Arranging care and support

A professional, such a GP may refer you for an assessment. You can also contact us yourself, or ask a relative or friend to do it for you. To be eligible for an assessment we need to confirm:

• you are over 18 years old,
• appear to need care and support, and
• are a resident of Peterborough

Do you need care and support?

The Care Act 2014 says: ‘In considering whether an adult with care and support needs has eligible needs, local authorities must consider whether:

• the adult’s needs arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness
• as a result of the adult’s needs the adult is unable to achieve two or more of the specified outcomes
• as a consequence of being unable to achieve these outcomes there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on the adult’s wellbeing

An adult’s needs are only eligible where they meet all three of these conditions.' To find out more about eligibility outcomes, you can visit the Social Care Institute for Excellence website.

Contacting adult social care to arrange an assessment

If you need to contact Adult Social Care please complete our online form.

You can also call us on 01733 747474 or email adultsocialcare@peterborough.gov.uk

Adult Social Care
Peterborough City Council
Sand Martin House
Bittern Way
Fletton Quays
Peterborough
PE2 8TY

The aim of the assessment is to identify what needs you may have and what outcomes you are looking to achieve to maintain or improve your wellbeing. An assessment looks in detail at your situation and what is important to you. It helps us understand your strengths and abilities and what care and support you might need to stay independent, safe and well. Together, if one is necessary, we can work out a care and support plan.

The assessor will either complete your assessment with you, or you can get support to complete it yourself. It is a two way conversation. With your permission, we might ask the opinion of other professionals who know and work with you. We will also take account of the needs of your family or carer and assess them separately if they ask us to.

The assessment will focus on:

• exploring your current circumstances
• your strengths and abilities
• what's working well
• what's not working so well
• what you would like to change or achieve
• if you need any help what help you need

Any information you give us will remain confidential. We will not share this with anyone else without your permission. Other than in exceptional circumstances where the law says we must show it to someone else.

The assessment considers some areas of your life, which include your current situation and what has lead you to your assessment:

• your health
• your safety
• your physical abilities
• your mental health
• how you look after yourself on a daily basis
• your involvement in your community
• who supports you, if anyone
• what your needs are

It will bring together a summary of your needs and the outcomes you want to achieve. The assessor will look at whether there are any risks to you and your wellbeing and agree with you how they can be best managed. They will also look at how to help you prevent and delay the need for care and support. They will give you their professional opinion. Your assessor will determine whether you are eligible for support from the council.

If you are eligible for support from us, you can still create your own care and support plan. You can get help from family friends, a service provider, a key worker, or an independent support planner. They must act in your best interests. We will check that the plan will meet your needs.

If we help you to create a care and support plan - we will:

• look at the needs identified during your care needs assessment
• look at the support available from your family, friends, carers and local community
• plan the support which will meet your needs
• identify how much this will cost
• offer you advice and information to help you prevent or delay the need for care in the future

You will have choice and control around how you meet the needs which were identified in your care and support plan.

Paying for care

Unlike NHS care, social care services are not usually free. How much you pay for your care depends on your income and savings. You can find out more on our Paying for Care pages.

 Paying for care

Help and support

As part of your social care assessment, it may be identified that you may also need help and support with your health needs for which we can arrange a healthcare assessment. The healthcare assessment will find out if you are entitled to free NHS continuing healthcare.

To be eligible for NHS continuing healthcare, you must be assessed by a team of healthcare professionals (a multidisciplinary team). The team will look at all your care needs and relate them to:

• what help you need
• how complex your needs are
• how intense your needs can be
• how unpredictable they are, including any risks to your health if the right care isn't provided at the right time

Your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare depends on your assessed needs, and not on any particular diagnosis or condition. If your needs change then your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare may change.

We will usually review your support after 6-12 weeks, and then annually. You can invite anyone you think should be involved, and let your social care worker know in advance. Your social care worker can also help organise an advocate, if you have difficulty expressing your views. You can find out more about advocacy on our Advocacy page.

You, your carers, the council and service providers can request a review at any time if:

• your needs have changed
• the support no longer meets your needs
• you want to make a major change to your care and support plan
• there are unmanageable risks in your care and support plan

Disagree with something?

If you don’t agree with something, or you’re not happy with the decision made about your care and support plan, please discuss this with your social care worker.

If you are still not satisfied you can contact the Complaints Team to make a complaint. Find out more on the Compliments, comments and complaints page.

Relocating

If you have needs that meet the new national eligibility criteria, you will be able to get some help from your local council wherever you live in England.

Although the level of need councils use to decide whether or not they can help will be same across the country, the help you receive might be different in different areas. For example, one council might provide a buddying service to help prevent people from feeling lonely, while another might help people to stop feeling lonely by introducing them to community events in their area, so your support package may change.

Moving in to Peterborough

If you currently have a care and support package and are moving to Peterborough, you must notify your current local council of your intention to move out of their district. They will then contact us here in Peterborough to advise of the situation. We will then contact you to discuss your needs and to confirm that you are moving into our local authority area.

Moving out of Peterborough

If you are thinking of moving out of the Peterborough area you will need to inform your social worker, to discuss the next steps and help contact your new council to advise them of your change in circumstances and contact information.