@SherrieD - it is hard. My father is also fiercely independent and a regular heavy drinker. He walks to the shop each day, ostensibly to get a paper, but also a bottle of wine. There is no point in trying to talk to him about that, and any way, he has the right to make decisions, even if they aren't always that wise.
It sounds as though you are very close, and monitoring things, which is good. That may well be all you can do at the moment. I would be happy if my father stopped using hedge trimmers whilst up a ladder, in the full sun with no sun hat (he has skin cancer issues). However, he isn't going to stop (apparently he is going to redecorate the front of the house soon - hopefully this is wishful thinking) and I cannot always be there as I am at work.
My view is, in order for anything to change with my father, (for instance regular carer visits for medication and support with shopping) there would need to be an incident. He has had some falls, and if one was serious, I can imagine that his coming out of hospital would only happen if carers visited.
Hopefully if you get the assessment, it will be, as you say, the start of looking at changes. It is hard though. Daddy was very short with me the day I suggested carer visits. He does not eat enough, but he says it is up to him, his decision. At the moment, that is where we are.