Home Care Assessments - A complete guide
The first and most important step in finding the right home care package for you is understanding the support you need to enable you to live well at home.
This starts with a care assessment, which is an opportunity for your chosen care provider to understand the care that you need, and for you to understand how they can support you.
What is a care assessment?
A care assessment is a way for us, as you care provider, to get to know you as a person, rather than just a set of care needs. The assessment is not a test, but a way of understanding your needs and preferences, and the type of support you are looking for.
How to get a care needs assessment
There are two main routes to organising a care needs assessment – either via your Local Authority Adult Social Care Team, or directly with your chosen home care provider.
If your home care will be funded by your Local Authority, their Adult Social Care team will carry out their own care needs assessment, and then refer you to a care provider who may be able to assist.
If you will be funding your own home care, you are free to contact your chosen home care provider directly, to discuss your requirements and arrange a care needs assessment.
What happens at the assessment?
A member of your local home care team will visit you in person (either in your own home or in the hospital if you are due to be discharged home from there) to carry out the care needs assessment, which will take around an hour.
You are welcome to have a friend or family member with you for this if you wish, and of course you are also very welcome to ask us any questions you may have about the care we can offer.
Preparing for your care assessment
You will discuss any medical conditions that you live with and any medication you may be taking, as well as any aids you may use in order to get around safely, so it can be helpful to have these details to hand for your care assessment.
You will also be asked about any dietary requirements you may have, as well as any hobbies and interests that you enjoy, so we can support you to continue doing the things you love.
What happens after the assessment?
Following your care needs assessment, we will be in touch to let you know how we are able to support you. We can also discuss available timeslots for your visits, and how often you would like one of our carers to visit you at home to offer the support you need.
We are confident that our specialist home care team will be able to offer a home care solution which meets your needs and preferences. However, we will always be completely open and honest with you if we believe that your care needs and overall wellbeing would be better met elsewhere. The most important thing to us is that you receive the care and support you need to continue living the life you choose.
The perfect home care solution
If you are looking for care for yourself or a loved one, our community care teams across Somerset, Devon, Wiltshire and B&NES are here to help.Alternatively, if you’d prefer to speak to someone about the full range of care solutions which we can offer, either in your own home or one of our care homes, our Enquiries Team will be more than happy to help.
