Assessing your care needs
What is the assessment process?
The assessment will be done by a trained professional, such as a social worker or occupational therapist, who will consider a number of things, such as:
- Your needs and how they impact on your wellbeing – for instance, do you need help getting dressed or support to get to work
- The outcomes that matter to you – for example, whether you are lonely and want to make new friends
- Your individual circumstances – for example, whether you live alone or whether someone supports you
Following this, we will decide if any of the needs identified mean you are eligible for support. Some care needs are not met by public organisations (such as Bromley Council and the NHS), so we use the national eligibility criteria to determine which needs we can provide support for.
What are the requirements for assessment?
Bromley Council is required to carry out a needs assessment to decide whether you are eligible to receive care and support.
The assessment:
- must be provided to anyone who appears to need care and support, regardless of your finances or whether the council thinks your needs will be eligible
- must be of your needs and how they impact on your wellbeing, and the outcomes you want to achieve
- must be carried out with your involvement as well as your carer, if you have one, or someone else that you nominate - this can include an independent advocate
As part of the assessment process we have to think about other things besides traditional services that can help you to achieve your goals, and whether any other services available locally could help you stay well for longer. For example, if you have been in hospital, we may suggest that you use a reablement service.
During the process you can ask us to think about the needs of your family, if, for example, you have a carer.
If you want to, you can also carry out a self-assessment, where you take the lead in determining your needs and the outcomes you want. Bromley Council will still be involved to help support the process and ensure they are happy that you have identified all of your needs. When you get in touch with us, please ask if you can complete a self-assessment.
How do we determine who has eligible needs
Following your assessment, we have to decide if you are eligible for care and support using the national minimum threshold for eligibility.
Read more about who is entitled to care and support.
Key documents
Adult care and support services directory