Community care eligibility

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We have a duty to assess any adult who appears to need community care services. Using the eligibility criteria described below we can assess when there is a need for our care services.

Our criteria take into account a range of factors, including what resources are available to meet need, the cost of service provision and the need to make sure that service is given equally.

These criteria apply to all community care services and ensure that resources are targeted to those in greatest need without forgetting that preventative interventions may also be necessary. Eligibility criteria do not discriminate between people’s needs on the basis of age, services or group, geographical location, gender, ethnicity, social class, sexuality or any other basis. They focus entirely on risk to independent living and wellbeing.

Our eligibility criteria consider both:

• how severe is the risk to the person
• how urgently for intervention is needed to respond to the risk

The criteria prioritise risk into four bands:

• critical risk
• substantial risk
• moderate risk
• low risk

Timescales are set for when the services should be provided. They define a standard maximum waiting time for the delivery of personal and nursing care services for older people.

Providing community care services in accordance with eligibility criteria follows an assessment of need called Single Shared Assessment. For further information on this follow the link under the further information section.

If you need more information or think you or a member of your family may need a community care service, please contact Social Work using the contact details provided.

 

Contact Information