In order to obtain help from your local social services department, you and the person you care for may be offered an assessment of need. The person you care for may have an assessment called an Integrated Assessment. As a carer, you are entitled to have your needs considered and this is called a Carers Assessment.
Social Services have a duty (now enshrined in law in the 'Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014), to assess if carers need any support. An assessment gives you a chance to talk to someone about what support might make caring easier.
As a Carer you need to recognise your own needs for help and support, and you have a right to expect others, such as professionals in health and social care, to recognise those rights and direct you towards support which is appropriate for your individual situation.
You have a right to request a Carers Assessment if you provide or intend to provide unpaid care for an adult or disabled child. The assessment looks at your support needs as a carer. When carrying out the assessment the local council must
seek to identify how caring affects your life and what outcomes you wish to achieve to look after your own well-being
assess whether the provision of support, preventative services, information, advice or assistance could contribute to help you achieve those well-being outcomes.
consider what well-being outcomes you wish to achieve and work with you to produce solutions
The carer's assessment will look at support, preventative services, whether a carer works or wishes to do so and if a carer wants to participate in education, training or any leisure activity.
It is the level of 'support', if identified, which determines what help can be provided by social services. A social worker or a carers support officer will visit you to talk about what help would be useful to you and the person you care for. Some of the things you will talk about are:
Carer's circumstances
Personal Outcomes and barriers to achieving these outcomes
The risks if these outcomes are not achieved
Carer's strengths and capabilities
An assessment gives you the chance to:
Think about your needs
Consider the impact of caring on your 'well-being'
Talk, in private, to someone who understands your situation
Be listened to
Think about whether you feel you can go on caring and the choices you have
Talk about the support you think is important to carry out your role and to maintain your health and well being
The assessment will also look at your ability and willingness to continue caring. You can get a Carers Assessment even if the person you care for doesnt have an assessment of their own needs and even if the cared for person says they dont want you to have your own assessment. If you were assessed in the past and your needs have changed you can get a re-assessment. The assessment is normally carried out by a social worker, but can also be carried out by any health or social care professional through the Community Mental Health Team.
To request a Carers Assessment:
If you care for someone living in the Vale of Glamorgan call Contact One Vale on 01446 700 111
If the person you care for lives in Cardiff call the First Point of Contact on 029 20 234 234.
Benefits for you and the person you care for
You and/or the person you care for may be entitled to financial help depending on your age, needs and income. You can either contact organisations directly or seek advice from an independent organisation such as Citizens Advice. The Department for Work and Pensions has a freephone confidential helpline for disabled people and carers on 0800 88 22 00. DWP also offers support on GOV.UK https://www.gov.uk/disability-benefits-helpline
There are a number of benefits to which both you, and/or the person you care for, may be entitled. To ensure you are both receiving all your entitlements and getting all the financial support available to you, it is worth getting in touch with organisations such as City of Cardiff Council Advice Hub, Citizens Advice, Age Connects etc who have specialist advisors who can help you with this.
If you claim Carers Allowance, the quickest and easiest way is online, claims can be made on PCs, tablets and mobile phones www.gov.uk/carers-allowance/how-to-claim
If you live in Cardiff, you can get help from the Councils Advice Hubs Call C2C on 029 2087 2087 to find out your nearest hub. The Central Library Hub can be contacted on 029 2087 1000.