Information about assessing your care and support needs

You can assess your care and support needs online. This is called self-assessment. You can assess your own care needs or to complete an assessment for someone else. If we agree a person qualifies for support, they will be able to choose from a range of support services matching their assessed needs.

A self-assessment can be done by or for anyone living within Kent County Council's boundary, aged 18 or over who has difficulty carrying out everyday activities such as getting up and down stairs, preparing a meal and some aspects of personal care.

Carers, friends or family can also complete the assessment on behalf of someone else living in Kent. If this is the case, we will always contact the person concerned to check that they wish to have the services we may offer.

If you qualify for support we try to provide the agreed services within 28 days of completing an assessment.

Eligibility

You are entitled to social care services only if we agree that you qualify for support.

In some cases, if you qualify for support but have higher needs we will ask you to have a full assessment before services are provided. This is to ensure we have all the information we need in order to give someone all the support they require.

Find out if you qualify for community care.

Your financial situation

If you have been assessed as eligible for community care services and you would like our involvement in getting care and support, you need to be financially assessed.

Our Financial assessment factsheet gives information about how, why and when we will complete a financial assessment with you.

What sort of services are offered?

Depending on your needs you may be offered any or all of the following:

• Toilet frames and raised toilet seats - to help you get on and off the toilet.
• Bed rails and bed raisers - to help you get in and out of bed more easily.
• Chair raisers - to help you get in and out of your chair more easily.
• Grab rails - for example, by your front door or by a toilet.
• Extra stair rails so that you are able to climb the stairs more easily or safely.
• Kitchen stools and kitchen trolleys - to help you sit in the kitchen to prepare food and then to be able to carry it safely to where you wish to eat.
• Further Assessment - to make sure you are getting all the help and support you require if we think it would be helpful we will suggest that we discuss your needs further with you.
• Referral for Sensory Assessment - we can provide support and assistance for people with issues with deafness and/or visual impairment. If you would like to find out more about services you can select to have a referral for a Sensory Assessment option.

There is no charge for any equipment services or any of the home adaptation services that we offer through self-assessment.

General needs assessment - what happens next?

On receipt of a completed assessment, social services will make an electronic record of the information received. This will mean that we will retain copies of the information you give. The assessment will be reviewed by the local social services team.

If a person is eligible for minor equipment an occupational therapist will arrange for the equipment to be provided. We will aim to have these in place within seven working days after we have reviewed and agreed your assessment.

We will always make an appointment with you to arrange delivery and fitting of equipment or for fitting of adaptations.

You can refuse any services or support offered but before you do this though it is important for you to ask us questions if you feel you do not have enough information or do not understand why a service is suitable for you.

You may find it helpful to talk to someone else such as an independent advocacy service. These services are available from organisations such as Age Concern, Citizens Advice Bureau or Help the Aged.

We will review your needs and the services being provided within three months of the service starting, and then we will carry out annual reviews unless you ask us for a new assessment at an earlier date.

Carers assessment - what happens next?

Your assessment will be reviewed by a duty worker and you will be contacted for a further discussion.

On receipt of a completed assessment social services will make an electronic record of the information received. This will mean that we will retain copies within the organisation of the information given. Each person the carer supports will have an electronic record created in their name. Find out more about Social Services policy regarding data protection.

Further assessments for people with a complex need

We recommend a further assessment for people who have more complex needs than we cover in the self-assessment form. This will involve meeting the person whose needs are being assessed so that they have the opportunity to discuss their needs and wishes.

We always encourage relatives or carers to be involved in this discussion, if that is what is wanted, so we can include their needs as well.

A further assessment does not involve a medical examination and we only speak to a person's doctor if they have given us permission.

Change your details

If you are receiving support from Social Services and your circumstances have changed since your last assessment then you can complete a self-assessment to tell us these changes. If you have a case manager then you should contact them first to discuss this.

Further information

You can get further information about services and other kinds of help by ringing our contact centre on 08458 247 100 or if you prefer you can email social.services@kent.gov.