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Carers

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:

    1. If an individual aged 16 or over (“the carer”)
      1. 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
      2. 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.
    2. 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.
    3. Subsection (1) does not apply if the individual provides or will
      provide the care in question—
      1. by virtue of a contract of employment or other contract with any person; or
      2. 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:

  1. Respite care
  2. Direct Payments
  3. 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:

  1. If a person with parental responsibility for a disabled child—
    1. provides or intends to provide a substantial amount of care on a responsibility for regular basis for the child; and
    2. 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.

Next: Direct Payments