Being independent is important but there may be times when you, a family member or friend needs a little help to keep your independence.
What is community care?
If you are having difficulties because of your eye condition your local authority can offer you support. You do not need to be registered to receive support. The support available might be to help you shop, look after your home or even help you with personal care.
This support is called community care (sometimes called social care) and is provided by your local Social Services department. You might be worried that Social Services will make decisions without asking your opinion meaning that you will have little or no control over your life. This is not how Social Services should work. Social services should be about empowering you to provide you with the help and assistance you need.
You should be involved as much as possible with how your community care will be provided. This means that Social Services should listen to your thoughts, ideas and needs when options are being considered and decisions made.
What sort of support can I get?
The help that you can receive from Community care varies from one local authority to another, but can include things like:
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help with shopping
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answering correspondence
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cleaning
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mobility training
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assistance to cook
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aids and adaptations.
The level of help that you receive will depend on the level of help that you need. The aim is to support those who are eligible to lead lives that are as independent as possible. Ask your local authority for information about community care and what services it provides for people with sight problems.
Assessment
To know if you are eligible for help you first have to have an assessment. An assessment is traditionally carried out by a social worker, who would visit you at home and ask a series of questions about different aspects of your life. Traditional methods of assessment are changing with personalisation introducing innovations such as self-assessments.
Once you have been assessed Social Services will use nationally set criteria to decide what, if any, help you could receive. You have a right to an assessment, but this does not mean that ultimately you will receive help. However, its worth having an assessment so that you have a clear picture of your needs.
If you have a friend or relative who carers for you, then they have the right to ask for an assessment of their needs as a carer. This is a way of helping that person to care for you.
Personalisation
Personalisation, through self-directed support is changing how Community Care is being provided in England. This could lead to new and innovative ways of care being provided. We have a factsheet that explains about this in more detail. Go to our personalisation page for more information.
Preparing for an assessment
For an assessment to be as useful to you as possible it is important to prepare. This is true whether you are self-assessing or undergoing a more traditional type of assessment. The purpose of preparing for the assessment is to include in the real impact that your disabilities or health conditions have on your life daily. If you do not give a true reflection of your needs you will not get the proper support.
This would give a more accurate and much fuller picture of any assistance that you need, which will lead to a better assessment. Further information on preparing for a social care assessment can be found on our factsheet of the same name below.
What if things go wrong?
An assessment can be one of the biggest areas of dispute between you and the Social Services department. This can be for reasons including delays in the assessment being carried out or that after an assessment no help was provided. These are just two examples of the reasons why you might wish to complain.
Your Local Authority should be able to provide you with information on how to complain. In England the complaints procedure is now just one stage. When your Local Authority receives the complaint they must acknowledge this and contact you to discuss how you wish the matter to be resolved. They then have up to six months to provide a written resolution to your complaint.
You can ask your Local Authority for help to complain or you can contact a local advice agency to help you. Our Legal Rights Service can also help you to complain.
If you are not happy with the response received, you could take your complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman. For more information on the complaint procedure see our "Complaining to Social Services" factsheet below.
Charges for care provided
If you do receive help and you are happy with the service provided you may be asked to contribute towards the cost. Each Local Authority has its own policy on charging but there is guidance that they must follow.
Any charge imposed should be affordable and you can challenge the amount if you believe it to be excessive. In deciding how much you may pay, most of your income will be considered. There are exceptions to this and saving will only be considered when above a certain amount.
Accessible information
Your Local Authority should give you any information that you want in the format that is accessible to you. Tell them if you prefer information in large print, audio or braille.
If you have difficulties communicating or you need an interpreter because English is not your first language, then Social Services should provide this support.
Getting in touch with Social Services
If you decide to ask Social Services for support you can get their phone number from our Helpline on 0303 123 9999, from Directory Enquiries or you will find them in the phone book.
If you feel hesitant about contacting Social Services yourself, someone else can do this on your behalf.
Services in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Services in Scotland and Northern Ireland may be organised in a different way. Your local social work department in Scotland, or Health and Social Services Trust in Northern Ireland, will be able to give you information about arrangements for community care services in your area.
Sources of help and advice
If you have any further questions regarding Social Services please call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 and ask to speak to the Advice Service or email helpline@rnib.org.uk.