Services for adults explained

Adult Social Care is part of Adults and Health which also includes:

• Strategy and Transformation 
• Public Health
• Community Safety and Regulated Services

This bring together a range of key services for the population of Stockton-on-Tees including adult services. 

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council can offer help to people aged 18 or over who live in Stockton-on-Tees. Assistance can range from guidance and information to meet adults care and support needs. 

We support adults whose needs arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness. As a result of their needs the adult is unable to manage their daily life and there is likely to be a significant impact on the adult's well-being. 

We shall also offer help, where needed, to carers and young carers of anyone falling into the above categories who provides necessary care, whatever their age or wherever they live, provided the person they care for is a resident of Stockton-on-Tees Borough. 

We can either provide care and support directly or purchase services on your behalf from independent providers or work with you so you can manage your own care through a personal budget or direct payment. 

There is an increasing choice of care and support available including:

• preventative and early intervention services 
• information directory and leaflets of Stockton-on-Tees Council and local community services 
• equipment and adaptations to assist with daily living 
• reablement to those recovering from a period of ill health 
• Stockton-on-Tees joint working with health to offer community therapy and reablement in people's own home to sustain independent living
• personal care and support at home 
• supporting people with long-term conditions and at the end of their life 
• support for carers and young carers 
• day services offering social contact, recuperation and the development of self-care skills 
• specialist support and advice for people with visual and or hearing impairment 
• help into employment, education, training and volunteering 
• advice on money and benefits 
• safeguarding adults when there are concerns of neglect or abuse by another person on institution

Our aim is to maintain personal independence and help people live in their own homes for as long as possible. 

In cases where it is no longer possible for someone to continue living at home in safety, we can advise about or arrange long term residential or nursing home care, which includes help with funding when appropriate.  

The way we support people who are eligible for services has changed as a result of Personalisation. 

Personalisation, giving you the choice and control and enabling you to live as you wish, whether you need support from others now, or in the future.  

Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council is committed to putting every person who needs our support at the heart of all that we do. Personalisation assists individuals, carers and young carers who have care and support needs by providing flexibility in the choice and control their own care and support to achieve a fulfilled life and connect with society.  

If you would like further information about Personalisation, Self-Directed Support and any other Adult Care services please get in touch with your Care Manager. If you do not have one, visit the Health and Social Care page.  

Every person's situation is unique and we carefully consider each request for support.  

If we think you may require care and support, you will be offered an assessment.

A Care Act assessment is an opportunity to talk through your circumstances and wellbeing with a care manager to identify your care and support needs. Together, we may consider aspects of your life that are causing you difficulty such as:

• managing and maintaining nutrition 
• maintaining personal hygiene 
• maintaining toilet needs
• being appropriately clothed
• how to feel safe in your own home
• maintaining a habitable home environment 
• developing and maintaining family and other relationships
• accessing and engaging in work
• education or volunteering
• making use of facilities in the community
• carrying out caring responsibilities for a child

Through this assessment we will be able to work with you to determine whether you are eligible for care and support.

In order that our care services are provided fairly and to those in greatest need, we use the Care Act 2014 National Minimum Eligibility Threshold to determine who is eligible for support. Those risks and needs identified through the Care Act assessment process allow the amount and type of care and support individuals require, to be established. 

For further details, visit our Health and Social Care section.

Our assessment and advice services are free. We do charge for care services such as:

• personal care 
• transport
• day services
• telecare - equipment that supports independent living, such as personal alarms and monitoring equipment
• direct payments
• personal budgets
• housing related support

We will assess your ability to contribute to the cost of your care and support. Your contribution will be worked out by assessing your income and other assets expenditure with you. This will tell us whether or not you can afford to make any contribution to your care and support costs and if so how much. 

If you are assessed as being able to pay all or part of your care costs you will be sent an invoice every four weeks. This will show how much you need to pay and how you can arrange to pay. If you do not agree with the level of your assessed contribution or your circumstances change, you can ask Client Financial Services Team for a review. 

View our Paying for Adult Social Care section.  

A carer or young carer is anyone who looks after another person providing necessary care and support for a relative, friend or neighbour. At Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council we value and respect the role of unpaid carers and support them whenever possible.  

We are committed in supporting carers and young carers to access carers support with early intervention to:

• prevent a crisis
• provide advice and information
• provide independent advocacy to access support to plan their future

Carers and young carers have the rights to an assessment on the appearance of their own need, even when the person they care for has declined an assessment.  

A carer or young carer can be eligible for support whether or not the adult they care for has eligible care and support needs. Consideration of fluctuating needs of the adult can impact on the carer or young carer and will be taken into account when assessing for eligible needs.  

The Care Act 2014 has introduced a Carers National Minimum Eligibility Threshold which guides a trained assessor to make an eligibility decision.

View our support for carers section.

Adults may be frail or have ill health and be unable to protect themselves against neglect, harm or exploitation. We have procedures in place to safeguard adults against abuse.  

If you are concerned about the welfare of someone you know please contact our First Contact Service. All concerns and allegations are taken seriously.

View our safeguarding adults section. 

By law, anyone who works for Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council must keep information about you confidential. We will not gather more information than we need to be able to provide you with the support you require.  

To make sure you get the best possible support we may need to share some information about you with other people. We will discuss and agree with you which other health and social care professions, or services we will need to share your information with. Anyone who receives information from us must keep it confidential by law.  

We will only pass on your information to others, without your consent, where there is a safeguarding concern about you or others or where required to by law.  

You have a right to see your care records. The Data Protection Act allows you to have access to the information we have about you. There are circumstances where access to your record might be limited, for example if it was felt to be in your best interest or for the protection of others.  

If you wish to see your care record we need a written request from you.

View the data protection and access to information section. 

We encourage compliments, comments or complaints as a means of improving our services. If you are making a complaint we will agree with you how this will be taken forward. We investigate the issues you raise and try to resolve your complaint as quickly as possible, explaining any actions we are taking and how you can take matters further should you remain dissatisfied.

View information on what is needed to make a complaint.

As part of our commitment to people who use our services we have set out service standards which tell you what to expect from us. 

We will:

• treat everyone with courtesy, respect and dignity 
• respond to your telephone calls within one working day
• reply to your letters and emails within two working days
• provide information on how to complain if you are dissatisfied with any aspect of our service

All complaints will be investigated and responded to within ten days of receipt or twenty days by agreement with you, if the issue is complex.