Care and support assessment

Introduction

You can watch this video to get an overview of care and support assessments. 

What is a care and support assessment?

A care and support assessment:

• is carried out to see what support you need in your day-to-day life
• will find out if you're eligible for support from your local council (Suffolk County Council)
• can be the first step towards social care

Who's eligible?

Anyone who lives in Suffolk can request a care and support assessment.

You can make a request for:

• yourself
• someone you look after as a carer

How it works 

You'll be at the centre of everything we do.

The assessment is usually a conversation between:

• you (or the person you look after)
• us (a trained person from Suffolk County Council or an organisation we work with)
• anyone who supports you already, such as a doctor or your neighbour

During an assessment, we'll consider:

• your strengths, needs and what outcomes you want to achieve
• what help and support you have or could have from the people in the community around you
• the things you may need some support with to keep you well and independent

The assessment will cover your:

• physical needs, such as any help you need to wash, dress, or get in and out of bed
• mental and emotional needs, such as whether you can carry on working, volunteering or being able to meet your friends

We can also complete a financial assessment to see how much you or the person you look after needs to pay towards care.

Find out more about paying for care. 

What happens afterwards?

You'll get a copy of the outcome. This will show if you're eligible for help from the council based on national eligibility criteria.

If you're eligible for help

We'll complete a financial assessment to see how much you or the person you look after needs to pay towards care.

We'll also help you create a care and support plan and arrange a personal budget.

If you're not eligible for help

We can put you in touch with organisations that may be able to help you, such as local charities or services. 

How to request an assessment

We recommend you complete our online self-assessment before requesting a care and support assessment. 

The self-assessment on our website is a quick and easy way to find out: 

• what care and support needs you may have
• whether you would benefit from a full care and support assessment of your needs
• what advice, services and support there is in your community to help you stay independent 

Many people in Suffolk can stay safe and maintain their independence themselves through:

• arranging equipment, adaptations and services to help at home 
• finding groups, clubs and activities nearby to stay active, social and healthy

Helping yourself to stay independent can be simpler than contacting us. It also gives you more choices and puts you in control. 

If you want to request a care and support assessment without completing the self-assessment, find out how to contact adult social care (Customer First).