Adult Social Care - how to ask for care and support

We 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.

How can we help?

We can either provide care and support directly, and/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 Borough Council and local community services
• equipment and adaptations to assist with daily living
• reablement to help 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 or 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.

How to ask for help

If you think you need help with your care, we would advise you check first whether you are eligible for care and support.

You could find out how likely you are to receive for care and support and whether or not if you would have to pay for some or all of any the support you may receive by using completing our adult social care assessment form. 

Complete an adult social care assessment

We have a duty to carry out a needs assessment in order to determine whether an adult has needs for care and support.

What the assessment involves

The assessment must be carried out by an appropriately-trained assessor, for instance a social worker, who will consider a number of factors, such as:

• the person's needs and how they impact on their wellbeing, for instance, a need for help with getting dressed or support to get to work
• the outcomes that matter to the person, for example, whether they are lonely and want to make new friends
• the person's other circumstances, for example, whether they live alone or whether someone supports them

The aim is to get a full picture of the person and what needs and goals they may have. The assessment must be:

• provided to all people who appear to need care and support, regardless of their finances or whether the local authority thinks their needs will be eligible
• of the adult's needs and how they impact on their wellbeing, and the outcomes they want to achieve

What happens next

After the assessment, a Care Manager will determine whether the person is eligible for care and support. This is set out in regulations which will be consistent across England with a national minimum threshold for eligibility.

Making a referral if you are a professional

If you are a professional, you can make a referral by completing the adult social care referral for professionals form.

Complete the adult social care referral for professionals form

Your care records

Your care record holds information to be able to arrange the right care and support for you. It holds relevant information about you, such as your:

• name
• address
• date of birth
• next of kin
• the contact we have had with you

We must get your permission before we can share your information and you have a right to see your care record. The Data Protection Act 1998 allows you to find out what information is held about you on both computer and manual records. If you want to see your record from Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council you will need to request this in writing, this is to ensure that we have the authority to disclose the information we hold.

For information about how your care record is stored and handled please visit our Data protection and access to information pages.

Further help

Our First Contact Team will discuss in detail the help you require. A trained member of staff will use a screening tool to assess the adult's care and support needs and wellbeing. The screening ensures the adult is directed to the correct person or department to support them.

You can contact the team on:

• telephone: 01642 527764 
• fax: 01642 527756 
• minicom: 01642 527769 
• email: FirstContactAdults@stockton.gov.uk