Your social care journey explained
What support are you looking for?
Staying independent for as long as possible
You can find information and guidance to help you stay independent for as long as possible.
- Happy at Home - find guidance, equipment and technology to help you live happy at home.
Maximising your income and finances
Keeping your home warm, in good repair and suitable for your needs
Helping you to prevent feeling lonely and isolated
Managing your daily activities and routines
Supporting you with any care roles you may have
If you feel you may have needs that require more intensive care and support
Call Staffordshire Cares on 0300 111 8010 - staff will talk you through your concerns and help you to identify your needs and priorities and look at the different ways these may be met. They will also help you to understand what help is available in your local community.
If the person you speak to thinks your needs are more complex, your details may be passed on to a social care team who will be able to contact you to discuss your needs further.
You can also complete our online self-assessment.
If you are a professional referring
This form should be used by professionals for all new referrals including a Social Care Assessment, Occupational Therapy Assessment and a Carers Assessment.
This new form should be used by these groups when making a referral:
- GP practices
- District nurses
- Occupational Therapists
- Physiotherapists
- Police
- Fire Service
- Organisations such as Age UK and Dementia support groups
- Local councils including Housing teams, Drug and Alcohol support and Homelessness services.
This change does not apply to West Midlands Ambulance Service, or hospital ward staff and inpatients. These settings will continue to refer in the usual way. This change also does not apply to safeguarding concerns, and these should follow the existing pathway.
You can complete the professional referral.
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We try to carry out your assessment within 28 days, but users may need to wait longer.
The social care practitioner will assess your needs and explore what your family, friends and local community can do to help. Your assessment might take place over the phone, virtually or someone may visit you
Your social care practitioner will discuss with you the things that you or your carer have already identified as a concern, or you can raise them with the practitioner during the conversation.
Some things you may want to think about in preparation are how you manage day to day routines and activities such as:
- Washing
- Dressing
- Maintaining health and keeping active
- Accessing the local community
- Managing your home
You're welcome to have a carer, a family member or friend with you during the assessment process. In some circumstances, support can be provided to help you to understand the process.
As a public service, we use the Government's national eligibility criteria detailed in the Care Act 2014 to decide if you need help from us in relation to care and support. If you don't need help from us, you may need to pay for the care and support you receive, depending on your financial circumstances.
As part of your assessment, we will see if we can help with some short-term support to become more independent, which is known as reablement.
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During your assessment, if you require reablement care this may include exploring whether doing something differently such as using daily living equipment and technology that can help you to do things by yourself. We will also provide information about gadgets, aids and equipment you can buy for yourself.
Find out more information about reablement care.
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Once your assessment has been completed, we may draw up a care and support plan with you, which may contain what you need support with, who will be supporting you and when they will be supporting you, as well as what you want to achieve from their support.
Going forward, you'll need to have your care and support plan reviewed to ensure it continues to meet your needs. This can be requested by you if your circumstances change.
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We can arrange the services that have been agreed with you, or you may wish to use a direct payment to arrange these services by yourself.
If we arrange your care and support, our brokerage service will search for a care provider who will be able to meet your assessed needs. We aim to find care within 28 days depending on how urgent your care needs are. However, some users may need to wait longer.
If you choose a provider that charges more than we have allocated to meet your needs, you will need to make a contribution. This is also called a top-up.
If you need a residential / nursing home we will offer you a home or homes that can meet your needs. Unfortunately this may not be as local as you may wish. Alternatively if you would like to choose a different and more expensive home, you or someone else will need to pay the difference. We will check whether this arrangement is affordable for your family and can be maintained for the duration of your stay.
If you own your own property and you move into a care home, the value of this will be taken into account when calculating your contribution. Financial help may be available during this process.
Your financial circumstances will be assessed to see how much you will need to contribute towards the cost of your care and support.
If you have enough money to pay for your own care and support but you want us to arrange the care for you using our brokerage service, there will be a charge depending on your financial circumstances.
Whilst you may be required to pay for your social care, NHS healthcare is free, therefore if your social care practitioner feels you may be entitled to free health care we will ask our NHS colleagues to complete a health assessment.
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If you are leaving hospital, a social care practitioner will work with you to assess your needs and to support you when you return home wherever possible.
If this is not possible, it may be necessary to find you alternative arrangements. For example, care home bed.
Once you're considered ready to leave the hospital, the social care practitioner will aim to complete an assessment with you in two days. If you do require care, our brokerage service will aim to find the appropriate care provider to meet your needs.
If you want us to arrange care in your own home through our brokerage service and you are responsible for paying for your own care, we will charge you for this service.
We will ask you to make a swift decision on your care provider to ensure you're able to leave the hospital as quickly as possible. If you decline the offer which has been made, you may become subject to the hospital's own internal procedure.
After 6 weeks, a social care practitioner will complete a review with you to ensure the care is suitable for your ongoing needs.
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You will be assessed as to whether you require any reablement support. If you do, this will be provided for free for up to 6 weeks. You may also be eligible for some equipment.
In terms of accommodation, we would like to support you to continue living independently in your own home for as long as possible and we can help you access information on a range of housing and support options. We know sometimes people with the most complex needs require specialist accommodation and support.
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You are a carer if you provide unpaid support to a family member or friend who could not manage without your help. If you are a carer, you're entitled to a carers assessment.
You can request an assessment to help your supporting role by calling Staffordshire Cares on 0300 111 8010.