I am living in my own home, but think that I need a bit of extra help so I can cope. How do I arrange this and what do I need to think about?
Assessing your needs
If you need some help in your home to enable you to remain there independently, you should first contact your local social services department to assess your needs. They will take your details and you may have to give them some brief details about your situation, so that they can decide whether they need to come and see you urgently. Social services will arrange for a social worker to visit you in your own home, and you will be asked questions about what sort of things you find difficult, and what you would like support with.
Providing you with support
When the social worker has visited you, they will provide you with a written statement of your needs. This will outline officially what your needs are, and will help social services provide you with support. It may be that your needs cannot be met by the council, either because they do not provide such services, or because you the support you need is not critical. If this is the case, they should provide you with details of other organisations you can approach who will be able to provide this care and support. You will probably have to pay for these services.
If your needs are high enough to be met by the council, the social worker will arrange for the services to be set in place. Social services usually provide home care services if you need help to get washed and dressed. In the past, they used to provide support with shopping and cleaning. However, this now depends on the local council's eligibility criteria as to what type of support they will now provide.
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