Buckinghamshire Adult Social Care can help you arrange the following:

• care in your home
• day care/opportunities and activities
• telecare gadgets and devices
• respite
• equipment in your home

Buckinghamshire Council: 01296 383204

Care Advice Buckinghamshire: a website for adults in need of care and support in Buckinghamshire, their families and carers.

This begins with an ‘Assessment of Care Needs’ for the person you care for. This looks at:

• what the person you care for is able to do on their own
• what the person you care for needs help with
• what help the person you care for already has

This determines whether the person you care for is eligible for care and support, and if so a Personal Budget.

Services:

Once an assessment has established a need for help, Buckinghamshire Adult Social Services may provide one or more of a variety of services which could include:

• care at home – such as help from carer workers, laundry services, meals or telecare
• care away from home – residential care on a permanent or temporary basis. It could also include respite care, day centres or short stays in care for rehabilitation

Occupational Therapy assessments can take place for things that will make living at home easier e.g. minor home adaptations (such as grab rails, stair rails) or equipment (such as raised toilet seats) and give recommendations to District Councils or housing providers for major structural alterations to kitchens, bathrooms, adding in stair lifts and ramps.

Financial assessment

Social care is means tested and it will look at:

• your regular income – pension, benefits, earnings
• your capital – cash savings and investments, land and property (including overseas property) and business assets

Personal budget

You or the person you care or will normally be able to choose whether to ask Social Services to arrange a specific service for you or to have a direct payment so that you can buy in the service yourself.

There are advantages and disadvantages to receiving a direct payment that should be considered before you or the person you care for make a decision.

If you feel that you don’t want social services involvement or if your financial situation means that you will have to pay for care you may want to choose to organise a package of care yourself.

See Can I organise my own care and support? – Buckinghamshire Council.

Care Agencies – there are many care agencies throughout Buckinghamshire offering care in the home. Care workers will help people with personal care (washing, dressing, toileting) at various times of the day. Some offer help with shopping, light housework and a sitting service (i.e. to sit with the person your care for so that you can get out for a short period).

All care agencies should be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and are inspected on a regular basis. When choosing a care agency it is advisable to check their inspection reports on the CQC website. Also, some care agencies only cover certain parts of the county.

Carers who are ‘providing or intending to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular basis’ for a relative or friend have a legal right to an assessment of their own needs.

The purpose of a Carer’s Assessment is to discuss with social services the help you need with caring, together with help to maintain your own health and balance caring with your life, work and family commitments. It is an opportunity to make sure that your needs are understood and for you to talk about the help you need.

The assessment is free and confidential.

A Carers’ Assessment is not dependent on whether the person you care for receives any support from social services. You do not have to be living with the person you care for to receive an assessment, nor do you have to be the sole carer.