What is Adult Social Care?

Adult Social Care services can assist you with practical support for yourself, or someone you are caring for, who has a disability or illness.

If you are struggling to find help and assistance, or are experiencing difficulty living on your own, adult social care can assist by supporting with adaptations and interventions such as;

care and support which come to your home
help to access your wider community
adaptations and equipment in your own home to help you live as independently as possible
direct payments to help you arrange for your own preferred acre and support
alternative types of housing such as extra care or supported housing
care based within a residential care setting

Do I need social care?

Adult Social Care services are for people aged 18 and over.

Adult Social Care will aim to enable you to be as independent as possible with a good quality of life.

We will ask you for information about yourself and speak to others who are involved in supporting you. Together, we will look at the things you can manage and the help you get already, before considering what support you might need.

You can ask for help by using our online portal, which is the quickest and easiest way to make a referral for yourself or the person you care for. If you don't have access to the internet, you can call our Contact Centre on 01702 215008.

If you need palliative care or nursing care, you may be able to get free care through NHS Continuing Healthcare. If you think you or someone else may need care or support, the first step is to understand your needs and how you might find help yourself, so please check our website. Many people will find there are options to stay active, and independent and live in their own home without social care from their Council.

Use the jargon buster can help you to understand the most commonly used words in health and social care.

What support you can expect to receive from Adult Social Care

Once we have worked with you and identified that you have met the national adult eligibility criteria under the Care Act 2014, we will work together to create a support plan, and around the financial aspects and agree how your care will be paid for, as well as helping you to put in place a personal budget to manage this care.

Who is eligible for support from Adult Social Care

Quick guide to adult eligibility under the Care Act 2014

Eligibility threshold

The eligibility threshold for adults with care and support needs is set out in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015 (the `Eligibility Regulations`(the `Eligibility Regulations`). The threshold is based on identifying how a person's needs affect their ability to achieve relevant outcomes, and how this impacts on their wellbeing.

In considering whether an adult with care and support needs has eligible needs, local authorities must consider whether:

1. The adult's needs arise from or are related to a physical or mental impairment or illness

2. and as a result of those needs the adult is unable to achieve 2 or more of the specified outcomes (which are described in the guidance below)

3. and as a consequence of being unable to achieve these outcomes there is, or there is likely to be, a significant impact on the adult's wellbeing

An adult's needs are only eligible where they meet all 3 of these conditions.

Being unable to achieve an outcome includes any of the following circumstances, where the adult:

is unable to achieve the outcome without assistance. This would include where an adult would be unable to do so even when assistance is provided. It also includes where the adult may need prompting for example, some adults may be physically able to wash but need reminding of the importance of personal hygiene
is able to achieve the outcome without assistance but doing so causes the adult significant pain, distress or anxiety. For example, an older person with severe arthritis may be able to prepare a meal but doing so will leave them in severe pain and unable to eat the meal
is able to achieve the outcome without assistance but doing so endangers or is likely to endanger the health or safety of the adult, or of others, for example, if the health or safety of another member of the family, including any child, could be endangered when an adult attempts to complete a task or an activity without relevant support
is able to achieve the outcome without assistance but takes significantly longer than would normally be expected. For example, an adult with a physical disability is able to dress themselves in the morning, but it takes them a long time to do this, leaves them exhausted and prevents them from achieving other outcomes

Specified outcomes

These are the specified outcomes as outlined in the Care and Support (Eligibility Criteria) Regulations 2015 (the `Eligibility Regulations`). They are not in any priority order and are equally important:

managing and maintaining nutrition
maintaining personal hygiene
managing toilet needs
being appropriately clothed
being able to make use of the home safely
maintaining a habitable home environment
developing and maintaining family or other personal relationships
accessing and engaging in work, training, education, or volunteering, and
making use of necessary facilities or services in the local community including public transport and recreational facilities or services, and
carrying out any caring responsibilities the adult has for a child

The `wellbeing` principle

Promoting `wellbeing` means actively seeking improvements in:

personal dignity
physical and mental health and emotional wellbeing
protection from abuse and neglect
control over day-to-day life
participation in work, education, training, or recreation
social and economic wellbeing
domestic, family, and personal relationships
suitability of living accommodation
the individual's contribution to society, and

Providing information and advice

Even if a person is not determined to be eligible for formal (funded) care and support, their needs and desired outcomes should be used as a basis to signpost them to information and advice about other informal sources of care and support available locally (e.g., clubs, activities, learning, voluntary/community sector services, through the Local Offer or other universal offerings). Consideration must be given to options that will prevent, reduce or delay any increase in need for care and support.

Types of Adult Social Care

Social Care services can include things like:

Occupational therapy, adaptations, equipment and gadgets to support you to live as independently as possible at home
care and support in your own home or to help you to access the community
care in a care or nursing home
a direct payment to help you arrange your own care and support
different types of housing, such as supported housing or extra care housing
Support as a carer

How is Adult Social care paid for?

You can find more information on Southend-on-Sea City Council's Paying for Care page.