Prep for a Care Act Assessment 2

Why might it be of interest?

It can be difficult to work out what we do for our young person and how much time that takes – and where it is more or different than we’d be doing for a typically developing young person.

There’s a lot of ground to cover in a Care Act Assessment and it can be helpful to have given it some thought before the assessment rather than feeling put on the spot during the assessment and quite probably forgetting a lot of the stuff you would want to say.

I have a few documents around getting prepared so you might like to look for those on the Information Hub.

Before going into any assessment, especially where you will have to provide answers on the spot, it’s helpful to think about what you want from the assessment, why and what difference the help provided will make to you and your young person.

This can be hard to do – after all our daily lives with our young people are our normal daily lives – the changes we have made over many years are often small changes at the time that build up into a life lived quite differently than it would be if our young person was not disabled.  It can be difficult to recognise what we do and how much we do for our young person.

The following is from a Carers UK leaflet about Carers Assessments and the areas of your life that may be affected by your caring role.  But I think for you, as the primary carer, it can be helpful to go through the same questions so you have a clear idea of how your caring role at the moment is affecting your own life.  Answering these questions will help you see how much you do and how much is different.  It might help clarify what support you are happy to continue to provide and where support provided differently would help.

The assessment is, of course, about your young person’s needs and aspirations and they have had your support all these years.  However, as young adults what support they need and how it is provided can change.  There can be no presumption that you are able to and willing to continue to provide the same support once the young person turns 18.  As parents we are not suddenly going to say that we can’t provide any support for our young person but this is an opportunity to reflect on what and how much we do and whether continuing in the same way is really the best for your young person.

The point of the social care assessment is to first of all establish that your young person is eligible for social care and then assessing their needs under a number of categories.  Needs can be considered fully met, partially met or not met at all and this is based on their own ability to meet their needs – not what needs are met with your, or another person’s, support.  Once needs and aspirations are established through the assessment then we consider what support needs to be put in place to meet needs.

If your young person is living at home you are likely to be able and willing to continue to provide support to them when they are at home.  But maybe not with everything you do if you are looking to increase independence skills, for example.  And certainly for clubs, activities, etc that they access outside of the home you may well decide that support would be better provided by another person.  Not just to relieve you but also for the benefit of your young person – 18 year olds don’t typically do everything with their parents and our young people are no different.

Help and time

Do you help the person you care for with:

• housework?
• cooking?
• shopping?
• laundry?
• bathing?
• going to the toilet?
• other personal care?
• keeping an eye on them?
• dealing with money?
• How many hours a week do you provide care?
• Include all the time you spend with the person you care for
• the things you do for them
• and how long it takes
• Do you have to help during the day or night, or both?
• Does anyone else help?
  • If so, for how long?
• Would you like some help (or extra help) with these jobs?
  • List the tasks you would like help with (putting the most important first)
• Are you able to spend enough time on other family responsibilities,
  • eg being with your children, your partner, parents or siblings?

Health

• Does the person you care for have any health problems you find hard to deal with?
  • Describe them as fully as you can.
• Do you have the information you need about the condition of the person you care for to enable you to care for them fully?
• Do you have any health problems?
  • If so, are they made worse by your caring role?
  • Describe them as fully as you can.
• Do any health problems you may have make it harder for you to care?
• Are you getting enough sleep?
• Do you feel you are suffering from stress or depression?
• Is caring having a negative impact on your health?
• Is caring preventing you from looking after your own health
  • ie your diet, nutrition, getting exercise, etc?
• Feelings and choices about your caring role
• Do you feel that you do not have a choice about providing care?
• If you feel that you cannot carry on at all, or can only carry on if you reduce the amount of caring you do, tell the local council
  • It is not unusual to feel this way and it is important they know how you really feel
• What would you most like to change about your situation?
• Is there a plan in place to look after the person you care for if you were suddenly unable to care for any reason?

Work/study/leisure

• Do you work?
  • If so, for how many hours a week?
• Does your employer know that you are a carer
  • do they know about your rights, eg to time off in an emergency?
• Do you feel you can manage to work and provide care?
  • If you cannot manage or are at risk of not managing, do explain this
• What would make working/caring easier for you?
• Would you like to start or return to work/study?
• Do you have the skills you would need to return to work or education were your caring role to end?
• Are there things that you find enjoyable and relaxing that you cannot do anymore because of your caring responsibilities?
  • such as a hobby, visiting friends or going to the cinema?
• When was the last time you had a whole day to yourself to do as you pleased?

Housing

• Do you live with the person you care for?
  • Is the arrangement satisfactory?
  • If not, why not?
• Does the person you care for have any difficulties moving around their home?
  • Can they climb the stairs or have a bath on their own?
• Do you have to help them?
  • If so, are you able to do this safely and without causing yourself any pain or injury?
  • Special equipment could make life easier for the person you care for and caring easier for you.
• Are you able to look after your own home?
  • Do you have enough time to attend to housework and keep your house as you would like it?