Directorate of Social Services 1 City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe

www.swansea.gov.uk/socialcare Factsheet 001/v.4 April 2013

Getting Help from Social Services:
a guide to Assessment and Eligibility for Adults


About this factsheet
Social Services in Swansea aim to help
people to live independently and safely.
But there is always a high demand for the
services and support we provide, and
because Social Services has a limited
amount of money, we have to make sure that
the people who are in greatest need of help
are given the greatest priority.
To do this we use assessments and a set of
rules called eligibility criteria to work out in
a fair way who we are able to help, and what
help we are able to provide.
This factsheet tells you more about
assessments and eligibility criteria and how
we use them.

Our legal duty to carry out
assessments
The Local Authority has a duty under Section
47 (1) of the National Health Service and
Community Care Act 1990 to carry out an
assessment of need for community care
services of people who appear to them to
need such services and then having regard
to that assessment decide whether those
needs call for provision by them of services.
Where the Local Authority discovers during a
Section 47 (1) assessment that a person is
disabled, Section 47(2) of the National
Health Service and Community Care Act
imposes a duty on the Local Authority to
make a decision as to the services required
by that person under Section 4 of the
Disabled Persons (Services, Consultation &
Representation) Act 1986 and to decide
whether the needs of the disabled person
calls for the provision by the Authority of any
service in accordance with Section 2(1) of
the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons
Act 1970.
Section 8 (1) of the Disabled Persons
(Services, Consultation and Representation)
Act requires local authorities to have regard
to the ability of a carer to continue to provide
care on a regular basis.

What is an assessment?
An assessment is when a trained person
collects information from you in order to work
out what your needs are and which ones
might be putting you at risk.
Once you, or someone acting on your behalf,
have asked for an assessment, one of our
staff will get in touch with you to arrange to
carry it out. You can have a friend or relative
with you at the assessment if you wish.
If you have a carer a relative or friend who
provides you with unpaid help - we will also
want to talk to them about what help they are
able and willing to give.
We may also want to get information from
other people, such as your doctor.

What happens during an
assessment?
The assessment is not a test. We will talk
with you about what things you can do for
yourself and where you already get support
from others, as well as looking at what
difficulties you are having at the moment and
what sort of help may benefit you.
There are four main aspects of life that we
look at with you:
how much control you have over your
own life, and how easy or difficult you
find it to make decisions about the
way you live
Directorate of Social Services 2 City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe
www.swansea.gov.uk/socialcare Factsheet 001/v.4 April 2013

your health and safety, including any
risks to your mental health or
wellbeing
your daily routines, such as personal
care and domestic chores, and how
well you are able to manage them
how well you are able to involve
yourself in family responsibilities,
community life, work or study.
We may ask you about:
Your general health whether you
have any medical conditions, and if so
whether you are having treatment or
taking medication for these
Your mental health and well being,
including your memory and your
motivation to do things
Any difficulties you have with sight,
hearing or speech
Your mobility how easy you find it to
get around and do things inside,
outside and away from your home
Your personal care washing, using
the toilet, dressing, eating, drinking
Your domestic arrangements
cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping
and looking after your finances
What support you get from family,
friends, neighbours or other
organisations
Whether some days are easier or
better than others and why this might
be
On the assessment form we write down
everything we discussed and agreed with
you during the assessment, and also
anything we might have disagreed about.

Assessments and carers
If you have a carer they can also ask for a
separate assessment of their own needs.
Our factsheet Carers Needs Assessments
and Support for Carers of Adults gives more
information on this.

What are eligibility criteria?
Eligibility criteria is the name given to the
rules set for Social Services by the Welsh
Assembly Government. These rules are
what Social Services uses to decide whether
someone is able to have support or services
from us. They are intended to ensure that
everyone is treated fairly, and that the money
we have is used in the most effective way.
We use these eligibility criteria to look at the
risk to your independence, and at how much
you might benefit from the support we could
provide. There are four levels of risk:
Critical
Substantial
Moderate
Low
As part of the assessment we look at each of
the needs we have identified and how much
risk there is.

How we work out if you can get
help from Social Services
Currently, like most other local authorities in
Wales, our eligibility criteria are set so that
we provide services and support only to
people whose needs are critical or
substantial. This means that:
You cant manage to do essential
things, and there is no other
practicable way of getting them done
or
You are struggling to manage, but you
or a carer are at serious risk of injury
or of the situation breaking down, and
there is no other practicable way of
getting things done or
There has been, or is going to be,
abuse or neglect or
Your life is at risk.
So, unfortunately, if your needs are not
putting your independence at critical or
substantial risk, we will not be able to provide
any practical help or support.
In an emergency we will take urgent action to
meet your immediate needs.
Directorate of Social Services 3 City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe
www.swansea.gov.uk/socialcare Factsheet 001/v.4 April 2013

We look at each of your needs separately, so
even if one of them qualifies for help, it
doesnt necessarily mean that you will get
help with others only if they are eligible too.
However if your needs are moderate or low
we will give you advice or information about
other ways of meeting your needs. This may
include services provided in your community
by other council departments, or by
independent or voluntary organisations.

Do I have to pay anything?
There is no charge for the assessment or for
giving you advice and information.
We charge for some of the services we
provide. For some services, everyone who
receives that service pays the same amount.
For certain types of service (long-term care
at home and residential care) our charges
are based on how much money you have,
and we would need to do a financial
assessment to work out how much you
should pay.
We will tell you about any charges you will
have to pay before you start receiving any
services.

Your support plan
Once we have worked out your eligible
needs, we will work with you, and maybe
with others, to write a Support Plan. You
will get a copy of this to keep.
The Support Plan says how your needs are
going to be met by local services, and what
those services are trying to achieve. Often
the plan will be to provide you with services
or support which work towards a specific
outcome. For example, you may need help
to manage at home again after a period of
illness, or you may want to develop practical
skills or confidence that will allow you to
become more independent and more
involved with your local community.
We will regularly review your Support Plan
with you to check that it is still meeting your
needs, and to see if your needs have
changed. This may mean that you get more
of a particular service, a different service,
less of a service, or no service at all.
If your needs or circumstances change, you
can ask us for a new assessment.

What if I prefer to arrange my own
support?
If you are eligible for social care support, we
may be to give you money so that you can
organise your services yourself rather than
have Social Services do this for you. This is
called a Direct Payment. If you want to find
out more about this please ask for our
factsheet Managing your Care with Direct
Payments.

What if I am not happy with the
decision?
If you (or your representative) are not happy
about:
a decision not to carry out an
assessment of need
or
the outcome of any assessment
you can request a review of that decision to
be carried out by the relevant Team
Manager. This review will be carried out
within 10 working days and you will be
advised of the outcome.
If you (or your representative) are still
unhappy with the Team Managers response
you may request a reassessment. This will
be carried out by a senior practitioner within
the team or by a member of another team if
that is considered more appropriate. This
reassessment will normally be carried out
within 10 working days of the request being
received, and you will be advised of the
outcome.
If you remain dissatisfied we will consider
providing an independent reassessment
using an appropriate professional from
outside the service.
If you do not wish to have an independent
reassessment, you have the right to pursue a
complaint through the formal complaints
procedure. (See final page.)


Directorate of Social Services 4 City and County of Swansea Dinas a Sir Abertawe
www.swansea.gov.uk/socialcare Factsheet 001/v.4 April 2013


How to Contact Social Services
You can contact us by phone, by email, or by
letter to Civic Centre, Oystermouth Road,
Swansea SA1 3SN.
For older people (65 +) and people with a
physical or sensory disability:
Intake Team Adult Services
01792 636519
Text phone: 07796 275412
Email: IntakeOPDS@swansea.gov.uk.

For people with learning disabilities:
Community Support Team
01792 614100
Email:
community.support.team@swansea.gov.uk

For people with mental health problems:
We have three area teams. Contact the team
for the area where you live.
West Swansea
01792 517800
Central Swansea
01792 517853
North Swansea
01792 841435

For people who are currently in hospital:
ask to speak to the hospital social worker.

For copies of other factsheets mentioned in
this factsheet, ask your care manager, phone
01792 636693 or see our website
www.swansea.gov.uk/socialcarepublications



Swansea Social Services and
personal information
When you are in touch with Social Services,
we will keep information about you in written
records and computer files. We will keep this
information confidential, except where we
need to share it with people providing you
with care, or to protect you or other people.
We will normally ask your permission to
share information.
You have a right to ask to see records we
keep about you.
Our factsheet Your Personal Information
explains more about how we handle personal
information.

Comments and complaints
We welcome any comments about our
services good or bad. We are interested to
hear how we could do things better, and we
like to know when we are doing well.
If you are unhappy with the services you
receive, we encourage you to make a
comment or complaint. Full details are given
in the factsheet Making a comment,
complaint or compliment about Social
Services.
For more advice or information about making
a complaint, you can contact our Complaints
Officers on 01792 637345 or email
complaints@swansea.gov.uk.









This information is also available in alternative formats, such as large
print, on audio CD, in Braille, or electronically. Please phone 01792
636693 for copies.