Carer's Assessments for adult carers

We have asked Carers Trust Heart of England to complete some of our Carer's Assessments on our behalf:

• If you or the person you care for already have services from us or if we are already involved then we will complete your assessment.
• If you or the person you care for do not already have services or involvement from us, Carers Trust Heart of England will complete your assessment.

If the person you care for is having an assessment from Adult Social Care or Mental Health Services, your needs as a carer should always be considered as part of this assessment. This is called a ‘combined assessment’. You can still have your needs assessed separately as well if this will be of benefit for you to look in more detail at your caring role and how it affects you.

The assessment will begin when you first contact us or Carers Trust Heart of England, or if someone contacts us on your behalf.

First of all we will ask you for your permission to record the information about you on our social care recording system. We may need to share or collect some of this information with other agencies and organisations if we help to arrange support for you or as part of the assessment process. This could include information from your GP. We will keep this information safe and confidential.

You can tell us if there is someone or somewhere you do not want us to share information with.

We may gather this information in a number of ways, such as:

• From your online self-assessment form
• On the telephone
• Arranging for you to come and see us
• Visiting you at home or where you are staying
• By email

If you choose to start your assessment yourself you can complete an online self assessment form or ask for a form to be sent out to you when you contact us. It is better if you can fill in the form on a computer and send it to us before we talk to you again or meet with you. However, don’t worry if you can’t, you can post the form back to us.

The time it takes to complete your assessment will depend on your situation. We may be able to give you information and advice about getting the support you need after the first conversation and in some circumstances your assessment would then be finished. We will always provide you with a copy of your assessment and any advice we suggest. If your situation is more complicated we may start your assessment over the telephone and then arrange for someone to call you back or meet with you to continue with the discussion.

If you start your assessment with Carers Trust Heart of England, they will record that assessment on our social care recording system.

What happens next?

In this stage of assessment we will be looking at ways to support you to continue caring and reduce the need for ongoing support. If your assessment is being carried out by Carers Trust Heart of England they will follow the same process with you.

We will look at different types of support that can help you continue caring safely and look after yourself. For example, we may suggest equipment to help the person you care for be more independent or Telecare to give you peace of mind when you’re not around. We might look at training and learning, practical advice, support groups and emergency planning that can help you in your caring role.

Often just talking about your situation and having the chance to plan and think through how you can manage different aspects of your life and your caring role can be of great help. Being prepared for things that might happen can help you feel more in control and enable you to get help when you need it.

If we identify some things to help you, we will agree a plan with you about how you will be supported and what outcomes you want to achieve first of all. We will agree how and when we will keep in touch over the next few weeks to review how you are getting on and we will look at whether your outcomes have been met.

If they have, we will finish your assessment and make sure that you have all the information, advice and equipment you need to continue caring and feel more supported in your caring role. You will receive a copy of your assessment and a summary of the support and information that has been provided.

If your outcomes have not been met, we will look at whether you need further support and move on to the next stage. This includes making decisions about your ongoing needs and whether you are eligible for support from the Council.

If your Carer’s Assessment has been started by Carers Trust Heart of England they will ask us to carry on with the assessment to look at longer term needs.

If it appears that the person you care for may need support in order for you to take a break we will need to arrange to assess their needs as well, but your entitlement to support does not depend on the person you care for also receiving help from us.

See the information about having a needs assessment for more details.