Assessment of your care needs

Overview What you’ll get from an assessment of your care needs How to get an assessment of your care needs Who’s involved in an assessment of your care needs What happens during an assessment of your care needs What an assessment of your care needs costs What happens after the assessment Further information

How to get an assessment of your care needs

Contact your council’s social care department to ask for an assessment of your care needs. This is called a self-referral.

If you do not want to self-refer, you can ask someone to contact the council for you like a:

• relative or friend
• GP
• district nurse
• member of hospital staff
• local housing officer
• welfare rights officer
• citizens advice worker
• relative

You could also get help from an advocate. Find out more about advocacy.

When your social care support will start

When you phone the social care department, you’ll be asked questions to find out how urgent your needs are.

If your needs are urgent you may get help before the assessment is arranged. Your assessment will still happen at a later date.

Visits are carried out in order of priority of need. If your needs are not urgent, you may have to wait for a few weeks for your assessment.