Social Services Assessment - what happens

[Wishing20]

My Mum has just gone into a Care Home and we are awaiting a visit from Social Services. I‘be been told they will carry out an assessment, but have no idea what this entails. Do they come and talk to my Mum who is incapable of answering or explaining how she is, she is beyond understanding she has Alzheimer’s. Do they come and see us separately to ask how Mum is? Is there a separate visit to assess her finances, or is this done at the same time. We‘ve been told that the assessments are lengthy and its difficult to get funding. Anyone any experience they can share?
Thank you

 

[nae sporran]

Hullo and welcome to the forums @Wishing20. Sorry I have no experience of care home assessments, but when my partner started her care package at home the financial assessment followed a few weeks later. Do you have POAs in place? I think that would influence whether you or your mum would be asked the questions.
There will be others online who have better input, but https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/assessment-care-support-England and links from there should give you some ideas what to expect.

 

[Palerider]

I just happened to be present when mums SW arrived to do her first assessment of mum in her first CH. They should look at everything, but if this is your mums first CH then they will be assessing if it is right for her as well as current problems.

Mums SW spoke with the care staff, the manager and went to see mum she also read through the documentation on mum. I was there and she also spoke to me about how things were currently at that point. Her approach was an all round one and she was very good at identifying problems with the CH not meeting mums needs in some areas.

I would contact your mums case worker (SW) and ask to meet them at the home when they go to carry out the assessment, they will oblige because they need as much information as they can draw on and also they need the NOK to talk to about any concerns etc or any concerns they have as the assessor. Don't feel your not of part of this because you are so get involved and be there when the SW visits to do the assessment

 

[Louise7]

The first assessment should be a care needs assessment, conducted by social services. If your Mum is unable to speak for herself then social services should contact her carers/family to ensure that they are there during the assessment. If the person is in a care home they will also usually speak to the care staff to establish the level of care that your Mum needs.

After the care needs assessment a financial assessment takes place. This may be in person but may also consist of filling out a form and providing details of income/assets. When my Mum was assessed the financial assessment was carried out by someone from the local authority finance team - they are separate from social services.

The assessments didn't take that long and eligibility is based on care needs and the financial position. Your reference to lengthy assessments and difficulty in getting funding might relate to a separate assessment to see whether funding can be provided by the NHS. This is called Continuing Health Care (CHC) and it is for those who tend to have complex medical/behavioural needs so can be very difficult to get for those with dementia who have primarily social care needs (help with washing, dressing, feeding etc)

These fact sheets contain useful information about care home funding and the assessment process:

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/who-pays-care


https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/get-support/legal-financial/assessment-care-support-England

 

[Palerider]

I am not sure about that I think financial assessment varies across the country when it takes place @Louise7 - I had to do mums financial assessment before she went into care. And just to iterate the SW may not tell you when they are going to do the assessement as was the case when I just happened to be there. I would contact them and ensure you know the date and time and invite yourself along regardless. It varies where you are so don't be surprised if you come across something slightly different in the process.

 

[Louise7]

I am not sure about that I think financial assessment varies across the country when it takes place - I had to do mums financial assessment before she went into care.

The financial assessment should always be done after the care needs assessment though. In this case the OP's Mum is already in the care home so it couldn't take place before she went into the home. I think the stay started off as respite?

I agree that processes can vary across the country, as can the standard of social worker unfortunately Hopefully the OP will get one as good as yours was.

 

[Palerider]

Yes of course sorry @Louise7 if it started as respite.

Yes mum has been lucky to have a good SW, but I only know this through forcing myself into the loop, she didn't tell me when the assessment was to take place, I just happened to be visiting mum when she arrived. I would certainly contact the assessing SW and make sure the time, date and place of the assessment and be there.

 

[Louise7]

I would certainly contact the assessing SW and make sure the time, date and place of the assessment and be there.

Yes, providing you know in advance who the assessing social worker is. You sometimes don't know beforehand and it can then get really difficult to find out who's coming and when. Hopefully someone will be in touch with the home and they'll let the OP know the details.

 

[Banjomansmate]

The Banjoman went from hospital to Care Home after a “Best interest” meeting. After a month there was another Assessment held at the home to see if he would be considered for CHC funding. I was invited to the meeting after the Social worker, who had been to see him the previous day, and the presiding officer who had never met him before, visited him. As expected the decision was no funding because they seemed determined to mark him down on several points despite my opposition. After that the LA completed the Financial Assessment and, as expected, topped up the Care Home fees over and above his pension contribution.
After three months I was invited to another Assessment meeting with another Social worker who met him for the first time. This was to finalise a Care Plan and they wanted my input along with the home’s Manager to check we were all happy with how things were going. I pointed out a couple of things but generally I was happy with his care.