How to get help from Adult & Community Services

Who can get help from Adult and Community Services?

The Adult and Community Services Directorate’s aim is to facilitate the provision of high quality services in response to assessed need.

The services will support the people who use them and their carers.
Promote their independence and dignity.
Will be free from discrimination.

Purpose of Service
Community care is intended to help people who are disabled; people who have sight or hearing problems; older people; people who have mental health problems; people who have learning disabilities; carers; people with HIV/AIDS; drug and alcohol misusers.

Services aim to help people to live in their own homes if they want to or we will arrange residential or nursing home care if that is what is needed.

The NHS and Community Care Act gives social services departments throughout the country overall responsibility for ensuring that this happens and that people get the help they need.

Services available

The Adult and Community Services Directorate provides a wide range of services for people in need. Services and the help available include:

Information about what services exist locally.
Guidance and advice for example, when someone is having problems with family relationships or in continuing to care for a relative.
Practical help to make it possible for someone to continue living at home. This could mean people coming in regularly to help or providing equipment or home adaptions to give someone greater independence.
Day care to help and support.
Residential care this could be long-term care or regular short stays to give someone (or their carer) a break.
Emergency help for example when help is needed in a crisis.

Fuller details of services are given in the services leaflets.

Can everyone get help?

We have to target our services towards the people who need them most and to ensure this is done fairly we have an assessment process which highlights the most urgent needs.

Everyone who asks for an assessment will be able to talk to a member of staff about the help they would like but there will be some situations where we will not be able to give all the help someone may feel they need.

Advice will be given about whether or not someone is likely to be able to get help arranged by Adult and Community Services.

About assessment

When you talk to a care manager or social worker about your needs and the ways in which they can be met, this is called an assessment.

Often assessments will be straight forward. However, if people have complicated difficulties, a more in-depth assessment will be needed and with agreement, this can include other people such as your doctor or community nurse.

The discussion will cover such things as personal circumstances, the extent of any disability, what things people can or cannot do and whether there are other people who can help.

This information allows the member of staff to make an assessment of the persons most urgent needs and what help can be given.

For adult users of adult and community services, the member of staff who does the assessment and then arranges any necessary help is called a CARE MANAGER. If you get help from a range of services, this is called a CARE PACKAGE. The written details of this is called a CARE PLAN.

Who can be assessed?

Anyone who comes into the groups listed on page 2 can ask for an assessment of their needs, but within these groups there are people who will be given priority:

People who have a “permanent and substantial disability”.

This applies both to children and to adults.
This disability can be physical or mental.

People suffering from serious mental health problems who are leaving psychiatric hospital care, or are already living in the community, and people at risk of being admitted or re-admitted to a psychiatric hospital.

To make clear which people are seen as being most likely to need care we have identified four categories of risk, which represent high, medium, and low priorities.

The assessment process will decide which category of risk a person comes into, and help will be offered accordingly. People who are assessed as coming into categories 1 and 2 have first call on our help, but we would hope to give help and advice to people in categories 3 and 4 as our resources allow.

Eligibility criteria for adult services division

Category 1	Category 2	Category 3	Category 4
Critical -Immediate risk/crisis life is, or will be, threatened; and/or significant health problems have developed or will develop; and/or there is, or will be, little or no choice and control over vital aspects of the immediate environment; and/or serious abuse or neglect has occurred or will occur; and/or there is, or will be, an inability to carry out vital personal care or domestic routines; and/or vital involvement in work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained; and/or vital social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained; and/or vital family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.	Substantial High Risk there is, or will be, only partial choice and control over the immediate environment; and/or abuse or neglect has occurred or will occur; and/or there is, or will be, an inability to carry out the majority of personal care or domestic routines; and/or involvement in many aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained; and/or the majority of social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained; and/or the majority of family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken; and/or the criteria for Category 3 are met but the likelihood is that if no services are provided the situation would deteriorate within 2 to 3 months so that there would be a critical or substantial risk.	Moderate Risk there is, or will be, an inability to carry out several personal care or domestic routines; and/or involvement in several aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained; and/or several social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained; and/or several family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.	Low Risk there is, or will be, an inability to carry out one or two personal care or domestic routines; and/or involvement in one or two aspects of work, education or learning cannot or will not be sustained; and/or one or two social support systems and relationships cannot or will not be sustained; and/or one or two family and other social roles and responsibilities cannot or will not be undertaken.

How care is paid for

All care, whether it is in people’s own homes or in residential care, has to be paid for. Some care is paid for from public funds (from central and from local government) and this includes many of the services provided by the health service and social services. Other care can be bought directly, for example, some residential care or home care.

Anyone who wants to arrange and pay for their own services can do so, and can if they wish get information and advice from the duty team.

Anyone who wants the Adult and Community Services Directorate to arrange and pay for some of their care should contact the duty team.

You have to pay a contribution towards these services and the amount you pay depends on your income and your savings/capital. The care manager or social worker doing your assessment of your needs will explain about the cost of the community care services, will discuss ways you can pay for them and advise you on claiming social security benefits.

Service users rights

All users of Adult and Community Services Directorate have the right to:

Be fully involved and informed regarding the assessment process and the provision of care in accordance with the assessed needs.
Retain independence and the right to make choices.
Privacy and dignity.
A confidential service.
Freedom of expression, including the right to complain, request an alternative care worker without assigning a reason, and to hold an opinion regarding the method of service delivery.
A service free from discrimination, inappropriate language and bad practice.

Complaints

If you feel dissatisfied with the service you have received, then please either:
i) Talk to the person in Adult and Community Services Directorate who you normally deal with;
ii) Write or talk to the Head of Adult Services or
iii) Write to:
Adult Services Complaints & User Rights
Floor 4 County Hall
High Street
Newport
Isle of Wight
PO30 1UD
Tel: (01983) 533289.

Confidentiality

All information disclosed will be treated as confidential and is only passed on with the person’s agreement except in the following circumstances:

child protection cases;
an illegal act has taken place;
it is deemed to be in the best interests of the vulnerable adult.

If one of these applies you will be informed that the information will be passed on to a third party for example to a general practitioner.

Information is stored on the Directorate’s central computer system and within paper files as part of our client record system. Only authorised staff have access to it. Anyone whose personal details are recorded can ask to see them.

How to contact us

Further information about services for adults can be obtained from the duty team on tel: (01983) 823340.

The duty team covers the whole Island and is based at 147 High Street, Newport. Personal callers are welcome during office hours, but it is best to telephone to make an appointment to be sure of seeing a duty officer.

The duty team is open:
Monday - Thursday 8.45am to 5.00pm
Friday 8.45am to 4.30pm

If you need help in an emergency and you are not able to wait until the next working day please contact Emergency Duty Service on tel: (01983) 821105.