We want people to live good lives and support them to be independent, to be safe and healthy. Our social care services will help you if you need care and support because of illness or disability.
If you or someone else thinks you need social care support, the first step is to contact our social work teams.
Social care support
Our social care support services include:
- care at home
- short term care (reablement)
- assistive technology
- day care
- self-directed support
- respite and short breaks
Accessing social care support
If you think you or someone you know needs support to be as independent as they would like to be, get in touch with our social work teams.
Social work staff will work with you to complete an assessment to see how much care or support you need to improve your health, wellbeing, social inclusion, safety and independence.
Your assessment
We know everyone is different. Each person has their own goals and needs, and we aim to work with each individual and their families to have good conversations to help work out a fair share of support.
We will carry out an assessment called ‘My Life, My Plan’ which will take account of your strengths and capabilities (the things you can do), as well as things you might need support with. We may also speak to people who know you well to better understand your circumstances.
We will discuss the services and support options available to help you.
Your assessment will focus on outcomes, which means we will work with you to improve specific areas of your life, find services and supports to help you, and include ways of measuring how things improve for you.
Eligibility criteria
We help lots of people to stay safe and be independent, but we do not have services which cover everything that people might ask for. Our eligibility criteria help us understand and decide who needs our services most and what those services should be for.
We follow the Scottish Government’s National Eligibility Framework. Eligibility criteria puts peoples’ needs into four categories of risk:
- critical
- substantial
- moderate
- low
Our social work staff who visit you to assess your needs will help decide which category your needs are in.
Service provision
We will provide social care services for people who are at critical or substantial risk. These are big risks to a person’s independence or health where they need to get help quickly, or they could be unsafe.
People at critical and substantial risk might get help with:
- dressing
- toileting
- bathing
- eating
- taking medicines
- keeping safe
They might also get help if they are on their own a lot, without other people like friends or family to rely on.
If your needs are moderate or low, we will help you find different ways to get support. This might include help with household tasks like tidying up, or with social activities like going to a club. We can give advice or connect you with other people or services.
If you are at moderate risk, we might provide you with short-term support to stop things getting worse.
Service costs
While some social care services may involve a cost, not all do, and not all people accessing services will require to pay a cost. A financial assessment will be completed to see if you need to pay anything towards your support.
Information leaflets