Social Services will provide an assessment to people 18 years old and over who present with difficulties and challenges in completing day-to-day tasks, which may include, washing, dressing, cooking & cleaning; maintaining relationships, accessing the community & socialising; keeping themselves safe.
After it is decided that you need to have an assessment, you will go onto a waiting list. The length of time you are on the waiting list will depend on how urgent your situation is. Your assessment may be ‘paused’ if we need to gather more information, for example from your GP, Occupational therapist.
Who will complete the assessment:
You will be allocated a Social Worker, who will contact you or your representative to begin the assessment. You may also be allocated to an Occupational therapist, who can contribute to the assessment.
Both professionals have qualifications and training, which means that they are skilled and able to complete a Care Act assessment.
How will I be involved?
It is essential that you are involved in this assessment and are at the centre of all discussions and decisions. We are aware, however, that talking directly to a professional or having a face-to-face meeting, may be difficult for you.
To help ease anxiety and make the process accessible to you, it is important for the worker to know, what reasonable adjustments they need to make (such are any sensory considerations, how best to communicate with you) or if you would prefer to have a representative to support you. This representative could be family member or someone who knows you, or an independent advocate.
How and where will the assessment be completed
- Face-to face assessment. Your assessment will most likely be carried out face-to-face in your home or your preferred meeting place.
However, we can complete assessments in other ways:
- Supported self-assessment. This is when you fill out a questionnaire which the local authority gives you. This will cover exactly the same information as a face-to-face assessment. We will make sure that the information you fill in is an accurate reflection of your circumstances.
- Video or phone assessment. This is when the assessment is carried out via video call or on the phone.
- Joint assessments. This is when your needs assessment is carried out at the same time as the assessment of another adult, for example another member of your household, or a carer’s assessment.
- Combined assessment: This is when your assessment is completed alongside with another professional such as Occupational Therapist.
Your assessment may not necessarily be completed in one visit, or one telephone call. It may take time to complete and we may have to get more information from other sources such as you GP, housing officer, college. We will ask your permission to do this.
What information is needed in the assessment
The purpose of the assessment is to build a picture of who you are and what goals you have, in relation to being more independent; keeping yourself safe; if you are lonely and want to make new friends/ socialise; pursuing education/ employment.
The assessment will involve the Social Worker communicating with you and other people in your life (if you give permission), about how you cope in your day to day life, your strengths and interests, as well as your views and wishes for the future.
It is important that we understand what impact (both positive and negative) that your challenges have on your life., and also how these vary or fluctuate depending on the situation.
We may also need to establish if you have mental capacity to make important decisions about your health, care, welfare and finances.
For more information on Mental Capacity, please see below link
https://www.local.gov.uk/sites/default/files/documents/easy-read-guide-pdf-16-pa-2cc.pdf
What happens after the assessment?
