Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Benefits, concessions and registration Education Employment Emotional support Housing Making the most of your sight
All these leaflets are available in audio, print and braille formats. To order please contact our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 (all calls charged at local rate), email helpline@rnib.org.uk or visit rnib.org.uk/shop. If you or someone you know is living with sight loss, were here to help. For a full list of the information sources used in any of these titles please contact publishing@rnib.org.uk
Contents
Introduction Getting help from social services Your assessment Eligibility criteria for getting support Your care and support plan Self-directed support Rehabilitation Residential care Support after leaving hospital Support for your carer Support for parents Making a complaint to social services Further information 4 6 7 15 17 21 25 28 30 32 34 36 38 3
Introduction
Your local councils social services department is there to give you the help and support you need to continue to lead an independent life. This help and support often called community care or social care can include specialist help for blind and partially sighted people, as well as help for anyone who looks after you. In this booklet we look at how you can get social care support from your council, how social services assess what help you need and decide what help they can give, what type of help might be available to you, your options for arranging any services you need and how to complain if you are not happy with any aspect of your contact with your social services. Although social care is available across the UK, there are significant differences to the way these are organised in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Because these differences are too complex to explain briefly in this booklet, we shall focus on how local councils provide social care in England and Wales. Please call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 if you want to find out more about or need help with getting social care in Scotland or Northern Ireland, and one of our advisers can give you more information. 4
Please let us know if you have problems accessing services in your area. We are campaigning to improve services across the UK and we may be able to take up your case if you are not getting the support you need.
Your assessment
Finding out what help you need
What is an assessment?
An assessment, called a Community Care Assessment in England and a Unified Assessment in Wales, is when a social worker or a similar professional spends time finding out more about your situation, health and disabilities. In Wales, this is a joint Social Services and Health responsibility, therefore the assessment could be undertaken by a nurse or occupational therapist.
The aim of an assessment is to provide a full view of what you can manage to do by yourself and the support you get from other people. Once social services has this information, they can then decide:
what help you may need from them what services they should provide for you according to
their eligibility criteria. Once they have completed the assessment, your local council will carry out a financial assessment to decide, if they do provide you with services, how much you might have to contribute towards the cost of these and how they are managed. We look at these in more detail later on.
If you are caring for someone else, both you and the person you care for can ask for separate needs assessments. The council must take into account your ability to continue caring when they assess the person you care for. (See Support for your carer on page 32.) Your local social services cannot refuse you an assessment. You have a right to an assessment once social services is aware you may have a need for support. Your financial situation does not matter and you do not have to be on your councils register of blind and partially sighted people. However, if you are on the register this may provide evidence of the seriousness of your disability during the assessment. If you are already receiving help from social services, but you believe your needs have changed, you can ask for a review assessment.
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You might think about whether you need assistance in any of the following areas:
shopping learning to manage everyday tasks, and advice about special equipment advice on how to make the best of any sight that you have getting around safely indoors and outdoors including using transport advice about accommodation, including any adaptations your home might need, for example improved lighting, guide rails, use of contrasting colours advice about communication such as using a keyboard or audio equipment, or learning braille getting a telephone meals, at home or at a suitable centre, for example a luncheon club personal care such as bathing, getting up and going to bed health care advice about your financial affairs such as benefits and budgeting advice about your leisure and employment choices 12
looking after you adjusting to your disability, counselling or talking over any personal problems.
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The person carrying out your assessment should look at how your sight problem affects your independence, what you can and cannot do, and what you could do if you had some support. They will look at all your needs as a whole, including your health and housing needs and refer on to the appropriate organisation, such as the housing department in your local authority or your GP. Talk about anything else that you feel is important and should be taken into account, such as your family responsibilities, and support from friends and relatives. Your emotional, social, religious and cultural needs should also be taken into account.
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Most councils now only provide services for needs that fall within the critical and substantial bands. If your needs fall below this (moderate or low) then it is very unlikely that they will fund services for you, but they should still give you information and advice about other sources of help. This could include help with benefits, your health, transport and support organisations such as local societies for blind and partially sighted people. If your needs fall into the bands that your council funds, you now have a legal right to receive services to meet those needs and your assessor will draw up a care and support plan to deliver those services.
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It is important for you to have a detailed care or support plan, so that if you are unhappy with the services you receive you can make a complaint (see page 36) and explain how this falls short of what is set out in the plan. If you are not clear about, or would like to know more about what help is being provided or arranged for you, ask the person who drew up the plan to explain it in more detail. The council may provide you with support directly or it may use other organisations to do this on their behalf. If you are receiving a lot of help, you may be allocated a care manager or care coordinator, who will try to make sure that things are running smoothly.
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Where your eligible needs could be met equally well through different service options, the council may offer the option that is cheapest for it to provide or arrange, as long as it meets all of your needs. The services you are offered must meet your agreed needs even if these cost more than the authoritys usual expenditure limit.
The council may decide, following a review, that you no longer qualify for the services that you have been getting, either because your needs have changed or because its eligibility criteria have altered. But the council should not reduce or withdraw a service from you without reassessing your needs. If your services are withdrawn or reduced, you have a right to appeal against the outcome of the reassessment by using the complaints system (see page 36).
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Self-directed support
More choice and control for you
Your council may offer you something called self-directed support. This is where you either receive a payment (known as a Direct Payment) to arrange help or equipment for yourself, or you are allocated an amount of money (known as a Personal Budget) and you choose how to spend this to make sure you get the help or equipment you need. With self-directed support you can also assess your own care needs by way of a self-assessment, although you do not have to. Direct Payments or Personal Budgets are provided to cover the cost of meeting your assessed needs. The kinds of support you could have include personal care, domestic help and equipment, for example a personal computer. You may be asked to contribute to the costs of any services you get depending on your income and savings. Direct Payments or Personal Budgets do not directly affect any welfare benefits you may get. It is not an income and is non-taxable.
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There are independent support brokerage services that can, if you wish, assist you to plan and implement the services you get. Social services can give you the details of brokerage services in your area. Social services must be sure that you, or a suitable person, are able to manage payments. They should help you to get any support you need, such as with keeping records or managing paperwork. If you employ your own care workers, you might need advice about meeting your responsibilities as an employer.
government guidance. Some councils place an upper weekly limit to the amount a person has to pay in Wales, there is a maximum charge of 50 a week for non-residential care services (although you may be charged an extra flat-rate amount for low-cost services such as meals on wheels).
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The council will usually ask you to complete a financial assessment form, stating your income and expenditure. It is important that you give accurate information about your financial circumstances to ensure that you are not charged more than you can reasonably afford to pay. Remember to include any extra costs you have because of your poor sight or other disability. These might for example include expensive convenience or take-away food because you have difficulty with cooking, or taxis because you cannot safely use public transport. If you receive the mobility component of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment, the council will not take this into account when considering your income.
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It is worth checking that you are not missing out on any welfare benefits or concessions that you may be entitled to. These could help if you have to contribute towards the cost of any help or services that you receive. If you have to use some savings or other capital to help with the costs you might be able to get benefits that you were not entitled to before. The council should check that you are receiving your full benefit entitlement. Please contact us for a copy of our booklet on benefits and concessions, or you can contact the RNIB Helpline for a full benefit check, telephone 0303 123 9999 or email helpline@rnib.org.uk You can ask for a review of the charge if you believe that the charges are too high in your circumstances. Your council cannot withdraw a service only because you are unable to pay the charge.
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Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation workers or officers should be available in your area to help you to adapt to living with sight loss. They are specially trained professionals that can support you in learning or relearning a range of activities, including:
getting about safely indoors and outdoors daily living skills such as cooking, cleaning and looking
after yourself plus equipment or simple changes you can make to help you with all these tasks communication skills such as using a keyboard, mobile phone or even learning braille leisure activities.
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They can also refer you to other services you might need, such as emotional support or whats called a low vision assessment to find out how to make the most of the sight you have. The rehabilitation worker could be part of the specialist social services team that works with blind or partially sighted people or could be based with a local society for people with sight problems. Rehabilitation should be provided free of charge.
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If the rehabilitation worker identifies specialist equipment or adaptations that will help you:
you, for free, with any of these that cost less than 1,000 in Wales, your local social services may provide some equipment and adaptations free of charge or you may have to pay towards these, depending on your income and savings. The rehabilitation worker should also be able to refer you on to other organisations for adaptations that you may need to your home, such as Care and Repair.
Mobility assessments
If you are finding it difficult to get about at home or getting out and about, a mobility assessment can be provided. Your local social services, or an agency such as a local society for blind people acting on its behalf, can provide training on walking and travelling independently and the use of mobility aids such as white canes and guide dogs. They can also help with confidence building, including hints and tips on moving about safely.
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Residential care
Social services will always try to help you live independently in your own home wherever possible. At some stage in your life, however, you may consider moving into a residential care home. As this is such a significant decision to make, it is worth getting independent advice about your care options. This includes whether or not you might be able to remain living safely at home instead, with appropriate support, if that is your preference. Your local authority has a duty to provide, or help you to arrange, permanent care in a home for you if they have assessed you as requiring this care and it is not otherwise available to you. This includes where your level of care needs mean that you cannot reasonably be supported to live in your own home. You will have to contribute to the costs of your accommodation and personal care in a care home from your income, and from savings above certain limits. There is a means test based on national guidelines.
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You could also receive free rehabilitation. This is about helping you to relearn daily living skills with the sight that you have, such as washing, dressing and preparing food. The aim is to help rebuild your confidence, improve your mobility and help you find out what youre capable of doing. After the initial period of your care ends, you should receive another assessment to see how you are getting on and whether you need any ongoing social care or NHS support.
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how much help the carer is able to give while still doing
other activities, such as work and leisure what if any help they may need when and for how many hours a week they care for you what sort of care they give you what effect your housing situation has on your carer (for example if you have any difficulties moving around your home) 32
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The kind of services that may be offered to you and your child following an assessment include:
practical assistance in the home home adaptations and facilities respite care and holidays meals providing, or help to get, a television, wireless
internet connection, radio, telephone and other related equipment, and access to a library or similar recreational facilities recreational facilities outside the home help to use educational facilities travel and other assistance advice, guidance and counselling. Visit rnib.org.uk/parents, or call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to find out more about help and support available for your child. For support within Wales, contact RNIB Cymrus Children and Family Team on 029 2045 0440 or email claire.milton@rnib.org.uk You can also contact: National Blind Chidrens Society: 01278 764 770 nbcs.org.uk/help-and-advice Action for Blind People: 0303 123 9999 actionforblindpeople.org.uk/children 35
The council should try to resolve your complaint and not just give a response to it. It should acknowledge your complaint within three working days and offer to discuss how you want the complaint investigated to achieve a resolution. The council should also inform you how long it will be before you will receive a written decision. If you are not happy with the outcome you can take the complaint further, to the Local Government Ombudsman in England or Public Services Ombudsman in Wales. You can ask your local councillor, or voluntary organisations for support in making your complaint, or call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 to speak to one of our advisers.
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Further information
RNIB Helpline
Our Helpline is your direct line to the support, advice and products you need. Well help you to find out whats available in your area and beyond, both from RNIB and other organisations. Whether you want to know more about your eye condition, buy a product from our shop, join our library, find out about possible benefit entitlements, be put in touch with a trained counsellor, or make a general enquiry, were only a call away. Telephone 0303 123 9999 or email helpline@rnib.org.uk Were ready to answer your call Monday to Friday 8.45am to 5.30pm. Outside these times leave us a message and well get back to you as soon as possible. Standard call charges apply.
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Age UK
Age UK provides information and advice to older people. They can provide details of local Age UK branches. Information Line 0800 00 99 66 ageuk.org.uk
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Carers UK
Carers UK is fighting for the recognition of the true value of carers contribution to society with carers getting the practical, financial and emotional support they need. They provide information and advice to carers about their rights and how to get support. Advice Line 0808 808 7777 open Wednesday and Thursday from 10.00am to 12.00pm and 2.00pm to 4.00pm carersuk.org
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2. Did you find that the information was presented in a way that was easy to read and easy to understand? Please give details of anything you feel could be improved.
3. Is there any information you would have found helpful, or were expecting to find, that was missing?
4. Further comments. Please use the space below for any other comments you have on the information in this leaflet or any aspect of your contact with RNIB.
12373/10/13
Leisure Living safely Managing your money Reading Shopping Technology Travel
All these leaets are available in audio, print and braille formats. To order please contact our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 (all calls charged at local rate), email helpline@rnib.org.uk or visit rnib.org.uk/shop. If you or someone you know is living with sight loss, were here to help.
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If you, or someone you know, is living with sight loss, were here to help. Ask RNIB is the simple, easy to use way to nd the answers to your questions online try it today at rnib.org.uk/ask
Cover photograph Anne-Marie Briscombe Printed: October 2013 Review date: October 2014 RNIB Registered charity number 226227 ISBN 978-1-4445-0152-0 PR12373P