Home Care
Home care is offered to you if you are assessed as needing help with practical daily tasks such as personal care, like washing or dressing, or help with domestic chores, like cooking and cleaning, or in some instances, help in managing your finances. Cleaning services are only provided if you have been assessed as needing help with your personal care.
Home care staff will offer support by working closely with relatives and other carers, so that, where appropriate, caring tasks can be shared.
We have contracts with a wide variety of agencies to deliver home care services. Specialist services are available to provide care to people who have a sensory impairment or mental health needs. Every effort will be made to meet your cultural and religious needs.
Before we can arrange services for you, you will need to have an assessment. An assessment is carried out to identify your needs and to decide whether you qualify for a service.
Enablement home care
Adult Social Services is changing the way home care is delivered to offer enablement home care. This is a flexible person centred service designed to help people recovering from illness or disability to maximise their recovery and reach their full independence potential. Personal needs may include help with mobilising, washing and dressing, nutrition needs and some help may also be offered with domestic tasks including laundry and shopping and a limited amount of cleaning. We try to ensure that the number of different staff who help you is kept to a minimum to ensure consistency.
Staff are expected to respect your dietary, religious and cultural needs and to maximise your independence by helping you to achieve the outcomes that you have identified. As many people as possible who have been assessed as needing personal care, will at first receive the benefit of the enablement service. Enablement is time limited for up to 6 weeks during which time someone’s personal care needs will be met by the service by carers who are specially trained to ‘do with’ rather than ‘do for’ the person.
The aim is to make sure each individual, whatever their illness or disability has as much chance as possible to be self caring and live at home safely with minimum home care.
The enablement care workers work closely with care managers/ social workers / occupational therapists and are also trained in knowing about what other help and support is available in the community.
If someone at the end of the enablement period requires needs support or services the service user or carers/ advocates can receive support to arrange this through the allocation of a Personal Budget.
Will I be charged for services?
You may be required to pay for some of the services you receive. How much you pay will depend on your income and the amount of help you need. We will ask you to complete a financial assessment form. You may be entitled to benefits, and if so we will help you to claim them. We will give you advice about this. More information about charging for services can be found in the booklet, Fairer Charging Policy - for people living at home 2009-2010 
(PDF: 282KB)
How do I access services?
If you think you need a service or have a general enquiry please contact the appropriate Adult Social Services Team.
Home Care User Experience Survey
In February 2009, a statutory home care survey was sent out to all adults who receive a home care service funded by Adult Social Services. This questionnaire was developed by the Department of Health and the Commission for Social Care Inspection in order to explore peoples’ views about the home care service they receive.
A results 'Fact Sheet' will be available in June.
Adult Social Services home page
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Email this pageLast modified by: Dawn Rowe on 09/04/2009