Assessing carers' needs

Anyone providing care to a child with disabilities who needs support to live at home is entitled to ask for a carers assessment. This is your opportunity to tell us about the things that could make caring easier for you. We may be able to help you by providing services to both you and the child you care for.

You can have an assessment even if the child you care for refuses help. You should be able to contribute to the discussion of the needs of the person you care for. You can ask for a carers assessment at any time, not just when you start to care for a child.

What services might be available?

All carers are individuals and we may provide any service that we think will help you care or help you maintain your wellbeing.

There are a range of services that might help you:

• Services that give you a break
• Emotional support from other carers or people who understand
• Help with household tasks
• Help with caring tasks during the day or night
• Benefits advice
• Activities for the child you care for

The above list is not exhaustive and you may have some ideas of your own about services that would help you. Please feel free to discuss these with us.

Often the best way to support a carer is to provide a service direct to the child they care for, but the person carrying out an assessment has a duty to consider your needs and those of the whole family when setting up services. We also provide services direct to you to try to minimise the impact of caring on your life. We know that caring can be hard work, so it’s important that your needs are recognised too.

Why do carers need an assessment?

The carers assessment is an opportunity for you as a carer to sit down with someone, usually a care manager, social worker, or occupational therapist, to discuss what impact being a carer has on your life.

The assessment may cover areas such as your physical and mental health, whether caring has an effect on your other relationships, any practical or financial difficulties that have arisen, what support you need in order to carry on caring, and whether or not you are willing to carry on doing so.

Carers often say that they have had to give up work or educational opportunities. They may not be able to continue with hobbies or other leisure activities and often their caring responsibilities have had an impact on their own health. If these areas concern you, we will look at what services can be provided to support you.

What would an assessment involve?

To work out what services would be helpful in your situation, we will need to discuss:

• The help the child you care for needs
• The help you are giving at the moment
• The services we may provide

You may want to think about the following:

• Do you get enough sleep?
• Is your health affected in other ways?
• Are you able to get out and about?
• Do you get any time for yourself?
• Are your other relationships affected?
• Do you want information about benefits?
• Are you worried you may have to give up work?
• Is the child you care for getting enough help?

You should also think about anything else you would like to ask us, such as:

• Local or national support organisations you could contact
• Other help you could get
• Any charges for services
• What to do if you wish to complain

To request a carers assessment, please use the contact details on this page or speak with your GP.