Community Care Services for Adults. Who can get help?
Who can get help? Fair Access to Care Services (FACS)
What are community care services?
Community care services provide help and support to adults aged 18 and over, and to the people who care for them, if they need help to live independently. Wherever possible, this help and support is provided in people's own homes. It can also be provided in care homes and other support settings such as hostels.
There are many different types of services. They include:
- home care for help with things like washing and dressing, shopping and housework;
- meals services where hot or frozen meals are delivered to your home;
- day centre services if it is difficult to get out, meet others and take part in social activities;
- short breaks away from your carer;
- short term services to help recover from things like a fall or an illness. They can be arranged to prevent a hospital admission or to provide support immediately after discharge;
- equipment and adaptations for people with serious and long term physical disabilities and people with difficulties with their sight or hearing;
- schemes to help disabled people and people with mental health difficulties gain skills and learning so they can lead full and active lives at college, in work, at home and in the community, living as independently as possible;
- care homes and care homes with nursing.
Who are community care services for?
We may be able to help adults living in Wandsworth with difficulties (needs) that arise from:
- physical disabilities;
- sensory problems affecting sight, hearing or speech;
- physical weakness due to old age;
- short or long term illnesses;
- learning disabilities;
- mental health difficulties;
- substance misuse.
What are assessments for?
If you appear to need community care services, we will offer you an assessment. The purpose of the assessment is to find out what you need help with and to suggest ways to assist you. If someone provides a lot of help to you on a regular basis, usually a family member or a friend, we will offer them their own assessment, called a carer's assessment.
How do you ask for an assessment?
Please contact the Adult Social Services Department Access Team:
Telephone: (020) 8871 7707
Minicom (020) 8871 8640
Fax: (020) 8871 6949
email: accessteam@wandsworth.gov.uk
text: CARE and your message to 07797 805456
Address: Lyon House, 102-104 Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 4LA
We will ask you a few questions to check whether we can offer you an assessment. If we can, we will make arrangements to meet with you. If we think you do not need community care services, we can still give you information and point you in the direction of others who may be able to help.
Does everyone who has an assessment get help?
We need to provide services within available money so we cannot provide services to everybody who asks for them. We therefore give priority to supporting people who would be most at risk if we did not provide help. We also provide help to carers so they can get a break or support with caring.
We decide who needs our help most, by using the national guidance "Fair Access to Care Services" (FACS). There are four bands called Critical, Substantial, Moderate and Low. Each band describes the seriousness of risks to independence if help is not provided.
What are the four bands?
When we assess your needs with you, we look at all the areas where you are having difficulties (your care needs)and how these difficulties affect your independence (risks). We then grade the seriousness of the risk to your independence if you did not have help, for each of your care needs. We use the guidance to do this so that we are fair to everyone. The guidance says that risks to your independence are:
Critical – when
- life is, or will be, threatened;
- and/or significant health problems have developed or will develop;
- and/or there is, or will be, little or no choice and control over vital aspects of the immediate environment;
- and/or serious abuse or neglect has occurred or will occur;
- and/or there is, or will be, an inability to carry out vital personal care or domestic routines;
- and/or vital involvement in work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or vital social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or vital family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.
Substantial - when
- there is, or will be, only partial choice and control over the immediate environment;
- and/or abuse or neglect has occurred or will occur;
- and/or there is, or will be, an inability to carry out the majority of personal care or domestic routines;
- and/or involvement in many aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or the majority of social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or the majority of family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.
Moderate - when
- there is, or will be, an inability to carry out several personal care or domestic routines;
- and/or involvement in several aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or several social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or several family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.
Low – when
- there is, or will be, an inability to carry out one or two personal care or domestic routines;
- and/or involvement in one or two aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or one or two social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained;
- and/or one or two family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.
Which bands mean that help will be provided?
In Wandsworth we will meet any care needs you have if they are assessed to fall into the Critical or Substantial bands. We prefer to give you money in the place of services so that you or a family member can choose and organise services yourself. Alternatively, we will arrange community care services for you.
Do you have to pay for community care services?
Your assessment and any information and advice we give you is free. We will meet the cost of your community care services although you may be assessed to make a financial contribution based on your means. We will ask you to complete a financial assessment form so we can work out what you need to pay and we will be able to give you more detailed information at that time. We have a Charges Helpline (020) 8871 6218 if you have any questions about how we work out the charge. You can also get general information on charging from CareLine (see contact details overleaf).
Are community care services for life?
Sometimes people need help for only a short time to recover from an illness, an injury or a stay in hospital. We can arrange services to help you whilst you regain your confidence or learn new ways of managing things.
Even when we arrange longer term services, we ask the people who provide the services to work with you in ways that will promote your independence. Managing things safely by yourself, where this is possible, is always better than having to rely on someone else. If, over time, you need less help we will adjust your services accordingly.
Since people's needs change over time, we will review your needs every year unless we are asked to do this earlier. Depending on your needs at that time, you may get more help or less help or your services may stop.
What happens when care needs are in the Moderate or Low bands?
If you have needs that fall into the Moderate or Low bands, you do not meet Wandsworth's eligibility criteria and we cannot arrange community care services for you. Instead we will provide you with information and suggestions of other organisations or services that can help. You will then need to make your own arrangements and pay for any services yourself. If your circumstances change, please contact us again through the Access Team. It may be time to arrange another assessment of your needs.
Will Wandsworth's eligibility criteria stay the same?
Each year the Council is required to review its policy on who can receive community care services. This is so we can continue to support people who need help the most within the resources that are available to us. When there are any changes to the policy, some people who get services may no longer be eligible for help. We will not stop services without letting you know and we will give you information about other ways of getting support and help and put you in touch with any services that might be helpful for you.
What do you do if you are unhappy with the outcome of an assessment or review?
If you disagree with any decision made about being eligible for community care services, please speak to the council staff or the team manager of the services you were in contact with. You can ask us to reconsider the assessment in the light of your concerns.
How do you get more information?
If you would like to know more about the services Wandsworth Council provides, please contact the Adult Social Services Department Access Team:
Telephone: (020) 8871 7707
Minicom (020) 8871 8640
Fax: (020) 8871 6949
email: accessteam@wandsworth.gov.uk
text: CARE and your message to 07797 805456
Address: Lyon House, 102-104 Wandsworth High Street, London SW18 4LA
You can also download a leaflet fully detailing the services provided.
 Fair access to care services (543 kb)
You can also get this information from the Council's information service CareLine.
Telephone: (020) 8875 0500
Minicom and Fax: (020) 8643 8531
Email: careline@clara.net
Website: www.careline.org.uk
Address: PO Box 33439, London, SW18 1XH
Further information about "Fair Access to Care Services" can be found on the Department of Health website www.dh.gov.uk |
