The Carers Assessment itself

Usually one member of staff will carry out the assessment. A GP or nurse or psychiatrist may also be consulted. If you need a translator or other help, ask the assessor. You can have a friend or advocate present at the assessment.

For help finding an advocate, contact the Rethink Advice Service. Phone them on 020 8974 6814 (open Mon-Fri, 10am-3pm), write to Rethink Advice, 28 Castle Street, Kingston upon Thames, SURREY KT1 1SS or email advice@rethink.org Or speak to your local community mental health team.

REMEMBER that you can ask to talk to the person doing the assessment alone, without the person you care for being present.

• The first part of the assessment usually focuses on you, your health, your feelings about caring and your social support.
• The second part of the assessment is usually about what you do to care, how much caring you do and what benefits you receive.
• The third part of the assessment usually covers what you feel you need help with.

The assessment does not assume that you want to or feel able to continue caring.

Ask at the assessment to be provided with a copy of the completed assessment forms. The local authority is not under an obligation to do this, but some do. If they refuse, contact the Care Manager to try and resolve this.

Your local authority will produce a care plan for you. This will describe what action should be taken to meet your needs and what services will be provided to you.

Your care plan should be reviewed at least annually.

The person you care for can refuse help from social services. If this is the case, the local authority should consider other services they can provide directly to you to help ease the pressures of caring.