Aging, disability, and long-term illnesses can change your life, but they shouldn’t prevent you from being able to live the way you want.
Northumberland County Council can help you get the support you need, through two types of support arrangements.
Crisis support is for people who have immediate care needs after a health crisis or accident, and when those needs are met, they will be able to recover and become independent.
The second kind of support is self-directed support, which is for people with long-term support needs. With self-directed support, people are given a personal budget, which they can manage themselves or with help. The council can also make arrangements on a person’s behalf if that person is not capable of self-management.
How do you go about getting social care and support?
It all begins with assessments. First, an advice and needs assessment is provided to anyone who needs care and support. If you have physical or mental health problems, any kind of disability, or a long-term condition, you can request a needs assessment. This is essentially just a conversation with a trained staff member, who will produce a written statement of your needs, along with strategies to reduce those needs or prevent them from worsening.
You can get advice on available support without a needs assessment, so if you are not sure that you are going to have an ongoing need for services arranged or financed by the council, you may want to simply ask for advice.
After that, you can make an informed decision about whether or not a full needs assessment makes sense for you. You can begin a needs assessment by writing out your perception of your needs, and the solutions that you have been using to meet those needs. Consider the outcomes that you want from the assessment, and the impact your needs are having on your life. Family members and friends can help you with this self-assessment and if you have the capacity to use the Internet, you can provide information through an online form.
If you don’t feel comfortable with a self-assessment, the council can collect this information on the phone or face-to-face. With your permission, they will discuss your information with professionals like doctors or nurses, as well as family members and friends who have been helping you. The goal is to make sure that you get the help you need to live independently. After the needs assessment, you will be given a statement describing your needs and offering advice about how to manage them as well as stating whether or not you are eligible for care. If you are eligible for care, the County Council will work with you to create a care and support plan.
What will be asked during the assessment?
It should be noted that you are allowed to have someone with you to help you answer questions, and you can also answer questions in writing if that’s most comfortable for you.
First, you will be asked about the outcomes you were hoping to achieve and what you were hoping to gain from the assessment. You may prioritise living in your own home for example, or you may be eager to get back to doing things you used to do. Once the council has established your primary objectives, they will ask specific questions. These include questions about your health and medical condition, but also about your day-to-day life. The primary goal of the assessment is to determine your needs and help you find the support you need to meet them. Some of the questions will be about the help you need with everyday activities such as:
- Getting up and ready for the day in the morning
- Getting ready to go to bed
- Toileting bathing and showering
- Preparing and eating food
- Taking medicines as they have been prescribed
- Safely navigating your home
- Keeping your home clean, safe, and well maintained
- Being able to do things like working, volunteering, studying, or training
- Maintaining your personal relationships with friends and family
- Taking care of children for whom you are responsible
Your care and support plan will be funded partially by the County Council, and partially through contributions that you make towards your own care. The amount of your required contribution is determined through a financial assessment.
A financial assessment involves a review of all of your income and assets. This assessment is used to determine what you can afford to pay, and it’s not mandatory, but if you do not wish to undergo a financial assessment you will be responsible for the full cost of your support services. No one will be asked to pay more than they can reasonably afford, and if you disagree with the results of your financial assessment, you can ask for a review.
What sort of support services are available?
By law, councils must meet certain needs determined by national ‘eligibility criteria‘. Northumberland County Council meet these needs as well as some additional needs.
According to the national rules, you must be provided support if you need help with two of the needs detailed in the care assessment. However, Northumberland County Council goes above and beyond and provides support if you need help with only one of those needs. The council will not, however, pay for services that are not truly necessary for your well-being.
For example, they will not pay for house cleaning unless your inability to clean is putting your health at risk. However, they can advise you about how to engage cleaning services for ordinary housekeeping. Similarly, the council will pay for transport or carers to help you get to leisure activities in order to provide you with the opportunity to get out of the house, but will not pay for entry fees or membership subscriptions for those leisure activities, nor will they pay to help you get two an activity in which your disability prevents you from taking part. For those needs that are not covered by the council, the council can give you advice about how to manage these expenses using other sources of funding.
Once the responsibility for covering the cost of support services has been established, the council can help you create a care and support plan. The first step is to consider the amount of care you will require from paid care workers, and how much of your care will be covered by friends and family. then you will need to decide whether you want to arrange your care on your own or have the council arrange it for you. if you choose to arrange it yourself you can do this by receiving direct payments and using them to cover the cost of your care.
In some cases, it is necessary for a person’s home to be modified in order for that person to live there safely. If you believe your home requires adaptations, speak to an occupational therapist (‘OT’) in order to get advice about major adaptations. An OT will be able to advise you on different solutions to your problems, as well as any equipment you might wish to use in lieu of making major adaptations to your home. If your home is particularly ill-suited to your needs and safety, the OT team may suggest a move. On the other hand, the OT may be able to help you save money by making small adaptations instead of major renovations it could be something as simple as attaching grab rails or adapting the steps to your property. There is no cost for a consultation with an occupational therapist.
Organising care at home via the Council can be complicated, but when you’re looking for affordable private home care in Northumberland, Shine Care At Home is here to help. For over ten years, Shine Care At Home has been providing specialist, person-centred at-home and live-in care adult care services for people with care needs, to give those people and their families the peace of mind that comes with knowing they’re being well cared for.
Providing high-quality service based on connection, kindness, and compassion, we offer live-in care services, dementia care services, personal care services, older person companion care services and respite care services in Northumberland, exceeding standards and expectations to help our clients live their best possible lives. For more information about our services, call 0191 488 3413 or contact us through our website.