Carers Assessment
A carers assessment is when we look at your situation to see if you can get help or services that could make caring easier for you.
It's your opportunity to help the social worker understand the impact caring has on you, and talk about the services that would help you.
“Since having a carers assessment I’ve had more help
and support than in 20 years of caring.”
How will a carers assessment benefit you?
- It will give you the chance to share your views about your caring role and to say how it affects you and your life, as well as the needs of the person you are caring for.
- It will help us to ensure that you both get the support you need.
- The assessment gives you the opportunity to talk openly about your life as a carer.
- You can set up an ‘emergency plan’, so that if there was an emergency and you were suddenly taken ill or involved in an accident, the person you care for would still be looked after.
Before you have a carers assessment it may be a good idea to make a list, or keep a diary, of everything you do to help look after the person you care for.
Here are some things you may want to think about:
- Do you get enough sleep?
- Is your health affected by caring?
- Can you leave the person you are looking after on their own?
- Are you able to get out and about
- Are you worried about having to give up
- work or is caring affecting your studies or other activities?
- Do you get enough time to yourself?
- Are your other relationships affected?
- Do you want information about benefits?
- Do you need help to take up work, education or leisure opportunities?
- Are you able, or willing, to continue to care?
- Is the person you are caring for getting enough help?
The assessment can be carried out at your home or at the home of the person you are caring for, or at Salford Carers Centre. If there is more than one carer providing regular care in your household, they are also entitled to an assessment.
Services that may be available to help you and the person you care for include:
someone to help with the personal care of the person you look after such as having a bath
a break from caring
help with housework
changes to equipment
adaptations to the home
emotional support
Remember that although this assessment is about your needs as a carer, you should be able to talk about the needs of the person you are caring for. If your situation changes - for example you need more support - you can ask for a re-assessment of both your needs.
How do you arrange to have a carers assessment?
If you, or the person you care for, already has a social worker, care manager or community psychiatric nurse, you can ask them for an assessment.
If the person you care for is in hospital, ask hospital staff to arrange for you to have a carers assessment well before the person is likely to be discharged or speak to the hospital social work team.
Contact Salford Carers Centre, and we will discuss the process with you, see if there is any help we may be able to offer you and make sure that everything goes smoothly.
What will happen next?
You will be contacted by a member of Salford Community, Health and Social Care staff and offered an appointment at a time and place to suit you.
You will be offered a separate and private assessment and enough time to talk in depth about your circumstances.
What will happen after the carers assessment?
Any actions, services or developments arising from issues you raised will be recorded.
You will be offered copies of your assessment and your support plan.
You will be given clear information about what to do if you disagree with the assessment, the way it was carried out, or its outcome.
You will be offered a review of your needs if your needs change.
Caring for yourself
Caring can be rewarding but it can make great demands on your time, your health and your emotions, and can be very exhausting. If you ever feel at the end of your tether, please do ring your family doctor, Salford Community Health and Social Care or your local Carers Centre for help and let them know how you feel.
The Princess Royal Trust Salford Carers Centre
1 St. Philip’s Place, Salford M3 6FA
Tel: 0161 833 0217
Fax: 0161 833 1992
Email: carers.centre@salford.gov.uk
This page was last updated on 03 November 2008
Email this page to a friend
Bookmark this page using:
Find out more about social bookmarking.
These sites allow you to store, tag and share links across the internet. You can share these links both with friends and people with similar interests. You can also access your links from any computer you happen to be using.
If you come across a page on our site that you find interesting and want to save for future reference or share it with other people, simply click on one of these links to add to your list.
All of these sites are free to use but do require you to register. Once you have registered you can begin bookmarking. Each of the sites works slightly differently so use the links below to find out which service best suits your needs.
Find out more about social bookmarking at Wikipedia.
