Carers Assessment

The right to a carer's assessment comes from three main pieces of legislation. The Carer's (Recognition and Services) Act (1995) gave people who provide, or intend to provide, "substantial care on a regular basis" the right to an assessment from Social Services. In The Carers and Disabled Children’s Act (2000) this right was widened to carer's regardless of whether the person they care for is receiving services from the local authority. The Carer's (Equal Opportunity) Act 2004 incorporated a duty to consider the carer's access to employment, education and leisure activity. It also places a duty on the local authority to inform carer's of their right to an assessment.

There is no definition of "substantial and regular" care. Whether you are a carer providing substantial care on a regular basis depends upon the impact of the caring upon the carer – not whether you live with the person you are caring for, or caring for a set number of hours per week, so the impact of caring is the crucial part: The impact of caring is crucial and it is important to consider the risk of the caring breaking down if no help is put in place such as an admission to hospital.

 

How do I get carers assessment?

Local authorities now have a legal duty to inform carers of their right to an assessment. However, if this does not happen you should ring or write to your local social services which may have a designated carers' team. Alternatively if the person you are caring for is under the Care Programme Approach (CPA) and has a care coordinator you could request they arrange one for you. If there is more than one carer looking after someone, you are both entitled to an assessment.

Your right to a carer's assessment exists regardless of whether the person you are caring for is in receipt of services.

The assessment

Once you have requested a carer’s assessment, social services should contact you to make arrangements to carry out the assessment. Local authorities may vary in how they conduct carer’s assessments.

However, a full and comprehensive assessment should always be face-to-face.  

The assessment should be considering the sustainability of your caring role and the risk to you as an individual, and the person you care for, if support is not provided.

However, legislation makes it clear that,  as well as looking at what you need to support you in your caring role, the assessment should also consider outside interests such as "wishes to work and undertake education, training and leisure activity".

In Rethink's Mental Illness's experience it may help to prepare for your assessment to ensure that you are able to raise what is important to you and ask for the support you need. For more detail about how to prepare for your carer's assessment please read our Carers assessment factsheet (525 kb) [pdf]

Even though the local authority have a duty to perform an assessment, whether to provide services or not is at their discretion.  However, the local authority do have a duty to provide services to the looked after person. So, if a lack of services to the carer leads to a break down in their caring role and puts the cared for person at  substantial risk the local authority may have a duty to provide services.

Carers can also access Direct Payment. For more information see our  Direct payments factsheet (126 kb) [pdf] 

More information can be found in our Carers assessment factsheet (161 kb) [pdf], written by Rethink's Advice and Information Service.