- What is an assessment?
- What happens at an assessment?
- Support during an assessment
- What about confidentiality?
- How long will I have to wait for an assessment?
- How do we decide who is entitled to help?
- What happens if I am entitled to help?
- What do I do if I am not entitled to help?
- Will I need to pay for services?
What is an assessment?
An assessment is where we:
- talk with you about the support you need in different areas of your life
- decide whether you are eligible for long-term social care support
- if eligible, decide how much money you have to pay for this support. This is called your indicative personal budget.
Someone can ask for help on your behalf. They should:
- ask your permission before contacting the Adult Social Care and Health Department
- contact the Customer Service Centre
- have some basic information about you ready, including what language you speak, if English is not your first language.
What happens at an assessment?
A social care worker will arrange to visit you at home or in hospital.
They will talk to you about:
- your personal and domestic routines
- your involvement in family and community life
- health and safety issues
- independence
- health issues
- any help you get from other people
- anything else that may be relevant.
You can download a copy of the assessment form to allow you to think about the issues involved beforehand.
Once they have talked to you staff may also ask for your permission to collect information from other people who know you, such as your family, your family doctor or community nurse.
Identity card - All our staff have an identity card with their photo on it. Before they enter your home they should hand the card to you, tell you who they are and explain why they have come. If you are worried ring the Customer Service Centre who will tell you whether the person works for us or not. Do not let anyone into your home if you are not sure who they are.
Support during an assessment
You are welcome to have a friend or relative with you during the assessment.
If you want support to say what you think during the assessment, please tell us beforehand. We may be able to give you information about independent advocacy services.
Tell us if you use British Sign Language, or if English is not your first language, so we can arrange for an interpreter to be there.
What about confidentiality?
All staff working for Nottinghamshire County Council, have a duty to keep your personal information secure. The information you give will usually only be shared with our own staff and other agencies, for example the NHS, with your permission. This is to make sure that you get the help and care you need.
Sometimes information may be shared without your permission; this is usually if it is necessary to protect you or someone else from harm.
You have a right to see information recorded about you.
How long will I have to wait for an assessment?
We aim to contact all people who are asking for help for the first time, within 48 hours. This will be an initial telephone call to give us the details we need to assess your level of need. We aim to complete an assessment within 14 days.
Priority to have an assessment is made according to need. Some people will be seen as quickly as possible, depending on how urgent their situation is. In an emergency you can get help without waiting for an assessment, although one will be done as soon as possible.
We will tell you how long you might have to wait when you first contact us.
How do we decide who is entitled to help?
We use Government guidance that says that we have to decide whether your ability to live independently would put you at risk if we do not provide or arrange services to help you.
If there is a risk to your independence we have to decide whether the risk is “critical, substantial, moderate or low”.
You will be entitled to help with any problems that pose a critical or substantial risk to your independence. If your problems pose a moderate or low risk to your independence you may not be entitled to help from Nottinghamshire County Council.
For more information about the eligibility guidance see the Department of Health website.
What happens if I am entitled to help?
If your assessment says you need support you will be offered a personal budget. This is an amount of money we have agreed with you will meet your long-term social care needs.
There are three different ways to have your personal budget:
- direct payment - this is a cash payment to buy the support you need yourself. For more information see our direct payment factsheet
- managed personal budget - we will arrange the support you need for you. For more information see our managed personal budget factsheet.
- mixed personal budget - a mix of direct payments and managed personal budget.
We will work with you to complete a support plan that describes how your personal budget will be spent. For more information see our support plan factsheet.
You can download a copy of the support plan form to allow you to think about the issues involved beforehand.
Our Directory of Support and Community Resources lists a wide variety of organisations that can provide support and help you live independently.
We will review your support needs every year. If your needs change before your review please tell us.
What do I do if I am not entitled to help?
Staff will provide information and advice about other agencies that might be able to help instead.
Get in touch with us again if your circumstances change.
Will I need to pay for services?
Most (but not all) people need to contribute towards their support. We may need to do a financial assessment with you to find out how much, if anything, you need to contribute. For this assessment we need to know about your:
- earnings
- benefits
- pensions
- savings.
If you do not want to give this information to us, you will have to contribute the full amount for your support.
