How we assess whether adults need our help

What happens if I need social care help?

If you might need help from Lancashire County Council then a social worker will talk to you. The social worker will try to find out what help you need and the best way to provide it. This process is called assessment.

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Can I have an assessment?

Lancashire County Council can give you an assessment if you are over 18 and you are finding it difficult to look after yourself and live the way you want to because you:

• have a physical disability or injury;
• have lost some or all of your hearing or sight;
• have a learning disability or mental health problem; or
• you are generally frail, for example because you are elderly.

If you are a carer and you think you need help, then we can also give you an assessment - this is known as a carer’s assessment. If you are caring for a child, then we will assess your child separately. If you want to have an assessment, contact your local office.

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What happens if you cannot help me?

If we cannot offer any kind of services to help you, we will write to you to let you know. We will tell you about any other help that you may be able to get with any problems you may still have.

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What sorts of services are available to help me?

After your assessment, if we decide that we can help you, we will discuss with you what services could help you. Depending on your situation, we can tell you which services you could receive, how often you could receive them and for how long you could receive them.

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Will I have to pay for the help I get?

You may have to pay for some of the help you get. During your assessment, the social worker will discuss this with you. If you have a low income and low savings, you will not have to pay the full charge for many of our services.

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How quickly will you do my assessment?

When you or someone else on your behalf, contacts us, we will decide how quickly to do your assessment. It depends how urgent your needs are. We will do your assessment:

• Within 24 hours - if something is going to happen soon that will threaten your safety or make it difficult for you to live independently.
• Within 5 working days - if you need a lot of help with looking after yourself in your own home and the help you
  get at the moment is not enough or is likely to stop.
• Within 10 working days - if you have a level of disability that prevents you from completing several
  normal daily routines.
• Within 20 working days - all other cases.

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What happens after my assessment?

Your assessment will give us all the information we need to decide whether we can get you some help. The kind of help will depend on your situation. Your possible situations have been divided into four types as shown below. These have been decided by the Government. We will use these to decide whether we can get you some help.

Critical needs - first priority for help

Your needs will be assessed as critical if:

• life is in danger;
• you have significant health problems;
• serious abuse or neglect has occurred or might occur;
• vital personal care or domestic routines cannot be sustained;
• vital involvement in work, education or learning cannot be sustained;
• vital social support systems and relationships cannot be sustained;
• vital family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot be undertaken.

Substantial needs - second priority for help

Your needs will be assessed as substantial if:

• you have only partial choice and control over the things in your life that are important
  for you to be able to live independently;
• abuse or neglect has occurred, or might occur;
• you cannot carry out the majority of your personal care or domestic routines and there is no one available to provide the help that you need;
• your involvement in many aspects of work, education or learning cannot be sustained;
• the majority of your social support systems and relationships cannot be sustained;
• you cannot carry out the majority of your family and social roles and responsibilities.

Moderate needs - third priority for help

Your needs will be assessed as moderate if:

• you are unable to carry out several personal care or domestic routines;
• your involvement in some aspects of work, education or learning cannot be sustained;
• some of your social support systems and relationships cannot be sustained;
• you cannot carry out several of your family and social roles and responsibilities.

Low needs - fourth priority for help (advice only offered)

Your needs will be assessed as low if:

• you are unable to carry out one or two personal care or domestic tasks;
• your involvement in one or two aspects of work, education or learning cannot be sustained;
• one or two of your social support systems and relationships cannot be sustained;
• you cannot carry out one or two of your family and social roles and responsibilities.
  

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