Social services Get help, support or social care

How does the social care process work?

To be eligible for social care support from us, you need to be assessed against national eligibility criteria.

If you don’t meet the criteria, we will still give you information and advice, and help you to find services in the community, some of which may be free, which can keep you as happy, productive and independent as possible. We may also be able to provide you with some equipment, without the need for a full assessment, if that will meet your needs.

We may decide that you would benefit from 'Re-ablement' – which is a short-term, intensive package of care to help you regain your independence, using support, guidance, learning and often small pieces of equipment to help you manage. Re-ablement isn’t suitable for everyone, and depends on the needs we identify during your assessment.

If you do meet the criteria, we'll work with you to decide which services you would most benefit from to meet your ongoing needs, including working out how much those services should cost – even if you choose to pay for the services yourself.

Once we’ve identified that you need ongoing care and support, we will offer to carry out a financial assessment. This is called a Fairer Charging Assessment, and is used to work out how much of the cost of those services you should pay based on your financial circumstances. This could be some, none, or all of the cost of your care package.

You can choose not to have this financial assessment, but if you do that we will not be able to help you pay for any services.

If your needs change, you can get back in touch with us at any time so that we can review the support you're getting. We will always speak to you at least every 12 months just to make sure that your needs haven't changed. 

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