Can Social Services help you?                                                                                                                       

See also The Government’s charter for long term care

What services are available?

Councils have a legal responsibility to find out what sort of social care their local residents need, and to provide or commission that care. They do that partly through council-run services, and partly through services they buy in from private or charitable sector providers.

Additionally, councils are responsible for the social care needs  of people  in their areas – for example, by arranging the provision of nursing or residential care and day and domiciliary care services. The largest group of adult users of social services is people aged 65 or over.

Your local council’s social services, (East Sussex)  (Brighton & Hove) will be able to provide you with information about what social care is available in your area. You will probably have to answer a number of questions to establish whether you are entitled to any of the services the council is responsible for.

Assessment?

If you are entitled to council services, the next step is an ‘assessment’. This means someone from social services will visit you and discuss with you and your family what you need and what your options are.

Will I have to Pay? Follow the links...

East Sussex             Brighton & Hove

Funding your own care?

If you are funding your own care it is vital to choose a home you can afford. If your own finances run out you may need to look to your local council for help and they may not be able to match the fees you were paying. You may need to move home as a result.

Do I have to go through social services?

Many people buy their services privately for themselves or a family member without coming into contact with the council’s social services at all. Perhaps they buy a place in a private residential care home for a relative, or pay a carer to come into a person’s own home every day to help with getting dressed, providing meals or trips to the shops. However, all social care services in England, whoever runs them, will be inspected regularly by the new Commission for Social Care Inspection.