Who Carries out the Assessment?
The Local Authority will carry out the assessment, i.e. if the person has
physical needs it may be the physical disabilities team at the local Social
Services.
Because the obligation to assess lies with the Local Authority, this means it
is not possible to enforce the right to an assessment against the National
Health Service, only against the Local Authority. There is only a broad duty
for the NHS to ‘secure and advance the health and welfare of the people of
England’ (s.22 NHS Act 1977).
However, under s.47(3) of the National Health Service and Community Care Act
1990, where during the assessment it appears there is a need for services from
the separate housing or health authority, Social Services must contact the
relevant Health Trust and/or Housing Authority and:
- Notify of the need for services
- Invite participation with the assessment
- When making a decision about what services to provide, take into account the
services that may be provided by those organisations
How Long Will it Take?
Once Social Services have been notified of the need for an assessment, they
must undertake one within a reasonable period of time. There
is no set time frame in which the assessment should take place and because of
this, in an emergency Social Services can provide interim services, while the
assessment is going on or before it has even been arranged.
What If I Need Services in an Emergency?
Sometimes an assessment takes a long time, and the need for services may
become pressing or urgent. In other cases, a carer may falls sick, or a
person’s health may deteriorate suddenly. In such a situation it is not
possible to wait for the outcome of the assessment, as services are needed in an
emergency.
The first thing to do is notify the Social Services department dealing with
the case of the emergency. Even when an assessment has not yet been completed,
a Local Authority may provide services pending the outcome of
the assessment under s.47(5) National Health Service and Community Care Act
1990:
(5) Nothing in this section shall prevent a local authority from
temporarily providing or arranging for the provision of community care services
for any person without carrying out a prior assessment of his needs in
accordance with the preceding provisions of this section if, in the opinion of
the authority, the condition of that person is such that he requires those
services as a matter of urgency.
Although it is discretionary whether or not services will be provided pending
a full assessment, this is converted into a duty to provide
those services where to fail to do so would be a breach of the person’s human
rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.
Who is Involved in the Assessment?
The assessment should involve the person with care needs, their carer(s), and
any other organisation or individual, where appropriate. Regular consultation
should take place between all concerned. Carers often feel left out of the
process, but there are clear directions and guidance available (for example the
Community Care Directions 2004) which state that the carer must be involved in
the process. Carers are also entitled to their own assessment, and this is
dealt with in the ‘Carers’ section.
Assessments are usually lengthy and written, and the person with care needs
and their carer are entitled to look at the assessment and comment on it. The
length and depth or the assessment will depend on the person’s ‘presenting
needs’, e.g. the issues and problems identified when a person first makes
contact with the Local Authority. Presenting needs are different from ‘eligible
needs’, which are those needs that an assessment has identified as being
eligible for the provision of a care service.
What Happens After the Assessment?
A copy of the written assessment should be provided to the person it is
about, their carer and any other authorised person.
The Assessment should identify any care needs that a person has, both health
care needs and social care needs. It should also identify what services might
be required to meet those needs. An assessment should not ignore needs that
will not be met by services, but be fully comprehensive.
After the assessment, a decision should be made in writing, and notified to
the service user about which services will be provided. Not all services that
are needed by a person will be provided.