support assessment is where we will talk with you about the things you would like to achieve at home or out and about. This is often called outcomes. This is to help you to be as independent as possible. These are written into a care and support plan. You may prefer to write this yourself, or with the help of someone else, but we will have to make sure that the plan will safely achieve the things we agreed.
An assessment includes finding out:
- what difficulties you have
- what you think you need or would like to achieve
- the best ways of achieving these things
- who helps you now
- what you can do for yourself
- what things you cannot manage now, but with some support may be able to do in the future
- what things you cannot manage at all
- if you are eligible for financial support from us
If you would like to start thinking about the things we will talk about in your assessment, we use our document called What matters to me.
Sometimes, with your permission, we may also ask other professionals, such as an occupational therapist, physiotherapist or district nurse, to talk to you. This will give a full picture of your needs and will help you make the most informed choices. If you would like us to, we will also take into account the views of your family, carers and family doctor.
If you would like to talk to someone from Adult Social Care about your needs, visit your nearest Talking Café. You must live in Somerset and be at least 18 years old for this service.
At the end of your assessment
At the end of your assessment:
- We can provide information about organisations available locally that could help you. You can then make choices and arrange the support you need.
- We can help you find the right equipment. Some items we might lend you, and we can also tell you where to buy other equipment you might need.
- We may be able to provide some short-term help to enable you to regain your independence.
If you need help paying for long-term care and support, we can check if your care needs meet the national eligibility criteria.
If your care needs are eligible, we will also need to talk to you about your finances. If you have more than £23,250 in savings, we will not be able to help you. If you have less than this, we will usually be able to help you pay. Using national rules, we will work out what you can afford to pay. We will then make up the difference. Please see our web page about a financial assessment which gives more information.
Sometimes you may need help that we do not provide. We will give you information about how you can arrange these services for yourself.
For things that we agree to support you with we will work out your personal budget. You can then choose how to spend your personal budget to achieve the things we have agreed in your support plan.
You can use our quick online checker to see if you might get financial help for your care costs. This isn’t a final decision, but it can help you decide if you want to apply.
Financial eligibility checker
Care and support plan
If we agree to help pay for your care and support, your care and support plan will list the things you want to achieve. It will show the things you will arrange yourself or ask someone to do for you for each outcome. It will also list any money, services or equipment we have agreed to provide for you.
We will send you a copy and, with your permission, send one to the people or organisations helping you. This is so they understand the help you need and what you want to achieve.
We will review your care and support plan regularly. You can ask us to review it at any time.
Review and reassessment
Someone will get in touch to set up a convenient time to talk with you and anyone who helps you. This is to check if your care and support plan is working. This meeting is called a review.
The review must include your views and may also include the views of your family or carers. The people providing your care and support may also be included.
At the review we will agree any changes to the amount of money, support or equipment you need. We expect this to reduce as you regain your independence and have support from family and friends, but this may not be possible for everyone.
More information
The Connect Somerset website is a good place to find out what help you can arrange for yourself. It has information on personal care, staying independent, keeping safe, staying healthy and maintaining important relationships. You will also find lots of information about services, equipment and care providers in Somerset.
