How to get social care: Advice and guidance for disabled adults
This page aims to help disabled adults in the UK to make informed choices about care.
What is social care? How does social care support disabled adults?
Social care provides disabled people with crucial support.
People might need social care to help with things that are important to them. This could include things that are vital for someone’s health and wellbeing. For example:
- personal care: getting up, washing and dressing, toileting, personal hygiene, going to bed
- other daily living tasks: cooking, cleaning, doing things in the home
- getting out and about: seeing friends and family, socialising, support to pursue hobbies and interests
- volunteering, taking educational courses or going to work.
Some people might want support from a carer in their own home. Some people might choose to live with other disabled adults.
Who provides social care services?
Charities – Not-for-profit organisations can provide direct support and information. Charities like Leonard Cheshire and others can provide care assistance and accommodation for disabled adults. Charities can also provide useful guidance.
Local authority managed service providers – Local authorities will contract organisations to provide care services in a particular area.
Shared lives – A scheme that pairs someone who needs support with an approved carer. It’s run by a Shared Lives group and you can find out more on the Shared Lives page from SCIE.
The set up of Shared Lives varies. It can be a house-share scheme. Some people have a carer living in their home without going through Shared Lives.
Private providers operate independently of the NHS, local authorities or the charitable sector. For example, they may be privately owned care homes or care agencies..
Personal assistants (PAs) - You can recruit your own carers or personal assistants (PAs) on an individual basis. They can provide support in your home. You can employ them directly or they can be self-employed. Find out more about PAs and direct payments.
What social care services do Leonard Cheshire provide?
Leonard Cheshire has a wide range of social care services for disabled adults. We have residential care homes and nursing homes, as well as supported living accommodation. Our services have friendly staff, including trained support workers who provide high-quality person-centred care.
Our care homes and services are based in lots of different settings, including villages, towns and cities.
If you are interested in living in one of our services and you live in a different part of the UK, don’t worry. If there are spaces available, you can still get a place there.
Find out more about Leonard Cheshire services
I’m a disabled adult and I have care needs. What do I do first?
The first step is to contact your local authority (local councils in England, in Wales and in Scotland; the local Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland). You can ask them for a ‘care needs assessment’.
To arrange a care needs assessment, you can speak to a social worker. They work in the local authority’s adult social services department. See country-specific advice on social care
Family carers or ‘unpaid carers’ are entitled to a social care assessment
If a family member or someone close to you provides you with support, they are entitled to an assessment in their own right.
Are there other public services that fund care and support for disabled adults?
Most people who qualify for social care receive support from their local authority. For a smaller number of people, it’s different: their care funding can be partly or completely from other sources.
NHS funded care
If you live in England or Wales and have very complex and long-term health needs, you might qualify for NHS care.
NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC)
NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC) is arranged and funded by the NHS. Find more information about NHS CHC
NHS-funded nursing care (NHS FNC)
If you're not eligible for NHS CHC, you might still be eligible for NHS-funded nursing care (NHS FNC). Find out more information about NHS FNC.
Access to Work
Access to Work is a government-funded scheme to help disabled adults get the support they need to do their job. So this could be help while you’re at work; it could also be help getting to and from the place(s) you will be working. This doesn’t support personal care to get ready for work.
If you need a support worker specifically for work, visit the Access to Work website (Gov.uk) . You can also find out about workplace adjustments.
Social care: how will the needs assessment be done? And who can be there with me?
The care needs assessment will usually be face to face. A social worker carries out the initial assessment. It can be done remotely, or over the phone. But face to face appointments are more advisable (unless you need alternatives as a reasonable adjustment).
You can have people with you at the assessment, including people close to you who you trust. This is especially useful when these people understand the support you want and need.
How do I prepare for a care needs assessment?
Before any care needs assessment, it is a good idea for you to think about how much assistance you need. You could start to keep a record every day, noting the tasks you find difficult. Be specific, noting each task you need help with – like getting up, washing, dressing, or getting out and about. For each task, write down how long it takes.
You can talk to your social worker about what’s important to you in your life. You can also mention the people around you who support you and matter to you. You might also need help to see these people.
You can chat about what you like doing day to day and what assistance you might need to do that. Maybe there are things you used to do, or things you want to do in future, that you can do only with the right support.
You can describe how having your needs met will improve your life: you can tell people the impact on your physical and mental health. All this will help in discussions with social services.
See this guide from the Social Care Institute for Excellence. It is written for social care practitioners and for carers supporting disabled people. It highlights the importance of meeting your needs and outcomes.
The information gives more details about the duties of local authorities and care providers. It gives information about important laws like the Care Act 2014.
Once I am eligible for social care, what happens next? The care plan
From discussions at the care needs assessment, your social worker puts together a care plan (also called a support plan). This includes all the information mentioned above: details about your needs, how they will be met and what’s important to you.
You are entitled to see your care plan. It should be reviewed if your circumstances change. You can ask for your care plan to be updated at any time.
If you are eligible for social care, you will see in your care plan a ‘personal budget’. This is the total cost of the care and support provided by the local authority. Find out more about personal budgets and paying for care.