If you are eligible, a statutory Carers Assessment is a good way of understanding your needs as a carer, and the impact it has on your life.
The assessment is used to find out the support and resources you need to manage in your caring role, which may include access to services provided by Imago or services offered by the council and other organisations.
A Carers Assessment gives you a chance to let the local council know how your caring role affects you physically and emotionally.
It helps identify what kind of support you need, whether you want to carry on caring, your hopes and aspirations, and whether you qualify for additional help.
The Assessment may be done by your local council or by Imago depending on the agreement between them.
If you’re over 18 and provide regular unpaid care for someone, you’re entitled to a Carer’s Assessment. It doesn’t matter how much or what sort of care you provide.
If you are under 18 you are automatically eligible for a Young Carers Assessment.
Most assessments are carried out face to face, but you may have the option to do it online or over the phone. It should be done at a time and place that is convenient for you.
A Needs Assessment is for the person you are caring for. A Carers Assessment is for you as a carer. However, they might both be completed at the same time. You can have a Carers Assessment whether or not the person you care for has had a Needs Assessment.
The Assessment may be done by your local council or by Imago, depending on the agreement between them.
You can call the Imago Hub 0300 011 1965 and our team will be able to tell you if you are eligible, and who will help you take the Carers Assessment.
Alternatively, you can contact adult social services at your local council.
Make sure you know:
- your NHS number
- your GP’s name, address and phone number details
- your email address
- contact details of anyone coming to the assessment with you
- details of the person you care for including their name, address, date of birth and NHS number.
Things to think about beforehand:
- Make a list of the care you provide. This could be offering emotional support, managing finances, helping someone with practical activities like shopping, ensuring someone is safe from harm, or helping with personal needs such as using the bathroom.
- Think about how caring affects your life. Do you have any time for yourself? Do you often feel drained, stressed or lonely? Does it affect you physically, for example, do you lose sleep or get back ache from lifting someone regularly? Has it affected your work, social life or education? If the person you care for will be present at the assessment, will you be able to speak freely about any difficulties you have?
You will be given the opportunity to discuss how caring affects your life, including your physical, mental and emotional needs. This should cover:
- your role as a carer
- how you feel about caring
- whether you’re able or willing to carry on as a carer
- your health
- your work
- other caring responsibilities
- what you enjoy doing in your free time
- planning for emergencies.
Assessments usually last at least an hour.
The aim of the assessment is to get the support you need, so try to be honest about your caring role, the type of care you provide, and most importantly how you feel about being a carer.
It can help to have someone with your during the assessment. This could be the person you care for, a friend or a relative. You could also use an advocate. Advocates are people who speak on your behalf.
Your local council should have a directory of advocacy services.
No, a Carers Assessment is free.
Your local council or Imago will work out whether your needs are eligible for support. If so, they will create a care and support plan for you. They might provide you with care and support directly or provide it to the person you care for.
If you’re not eligible for support, they must still give you information and advice on where you can go for help.
A support plan must include:
- details of the needs identified in the assessment
- which needs meet the eligibility criteria
- which needs the local council is going to meet, and how
- the outcomes that you want to achieve and what’s important to you
- information about the personal budget available (the amount of money that the local council has worked out it will cost to arrange the necessary support for you)
- information about direct payments
- information and advice.
There are lots of different types of support you could be entitled to, including:
- practical help with housework or gardening jobs
- training to help you with your caring role, for example in moving and handling the person you care for
- equipment or alterations to your home
- emotional support such as counselling
- breaks from caring, such as respite care for the person you care for
- advice about benefits
- support to improve your wellbeing, such as access to exercise classes, social activities or adult education.
