Leaflet: A guide to Adult Social Care and Health

Summary

April 2023 (IL01)

Printing in Large Print

To print this leaflet in Large Print, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the 'Print Page' link.

In your print settings, increase the Scale (%) setting before printing. This may be under 'other' or advanced print settings.


Who we are and what we do

Adult Social Care and Health is a department of East Sussex County Council.

We work with people aged 18 or over who live in East Sussex to look at your strengths, capabilities, wider support network and community, as well as the difficulties you’re experiencing, and work with you to find solutions.

Our role is to enable you to live as healthy and independent a life as you can, for as long as you can.

Examples of people we work with include those who:

  • want to stay living at home but are finding it difficult to cope
  • would like to get out and about into their community but, as a result of a health condition or disability, are unable to do so independently
  • need information on how to access alternative, more suitable accommodation
  • look after someone who couldn’t cope without their help.

You should also contact us if you are at risk of harm or are concerned about
someone else at risk of harm by calling our first point of contact team, Health and Social Care Connect, on 0345 60 80 191.

Out-of-hours (emergency) support

If you contact us outside of normal working hours and your situation requires emergency adult social care intervention before the next working day, Health and Social Care Connect will pass your details to our Emergency Duty Service.


How we can assist you

In this leaflet we will introduce you to how we can work with you, and where you can
find more information. For example:

  • We may be able to assist you through information, advice, and help to access
    community support.
  • There may be short-term solutions or support that we can help you to access
    to prevent you having greater difficulties in the longer term.
  • We may be able to provide some equipment or minor changes to your home
    to help to keep you safe and independent.
  • If you need ongoing support, you may arrange to have an assessment of your care
    and support needs. This is where we look in more detail with you at your situation,
    needs and strengths, to see what might assist you - including if you have eligible
    needs for our support.

To confirm if you are eligible for support, we use ‘eligibility criteria’ set by the
government. To be eligible you must have care and support needs as a result of a
physical impairment and / or a mental impairment and / or an illness which impact on
at least two areas of your daily life and have a significant impact on your wellbeing.

For more information on the eligibility criteria you can read our factsheet: Who qualifies for our support?

If your social care needs assessment shows that you have eligible needs, we’ll also complete a financial assessment with you, to tell you what you will need to pay. Most people pay some or all of the cost of their care.

Even if you do not have eligible social care needs, we will give you information about your options and recommend support that could help you.

Information and advice

We have lots of sources of information available.

There’s a broad range of information available on our website, as well as links
to other helpful websites and directories

You can fill in an online application for social care support, apply for a blue
badge, apply for a Carers Card, register a disability, read our guide on going
into or leaving hospital, and much more.

You can also visit our online directories to learn more about local services and
service providers, community and voluntary organisations that could support
you, and to find out how to get more involved in your community.

We produce a range of information leaflets and factsheets. You can request a printed copy of any of these from Health and Social Care Connect.

If you’d like to speak to someone you can contact us.

Discussing your options, and short-term support

If you’re not sure what help you need, we can have an initial conversation with you, usually over the phone. This will help us to understand your needs and to discuss possible options, including ways to build on your strengths, and support that might be available to maximise your independence.

For example, we can talk to you about:

These are just some examples. Our conversation and suggestions for support will depend on your needs and what you would like to achieve.

Depending on your needs, you may be invited to an Occupational Therapy Clinic. Advice can be given at a clinic on managing at home. A clinic may also provide equipment and small adaptations to support you (some equipment and adaptations under £1,000 are free). The clinics can offer advice for carers and undertake carer’s assessments where appropriate.

Short-term support to maximise your independence

You may be offered a period of reablement, depending on your needs. This is a
short-term service that helps you get back daily living skills that you may have lost because of an accident, illness or disability – for example, support following a period in hospital.

Reablement is provided by several different professionals who can help you to regain your confidence and daily living skills. This may include finding alternative ways of managing everyday tasks. The team will help you set goals and monitor your progress.

The support you receive can be in your own home or in another residential setting. We aim to be flexible in what we offer to meet your needs.

Reablement is always time limited. It’s normally for between two to three weeks, but occasionally slightly longer, depending on your needs and progress.

You will not be charged for the agreed period of reablement, but you may be
charged for any care and support you need after this. The amount you will pay will be determined by a financial assessment.

See our leaflet: What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support


Ongoing support

If our initial conversations suggest that you need ongoing social care support, we can complete a more detailed assessment of your needs. This needs assessment helps us to understand more about you, including your daily life, your strengths and your support needs, including if you are eligible for support from us.

To be eligible, you must meet the national eligibility criteria set by the government. This criteria enables us to ensure that the limited budget local authorities are given is well spent on the people who most need care and support provision, and that all adults across the country have equal access to support.

For more information you can read our factsheet: Who qualifies for our support?

Unlike NHS healthcare, social care and support is not free and most people pay some or all of the costs of their care. We will assess your finances to see what you’ll need to pay.

  • If you have more than £23,250 in capital and assets, you’ll be expected to pay for your care yourself. This does not include the value of your property unless you’re moving into a care home.
  • If you need social care support and have less than £23,250 in capital and assets, we will complete a financial assessment and let you know what you need to contribute towards your care.

For further information see our leaflet: What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support.

When you contact us we will talk to you about what will happens next and how long it is likely to take.


Control over your care

From working out your care and support needs, to deciding what support you get, you’ll be able to have your say at every stage.

For more information see our factsheet: Assessment, support planning and review.

If you are eligible for support and for us to contribute toward the cost of your care,
one of the ways you can have control is by choosing direct payments. Direct
payments are an agreed amount of money that we give you so that you can arrange
your own care.

You can use this money to organise and buy the care and support you need, for
example, by employing your own personal assistant to help you with personal care
and household tasks. If you want to employ your own personal assistant, we can
provide support to enable you to do this legally and safely.

If you’re paying for your own care and support, we can still help you identify suitable
services.


Accommodation and housing options

If you feel you are struggling to manage at home, we can provide you with
information about accommodation and support options. We can advise you on
the many organisations that provide different types of housing and accommodation.

These include sheltered housing schemessupported housing, supported living and extra care schemes (which have 24-hour on-site care staff), or residential care homes. Your eligibility for these types of accommodation may depend on the outcome of an assessment of your care and support needs.

For more information you can contact us.

You can also find more information about paying for residential care in our leaflet: What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support.

More information on housing options

1Space

You can find more information on housing and accommodation options,
including local care homes and nursing homes, on our online directory East
Sussex 1Space.

Website: 1Space housing and accommodation

Care Quality Commission

You can look up or request information on registered care homes from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the organisation that regulates health and social care services.

Website: Care Quality Commission
Phone: 03000 616 161

Care Choices

Care Choices Ltd produces directories of care services and includes advice on choosing a care home.

Website: Care Choices
Email: enquiries@carechoices.co.uk
Phone: 0800 389 2077

If you need support to manage your housing

There is support available to help adults aged 16 and over (single people, couples and families) to live independently and to find or stay in their own home. This includes services which visit people in their own home, and specialist accommodation services for young people, young parents, people with a mental health condition or a learning disability, homeless people and women needing women’s refuges. For more information contact us.

If you’re at risk of homelessness

If you or someone you know is homeless or about to become homeless, you should first contact the housing office at your local district or borough council.

Website: Lewes District Council
Phone: 01273 471 600

Website: Eastbourne Borough Council
Phone: 01323 410 000

Website: Hastings Borough Council
Phone: 01424 451 100

Website: Rother District Council
Phone: 01424 787 000

Website: Wealden District Council
Phone: 01323 443 380 or 01323 443 322

If you're not sure which district or borough you are in, use Find your local council | GOV.UK.


If you look after someone else

You are considered a carer if you look after someone who wouldn’t be able to manage
everyday life without your help. This could be an adult relative, partner, friend or neighbour.

If you are a carer, you can ask for information, advice and support to help you, and there are local schemes and organisations you can access.

For example, the East Sussex Carers Card allows you to register an emergency plan and offers discounts from shops and services. You can also join local support groups, and access information, advice and training for carers.

Care for the Carers is a local support organisation for carers. If you want to find out more about what is available, or if you’re not sure what you need contact:

Website: Care for the Carers
Email: info@cftc.org.uk 
Phone: 01323 738 390
Text: 07860 077 300

Carer's assessment

As a carer you may be eligible for support from us in your own right. To be eligible, you must meet national eligibility criteria.

To find out if you meet the criteria, you can complete a carer's assessment  or contact us.

For more information read our leaflet: Do you look after someone?


Keeping people safe

Everyone has a right to live a life free from abuse and neglect. Through safeguarding, adults’ services work together to help to stop abuse and neglect from happening.

Adults who have care and support needs that mean they are unable to protect themselves may be at risk of abuse or neglect. Care and support needs may relate to a person’s age, physical or learning disability, mental health needs or other illness.

Abuse and neglect can come in many different forms, including:

  • physical abuse (includes being hit, slapped, kicked, pinched or misuse of medication)
  • domestic abuse (includes any incident or patterns of incidents of controlling, coercive or threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are or have been intimate partners or family members)
  • psychological or emotional abuse (includes being shouted at, ridiculed, bullied, threatened or controlled by intimidation or fear)
  • neglect and acts of omission (when medical, physical and / or emotional needs are ignored)
  • financial abuse (when someone misuses or steals money or property, including scams and being pressurised into giving people money or paying for things)
  • sexual abuse (includes any sexual activity that someone does not agree to or cannot agree to)
  • organisational abuse (includes neglect and poor professional practice in a care setting such as a hospital, care home, or in a person’s own home)
  • self-neglect (when a person is unable and / or unwilling to care for themselves or allow others to do so)
  • modern slavery (this can take many forms including but not limited to slavery, sexual exploitation, forced labour, domestic servitude)
  • discriminatory abuse (occurs when people are harassed, insulted or treated badly because of age, culture, mental health needs, disability, gender, race, sexual orientation, or religion or belief)

How to report abuse and neglect

If a crime is in progress, in an emergency or if life is at risk, call 999. To report a crime when it is not an emergency call 101.

If you have a concern about someone else let the person know that help is available and talk to them about what they want to do.

If you suspect abuse or neglect call us on 0345 60 80 191 at any time (calls outside of opening hours will be connected to the Emergency Duty Service).

What will happen next?

We will always take any report of abuse or neglect seriously and will ensure the circumstances are looked into fully, in a fair and confidential way.

We will:

  • talk with the person who is at risk to find out what they want to happen in relation to the concern
  • support the person to have an advocate (someone to represent them) if they need one
  • talk to the police if a crime may have been committed
  • talk to other agencies that need to be involved
  • agree the best way of helping, including considering other types of support

Other ways to find information on social care support

The NHS has produced a comprehensive guide to social care.

ESCIS

Locally, if you’d like further information on what’s happening in your community, like clubs, societies and events, you can use the East Sussex Community Information Service (ESCIS).

Website: ESCIS
Email: escis@eastsussex.gov.uk
Phone: 01273 481 754

1Space

You can also visit East Sussex 1Space, our online directory of care, support and wellbeing services.

Living a healthy lifestyle

Living a healthy lifestyle is important for everyone. Whether you have a longterm
condition or not, making changes to your lifestyle like stopping smoking
and achieving a healthier weight can have a very positive impact on your life.

To find out more about making changes to your lifestyle:

Website: One You East Sussex 
Phone: 01323 404 600


Our leaflets and factsheets

We offer a wide range of leaflets and factsheets.

Our leaflets

  • What you will need to pay towards the cost of your care and support
  • Your feedback is important to us: How to make a complaint or give feedback
    about Adult Social Care
  • Do you look after someone?.

Our factsheets

We also have a range of factsheets on topics including assessment, support
planning and review, financial assessment and paying for care, safeguarding, mental
capacity, and managing someone’s affairs.

See our leaflets and factsheets page.

You can get all of our leaflets and factsheets in a format to suit you. Please ask us if you would like this information in an alternative format or language.


If you want to make a complaint or give feedback about your experience of social care

We want to provide high quality services for everyone in East Sussex, so it’s always
helpful when you tell us what you think, whether this is good or bad.

If you want to compliment a member of staff or service you can contact the team
directly.

If you want to make a complaint, a good start is to contact the person or team who
are involved in the situation you want to complain about. They will try to sort things
out quickly.

If you would rather speak to someone else contact our Complaints and Feedback Team to give us any feedback, including suggestions or compliments.

See our Complaints and Feedback page for more details.


Healthwatch East Sussex

Healthwatch East Sussex is your local consumer champion for health and social care. For information about Healthwatch East Sussex and or to leave feedback about your experiences of services:

Website: Healthwatch East Sussex
Phone: 0333 101 4007


Getting involved

If you would like to be involved in shaping our services, we are always looking for
new members to join the People Bank. The People Bank is a database of volunteers
who have an interest in our services. Membership is voluntary and there are many
ways you can be involved.

Once you have joined and told us how you’d like to be involved, the People Bank team will be able to match you with opportunities when they are available. For more information

Email: Adult Social Care Consultation Team
Phone: 01273 481 565


Was this page helpful?

Click or tap the rating which best represents your experience.