Carers can be an essential provider of care to vulnerable, elderly, sick and
disabled people. Often family members provide a standard of care equivalent or
better than that provided by health and social care professionals. This can
sometimes create problems for Continuing Care Assessments, as a carer might be
providing services so effectively that the NHS and Social Services are not
involved, so it is hard to tell which care services are health care and which
are social care, as they are all being provided by the same person.
Carers can sometimes be sidelined from the assessment process, they may not
be kept informed of important decisions, yet their co-operation is fundamental
to the success of the provision of any care package.
Carers Rights – People Who Care for Adults
Under the Carers and Disabled Children Act 2000, Section 1, carers have the
right to an Assessment of their own needs:
- If an individual aged 16 or over (“the carer”)
- provides or intends to provide a substantial amount of care on a regular
basis for another individual aged 18 or over (“the person cared for”);
and
- asks a local authority to carry out an assessment of his ability to
provide and to continue to provide care for the person cared for, the local
authority must carry out such an assessment if it is satisfied that the person
cared for is someone for whom it may provide or arrange for the provision of
community care services.
- For the purposes of such an assessment, the local authority
may
take into account, so far as it considers it to be material, an
assessment under section 1(1) of the Carers (Recognition and Services) Act 1995.
1995 c. 12.
- Subsection (1) does not apply if the individual provides or
will
provide the care in question—
- by virtue of a contract of employment or other contract with any person;
or
- as a volunteer for a voluntary
organisation.
Under s.2 of the CDCA 2000, having assessed the carer as being in need of
services, Local Authorities may provide such services to carers as they deem fit
and which will help the carer provide care to the person in need of it. These
services can include the following:
- Respite care
- Direct Payments
- General support services
Carers Rights – People Who Care for Children
Also under the CDCA 2000, under Section 6 of that Act, the parents of
children in need of care services have the right to an assessment:
- If a person with parental responsibility for a disabled child—
- provides or intends to provide a substantial amount of care on a
responsibility for regular basis for the child; and
- asks a local authority to carry out an assessment of his ability to
provide and to continue to provide care for the child,
The local authority must carry out such an assessment if it is satisfied
that the child and his family are persons for whom it may provide or arrange
services under section 17 of the Children Act 1989 (“the 1989 Act”).
If parent carers have been assessed as being in need of services, then under
the Act, services may be provided to them by the Local Authority, for example by
way of Direct Payments.
Benefits
Carers can apply for Carer’s Allowance if they care for a sick or disabled
family member or friend for more than 35 hours per week. The Carer’s Allowance
Unit on 01253 856 123 can give more information. An award of carer’s allowance
might affect entitlement to other benefits by the carer and the person they care
for, so they should obtain more information before applying.